(no subject)

[darchildre]

I just waited a good five minutes to take over the front desk from my coworker because she was trapped by a man stubbornly and at great length telling her the history of the War of the Currents, despite all her polite attempts to extricate herself.

And that is what working at the library is like.

Comments

[tricksters_queen]

Oh yeah. In retail, too.

I finish up helping a customer at the desk, and they just KEEP TALKING, like I don't have other customers to help, or other work to do - they won't even stop when the phone rings, and it's clearly MY JOB to answer it.

It frustrates me to no end while I try to keep my smile polite and my demeanor professional.

[silveradept]

It is, indeed. At a certain point, it seems like some outside force has to step in and redirect someone, fairly forcefully, before they get the hint.

In my case, it was someone who wanted to tell me a dumb blonde joke as thanks for my help.

[darchildre]

The library has this weird added fillip where we have a lot of regulars who see us several times a week and thus, understandably, assume that we are their friends rather than customer service folks who are happy to help but are also doing a job. And it is lovely to be thought of as someone's friend but it does occasionally lead to 20-minute conversations about their various medical maladies which I could honestly do without.

[darchildre]

Oh god, that's dreadful.

We have a Terrible Joke Guy but his are more on the dad joke level than the actually offensive. (He is actually offensive in other ways.)

[silveradept]

I am not surprised that this person is actually offensive on some other level, because why not...

[tricksters_queen]

Regulars are definitely the worst offenders for that kind of behavior, and I imagine it's far worse at the library than at my job! The library is a quiet place to hang out, find cool stuff, learn new things; I feel that the entire environment is kind of dependent on being comfortable and inviting.

Just the fact that we get regulars at my place is kind of an interesting thing in the first place. I mean, I work in a jewelry store...but there are people who are in like clockwork every couple of months to have their rings cleaned and checked. You definitely get to know them pretty well - often with a bit TMI in some instances.

Anyway, I just wanted to commiserate with you. ::hugs::

[darchildre]

That's really interesting - foolishly, I would never have thought that jewelry stores would have that many regular customers. Fascinating. 8)

::hugs back::