A good mother wouldn't be grouchy on her day off. I, however, am ready to tear my hair out. Sarah is driving me insane (roaming through the house bumping into things) and our water heater needs replacing, preferably today. Nate's shopping for a new one on his way home from church, which means he'll be gone about twelve hours as he comparison shops and shops and shops. Mr. Thorough.
Last night's closing at work was a repeat of Friday night's: way too many customers still in the building despite repeated announcements. I went to lock the doors and a mom/daughters combo, who'd been told to leave through the stairwell door, ignored this instruction and pushed past me and out the handicapped door with this "I'll do what I please" smirk that had me scratching my head. The waiting-until-we're-closed-to-come-up-to-the-checkout-desk thing makes me wonder: maybe we should shut down regardless, and after a time or two of being denied materials, people would learn. I don't know. The balance between following procedure and giving good customer service is a delicate one. We want people to patronize our library, but the overall demeanor of far too many of our customers is just...I don't think it's the library that elicits this surliness: it seems to be universal, but why? And why does it drive us so crazy when people wait too long to check out? Probably because it's not that one instance: it's the day-long accretion: no, you cannot check out unless you have your card or a license. No, you can't have more than five adult and five children's DVDs. No, you can't use our phone. No, we don't have bags. No, you can't use your husband's card to check out. No, you can't pick up your child's holds. No, I'm very sorry, but I can't renew this for you. You have a fine in excess of ______ and it must be below ______ to check out. No, I can't just issue you a new card: you have to pay your fine, and no, we don't waive payment because you were on vacation/have been busy/had a cold/lent your movies to your neighbor and she didn't return them. No. No. Six pm. No.
I REALLY like my job. I believe in the importance of libraries and the services they provide to the public, but am starting to agree with my husband's point of view: he's of the opinion that when people are getting something for free, they're less likely to be polite/conscientious/respectful of what they receive. Huh. Hmm. Food for thought.
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I was just whining to someone today about what a bad mother I am. Perhaps if I had read more/played enough games/taken them to more museums/paid for more lessons/insisted on straight As/done their laundry/nursed them 'til they were in high school, I wouldn't have a son I haven't heard from since Thanksgiving and another still living at home at 22. If all you were was grumpy, you're doing very well indeed!
As for the the library customers, I think your husband has a point, but if they actually paid for the service they get, I think they'd be worse. I continue to blame at lot of what is wrong with the world on "The Big E"...Entitlement. "I am entitled to do whatever I want, demand whatever I want, go wherever I want, exit by any door I choose, wait 'til the last minute to demand service, expect preferential treatment, ya da, ya da."
I think we should blame it on Mr. Rogers. "You're special, just the way you are." No wonder everybody thinks they are more deserving than the next guy.
Every once in a while, one of these Chosen People gets a taste of reality. My mom told me about a guy who was honking his horn at an intersection to move the car in front of him. That car, having no way to proceed through the clogged intersection, remained in place. The honker pulled through a gas station lot to cut the corner and got exactly nowhere. The lane of traffic he reentered didn't move, either. Gotcha!
If a mother second-guesses herself in a forest and there's no one there to roll their eyes...did it happen?
I blame entitlement as well. I also blame this new-fangled way of raising children wherein one never tells them not to do something, or worse, they've been told not to do whatever but do it anyway with no consequence: we've had a rash of kids wanting to pull off receipts themselves (and going ahead and doing so after being asked and/or told not to), wanting to use the DVD magnet to open their own movies, darting around behind the desk, and- my favorite- pushing the buttons on the receipt printers repeatedly while Mom or Dad stands by, either ineffectually saying, "Oh, Matthius...." or ignoring what the kid's up to, like, it doesn't even register that they need to speak to the child. Very peculiar.
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