Yesterday afternoon I popped in to the Santa Monica Library to hop on the Internet.
Since I intended to log onto my YouTube account to view a handful of videos, I used my Library card to secure the use of a pair of headphones for the duration of my stint on their house computer provided at the main facilities.
At 4 o’clock in the afternoon I logged off and proceeded to the librarian’s desk in the “computer commons” area to turn in my headset.
A young gentleman who was on duty was flitting around the room, assisting other patrons, when he spied me standing patiently at the desk.
At this point, he strolled up to me and asked if I needed assistance.
“I want to turn in my headphones,” I politely informed him with little ado.
Instead of scanning the headphones for me, the lazy son-of-a-gun waved me off.
“Just set it down, there,” he replied. “I’m busy right now.”
In the past, I have always been reticent about leaving headsets on the desk, under the hopeful assumption that the staff will duly scan the headphones in a timely manner - and thus - clear my library card account accordingly.
So, I paused a moment to rethink the situation.
Should I wait for him to return to the desk and visually watch him scan the headphones?
What if someone snatched up the headphones while his back was turned? What then?
Was I being paranoid, or what?
Trusting that he would take care of business, I plunked the headsets down on the desk as instructed, and strolled off towards the elevator.
Well, guess what?
My fears were well-founded!
They don't say I'm psychic for no good reason!
Today, when I attempted to borrow the headphones again, the librarian on duty informed me that the headsets I used the day before were not logged back into the computer.
Uh-huh!
The incompetent unreliable staffer at the Santa Monica Library neglected to follow through as promised - so, of course - the headset wasn't scanned back into the computer records!
In view of the fact the headphones could not be located today, it is obvious at this juncture, that some other patron walked off with the headphones when he wasn't paying attention.
When I explained the situation to the clerk on duty today, she shrugged, and showed no sympathy.
“You checked out the headphones, so you are responsible,” she snapped at me.
Say what?
Although the male worker was standing a few inches next to me, he refused to scan the property yesterday with the flimsy excuse that he was “busy”.
What was I supposed to do - grab him by the neck? - and force him to log the headset back in to the system???
Today, I was advised to go down and talk to a supervisor on duty by the name of Janet Arenberg.
While I waited for her to appear, I quizzed an elderly stone-faced security guard who was sitting at the desk nearby, twiddling his thumbs.
“Sir, is there a security camera recording that area of the Library,” I politely quizzed, after explaining the dilemma with the headset.
“Well, there may be a general scan on that area. But, that would be a low priority,” he snarled at me.
Huh?
A person is being accused of not returning a headset and that is a low priority?
For sure, the library staff – and that security guard (with all the intelligence of a worm) – don’t have their priorities straight at all!
This was even more obvious when Arenberg – an ancient supervisor in charge - waddled out and proceeded to give me an unpleasant once-over.
At first, she was quite adamant that it wasn’t the fault of the library, but – when I pointed out that the problem occurred because of the young worker’s reluctance to do his job – she appear to relent a little.
“Well, I’ll talk to him when he comes in,” she grumbled at me.
“I’ll be happy to meet with him to refresh his memory,” I added on the uptake.
Sheesh!
What a bunch of losers!
Remember the time when Librarians (in the Music Man, in particular) were all sweetness and light?
Everyone at this library appears to have crawled out from under a slimy rock.
If I were the manager here, I'll give all these lay-abouts their pink slips, alright!
Stay posted for updates!
0 comments:
Post a Comment