But I'm Poor
A student wanted to check out 12 of our headphones for a day to use in a psychology experiment outside the library. We don't usually lend out equipment to be used outside the library, and we don't generally lend out more than one item to a student at a time.
I tried to explain this to the student. I couldn't even guarantee that we would have 12 headphones when she came in the morning to check them out.
I suggested she go to Dollar Tree and buy 12 headphones.
She wouldn't hear it. She didn't think she should spend $12 for something she would need for only a day. She said she was poor and insisted $12 would be better used for something more important like groceries. She was trying to imply that she would starve if I didn't check out 12 headphones to her. I asked her how many people were in her group. Four. Then it would be $3 for one day. She still didn't like the idea.
I wasn't very sympathetic anyway. It may have been because she'd mentioned she owned an iPod, had a camera phone in her hand, and drove a car. Obviously, the girl ain't gonna be so broke that she can't buy some 9ยข Ramen Noodle packets. But the boss did loan out the 12 pairs of headphones the next morning. He did say that we won't be making a regular practise of this.
I tried to explain this to the student. I couldn't even guarantee that we would have 12 headphones when she came in the morning to check them out.
I suggested she go to Dollar Tree and buy 12 headphones.
She wouldn't hear it. She didn't think she should spend $12 for something she would need for only a day. She said she was poor and insisted $12 would be better used for something more important like groceries. She was trying to imply that she would starve if I didn't check out 12 headphones to her. I asked her how many people were in her group. Four. Then it would be $3 for one day. She still didn't like the idea.
I wasn't very sympathetic anyway. It may have been because she'd mentioned she owned an iPod, had a camera phone in her hand, and drove a car. Obviously, the girl ain't gonna be so broke that she can't buy some 9ยข Ramen Noodle packets. But the boss did loan out the 12 pairs of headphones the next morning. He did say that we won't be making a regular practise of this.
Labels: Patrons
posted by Vampire Librarian at 4:35 AM
5 Comments:
Ah yes, the usual moron boss who goes and makes the exception under the label of "we won't be making regular practice of this." That is, until it becomes. . .wait for it. . .regular practice. Damn mofo.
I don't understand why she needed 12 headphones when there are only four people in her group.
I used to work at a University with wealthy undergrads. This caused a lot of bitterness among a certain segment of the Grad community.
One day, a woman in the Music History program came in. She'd lost a book. As the story played out, she dropped it in the bath tub and decided to just throw it away and then never told us.
We had pretty hefty fines . . .$.50 a day for a max of 30 days overdue, $25 fee for labor and $50 replacement fee. She owed us $90 (it was also part of a set that we could not replace).
The woman started screaming at me in the lobby that she was a poor grad student and not one of these rich "undergrad snots". Furthermore, it would be a cold day in hell before she payed. My sometimes cool boss said, "Well, if thats the way you feel, I can't force you to pay, but you won't be able to check out anything till its taken care of and I am willing to come up with a payment plan."
She stormed out anyway. OF course, she didn't know that the university would not allow her to graduate, or turn in her thesis, or register for classes, or any of a hundred things until she 'cleared it up'.
Later, she claimed that we blackmailed her into paying. THe amazing thing is that my boss was a soft touch and, if she had at least *tried* to be contrite would have greatly reduced the fine most likely.
Hasn't anyone ever heard that you catch more flies with honey . . .
One of my co-workers told me that he had already told this group no earlier in the week. He was not thrilled that my boss caved to them. But my boss didn't know that the co-worker had already spoken to the group.
Still, this girl had made it clear that they were going to keep asking until somebody let them check out the headphones, and unfortately, it worked this time.
Yes.
The Topiary Cow mourns the day that Libraries stopped being a respected repository of knowledge and an access point for electronic technology, and became:
-warehouse for homeless
-babysitting provider
-target for wackos
-equipment loaner
-soft touch
Moo!
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