She absolutely, possitively did not want to get off the machine-long

[depechemodefan]

back ground:
1)my supervisor got a "promotion" (I don't call it a promotion if it doesn't pay more) in the library, so I got a new supervisor
2)microfilm machines are used to look at microfilm of newspapers and other periodicals. We have 3, and most of the time they are not in use. A typical day consists of maybe any 2 of the machines being used once in a day. But there are times when they are all in use and someone comes up wanting to use a machine. That might happen once a month. WE do have signage about a limit of 1 hour if people are waiting to use the machines.
3)you can call ahead of time (like the day before) to request for material instead of waiting the 20 min. for us to retrieve it when you arrive.
4)the library on this day opened at 10am

cast of characters
me:
lw: cw working desk from 10-11
k: another cw working desk from 10-11
gg: fuckin' idiot who retrives materials from storage
fb: fuckin' bitch who is sc of the story
ff1: firefighter 1-unfortunately, not the type of ff who you want to lick fire retardent off of abs of him
ff2: same as ff1. Think they are retired and run firefighters museum
ec: another customer
ol1 and ol2: both old ladies
h: a cw who is my desk mate from 11-12
J: another cw

so it's 11am and I have to replace lw and k. K tells me fb was on the microfilm the longest, and fb was told that she had to get off the machine when ff1 and ff2 get their film. Also, fb asked for more film so I have to fill out a retrievel slip onling for her.

lw then tells me ec is waiting on some periodicals, that I should go get them since it was a long time. OUr procedure is fill out a slip electronically and the person in retrievel gets it from storage. Though the person in retrieval isn't always in the storage floor, is actually in the basement checking-in books or filling holds, so sometimes there is a lag. In this case, we see the e-slip wasn't picked up until I arrived. So I decided to give retrievel 10 min. before doing anything.

So it's 11:07, and I go up and told fb that her time was up.
fb: *looking constipated and evil at me* my time isn't up. I got my film yesterday
those men don't even have their film.
me: they just got their film, and youv'e been on the longest.
fb: I have work to do!
me: I'm sorry, but i'll give you 5-10 minutes to finish your roll so they can use the machine.
fb: I have work to do! If you're coworkers hadn't interrupted me so much maybe I would have had my hour!

yeah, at this time, or in the 10 min. I gave her, I should have gotten a manager.

I decided not to send up her request for more microfilm at that moment

So her 10 min were up. Now K got ol1 and ol2 on a machine right when I came up to replace her. At this time ol1 and 2 are talking to ff1 and 2.

me: ok, m'am, these gentlemen need the machine.
fb: Those women (ol1 and 2) arn't even using the machine! They are talking!!!

she gets up and of course asks for my name. I asked her for hers and she doens't answer. I tell her, "oh, I know your name, you just gave us a request for more microfilm." She of course doens't say anything, just looks pissed, staring somewhere else. Now ff1 and 2, instead of thanking me or keeping their fucking mouths shut, said, "you should get more microfilm machines so this wouldn't happen." I told them this hardly happens and they said this happend to them last month. Ugh.

Now instead of requesting her microfilm , I checked the status of ec's magazines and see they havn't been retrieved. So I call retrievel and get gg, the most fucking stupid person who worked at the library. Her typical response is "huh?" She couldn't find the magazines, so I go up and find ew looking for the magazines and only finding a few issues. WE go back down and lw explains to ec that we only had these few issues. It seems they are what he wants, so he asked if he can pay for the copies by credit card. No, we say. He only have $20, and we don't have a change machine, though lw does have $18 in change, which he found ok to change like that. The copier we use is also the print station printer. A seperate computer is used to bring up your print job and it prints from the copier. of course, here comes some girls with 40+ pages to print in the middle of ew's job So we wait as that prints out.

H then is helping ol1 and 2. They send their print job to the printer, then H helps them retrieve the job. Of course, the jobs print out while the guy is copying. Guy claims that he doesn't have their jobs.

So H takes the ladies back to the microfilm machines, and fb took over their machines. Instead of letting them back on the machine, she offers to make a copy of their article from the microfilm and email it to them. She was acting like lady bountiful, joking ,smiling, at this point.

[depechemodefan]

Latter that day, I tell J the story. He knows about fb. He didn't have time to tell me then, but the next day he tells me the story where she complained about him. Ten years ago, she wanted to use the microfilm machines, and J thought the printers didn't work at the time (sometimes that happend). Then another person on the machines was able to print so she got so upset, called him a liar, complained about how J ruined her work, etc. So she makes a written complaint, the only one J's ever had.

Of course, the fucking bitch makes a written complaint about me. My new supervisor calls me in 4 days latter, aksing me what happened, then telling me that I should have gotten a supervisor (any one of them), that management already apologized, that I can't trust management to back me up, how management will never back me up. Actually, this is the same supervisor that I got for that flake a few weeks back who complained I talked to her like a 5 year old-http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ad.php?t=86321

So I don't know what will happen, since last supervisor told me the next time I get a written complaint I will get a day off (unpaid) to think about the situation.

[rose_metal_nz]

So I don't know what will happen, since last supervisor told me the next time I get a written complaint I will get a day off (unpaid) to think about the situation.

So you work with SC who resemble little (bratty) children, and your management treat you like a little child? sounds horrible. Hope you can help find a way around FB.

[Nemesis44UK]

I get really fed up with management not backing the peeps on the front line. It is like they get promoted and have their common sense chip removed.

In my experience, it is rare that staff are to blame for the customer's complaints. If they are, it is usually an honest mistake rather than an attempt to piss off the customer.

[emax4]

I think this will work out for you. If you're still there and that lady still comes in, you may not "be allowed" to deal with her and would have to call some other staff member to deal with her, which results in her waiting for assistance instead of being helped right then and there. If she questions you, you might say, "well, you got me in trouble the last few times, so at this point I'm not longer risking my job whenever you need help. I'm letting someone else assist you..."

When her time was up, could you have just cut the power to the machine, or is that too risky as well?

[depechemodefan]

it is rare that staff are to blame for the customer's complaints.

Yes, really, but management believes in non confrontation. The other day some woman was yelling in the lobby, and a manager was in the area, talking to another cw. The manager did nothing to see what was wrong, since security was herding the patron out, though the patron kept on sticking her head in the door, mouthing off.

If you're still there and that lady still comes in, you may not "be allowed" to deal with her

I was thinking of telling her if she comes back, "I'm sorry ma'm, but it's best you wait for my coworker to help you," but she probably blow up, report I was rude and management would blame me for her itty bitty hurt fwellings.

One thing J told me was next time she comes in, let him know. We normally have a cop in the lobby so he would get the cop to talk to her. J said he will tell her, "remember me? You wrote me up and got me in trouble."

She doesn't seem like a regular; I dont' see her everyday, and she might just come in once a year for a few days. But she is such a twat, I hope I never see her again.

could you have just cut the power to the machine, or is that too risky as well?

That would be a bad idea. I did that once with something else (a comptuer, I think) and the idiot kept on turning on the computer. And if she wanted to be a big baby, she could just sit there and not move.