Can I vent?

Usually, I try to stay away from the public venting about pain-in-the-dupa patrons. But I really want to bitch about a lady who came in here today, so please indulge me. (Or skip this post -- your choice.)

This woman came in, handed me a piece of paper, said "please locate this book within this library building." Okay. So far, so good. But, we didn't have it. In the meantime, she pulls out her phone, dials it, and starts chatting. As soon as she started to dial, I said, "Excuse me, Ma'am? You cannot use your cell phone in here. You'll need to take it into the lobby." She gave me an evil "don't you tell me what to do" look, turned her back on me, and proceeded to have a LOUD conversation with someone about tax forms.

Another patron shook her head at me sympathetically and said, "I guess she's deaf as well as stupid." (hee)

Okay, so toward the end of her conversation, she was literally yelling at the person on the other end 'cause apparently they couldn't hear her. (Hmm... Maybe because she was in a building?) She came back and I said, "Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you really can't use that phone in here, and you especially can't be yelling. It's a library." She snorted at me and said, "Well, it wouldn't do me any good to go outside to talk. Now, where's my book?"

At this point I kind of hate her. I tell her that we don't have the book but we would be more than happy to borrow it from another library. Oh, no! APPARENTLY, we owned it on Thursday night. I showed her how the computer system works and showed her that we do not own the book. But we do, she insists. I must not know how to work the system correctly because the "girl" at Library X, her home library, told her the book was here on Thursday night. She even called us and we pulled it for this rude patron.

Now I really hate her. It's bad enough when the patrons who pay for this library with their property taxes are rude, but I really hate when people from other towns feel the need to drive here to be rude. We don't have a shortage, folks!

I manage to smile and stay polite and show her which libraries have the book. She asks me to call Library C. I do. They look. Can't find the book. The librarian wants to call us back after she has had a chance to check tech services. I ask the librarian to hold and ask the patron if she will be here a few minutes so they can call me back. She says, "Let me talk to her!" so I unleash Evil Patron on the poor unsuspecting Library C person.

After she has written down the librarian's name and given her her own cell phone number, she asks who has the audio book. I show her the three libraries who own it and point out that they're all checked out. She says, "No. That's no good. Show me who else has it." I proceed to tell her many other libraries. She wants all their phone numbers. Then she gets mad at me again because Library M has the book on shelf and I said it was checked out at Library M.

No. I told her the audio book was checked out at Library M.

Fine. She keeps demanding, and I pity the poor librarians who will get calls from her soon. Before she (finally!) leaves, she says, "If there wasn't so much snow Thursday night, I could have come out here right away and could have gotten the book."

I explain that even had she come Thursday, we still don't own the book. (I guess she's stupid as well as deaf.) She insists that the Library X "girl" called here and we pulled the book for her and they don't mess up there.

So.

I hate one of your patrons, Library X.