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I hate genealogists. If they come in to do the work themselves, then we have to pull microfilm from storage, and it's always tons of microfilm. If they email or write to us for us to look up obits, they ask for 5 at a time for months or ask for 20 obits at a time for months. Ugh.
If an obit. appeared after 1985, we can find it on a database for the newspaper. But if it's before 1985, we have to look at them microfilm. The older the obit, the movre problems. Before 1940's there was no index, so we have to dig. From 1900's-1920's the obituaries could appear anywhere in the paper, and most time it could appear anywhere. After 1920's it is usually in the classifieds.
So, obits are pain to look for.
One woman sent 14 requests Dec. 13. Why it took till Jan 28 for my coworker to finish them, there is no answer, though he worked on other obits. Granted, when you work on them and find an obit on the first date you look, it takes less time to do the job then being stuck not finding it in one paper and have to look in another paper. Of course, after 2 weeks, the patron sent the request again, without saying, "hi, are you working on this?" Because another coworker could have started on the second request, and it's double work.
So she was sent a reply Jan. 28, and Feb. 4 she calls us.
She's sucky because she said, "are you sure someone looked at them? They only found 1 obit"
No, we got Cletus the slackjaw yokle to work on it. He still hasn't figured out how to turn on the light bulb on the machines.
Then she didn't give me the credit card info right when she called today, so I send an email to the librarian in charge of the obit emails. She sent the email right away, and I had gone down to the telephone room in less than 5 min. and the woman called. Great, if I wa latter then my coworker who answered the phone woudln't have found the paper work.
So the woman didn't want to give the info. to my co-worker. No doubt she expects her to use the credit card info to buy booze. so I get on the phone, the woman says, "you must have written it down wrong". The customer friendly answer would be "yes, I'm so sorry" but I hate our customers so I told her, "no, I wrote it down exactly how you told me."
So she starts to give me the number:
idiot: It's 44513...
me: oh, wait, you said 44?
idiot: 51389
me: wait, did you say 44513?
idiot: 51389.
me: wait, can you repeat the number?
idiot: I can't hear you.
uh, you could hear me fine before.
me: *louder* could you repeat the number?
co-worker: DMFAN!
I guess I talked too loud.
I finally got the number.
If an obit. appeared after 1985, we can find it on a database for the newspaper. But if it's before 1985, we have to look at them microfilm. The older the obit, the movre problems. Before 1940's there was no index, so we have to dig. From 1900's-1920's the obituaries could appear anywhere in the paper, and most time it could appear anywhere. After 1920's it is usually in the classifieds.
So, obits are pain to look for.
One woman sent 14 requests Dec. 13. Why it took till Jan 28 for my coworker to finish them, there is no answer, though he worked on other obits. Granted, when you work on them and find an obit on the first date you look, it takes less time to do the job then being stuck not finding it in one paper and have to look in another paper. Of course, after 2 weeks, the patron sent the request again, without saying, "hi, are you working on this?" Because another coworker could have started on the second request, and it's double work.
So she was sent a reply Jan. 28, and Feb. 4 she calls us.
She's sucky because she said, "are you sure someone looked at them? They only found 1 obit"
No, we got Cletus the slackjaw yokle to work on it. He still hasn't figured out how to turn on the light bulb on the machines.
Then she didn't give me the credit card info right when she called today, so I send an email to the librarian in charge of the obit emails. She sent the email right away, and I had gone down to the telephone room in less than 5 min. and the woman called. Great, if I wa latter then my coworker who answered the phone woudln't have found the paper work.
So the woman didn't want to give the info. to my co-worker. No doubt she expects her to use the credit card info to buy booze. so I get on the phone, the woman says, "you must have written it down wrong". The customer friendly answer would be "yes, I'm so sorry" but I hate our customers so I told her, "no, I wrote it down exactly how you told me."
So she starts to give me the number:
idiot: It's 44513...
me: oh, wait, you said 44?
idiot: 51389
me: wait, did you say 44513?
idiot: 51389.
me: wait, can you repeat the number?
idiot: I can't hear you.
uh, you could hear me fine before.
me: *louder* could you repeat the number?
co-worker: DMFAN!
I guess I talked too loud.
I finally got the number.
... you see, I knwo how much of a pain obits are for you guys, so that would be the perfect target.... I was going to try my earnest to convine you I was a guy calling truthfully for you to look for the obit of his granfather... on the next week papers... because you knwo obits take time to publish, and they must have the information on advance... the doctor has told me my poor grandad will pass away any day soon, but he won't tell us more! so I'd have the lib. check next week obituaries to see when he's gonna die.....
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