Helping patrons with the copiers.
Ooooh. I cringe whenever I get asked to assist people with the copiers. I don't have a talent for fixing machines, regardless of whether that "thing" is a copier, a fax machine, or a computer. But at least the computer is essential to my favorite part of the job - helping people find information. And our Branch doesn't have a public fax machine, which means that I'm spared - for the most part - from working with that. That leaves the almightly copier.
It's not only that I lack a talent for working with machines, because, in all honesty, how many of us do? Most librarians (and library assistants) do not enter the field dreaming about the number of photocopying jobs that they'll assist with. But for some reason I lack patience for this particular part of customer service. Yes, I smile, I grin, I grab the bypass key (just in case), I act as if I'm thrilled to assist my patrons, but the truth is - I can't stand this job! And this morning I had two patrons who needed assistance (because one person, catching me in the act of helping someone else, decided to take advantage of my proximity). Both of these people, I thought to myself, made absolutely ridiculous mistakes.
Oh, it feels good to vent! I wonder what parts of the job other librarians (secretly, of course), can't stand?
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2 comments:
Dealing with copiers is indeed a chore, the chore that never goes away.
I also do battle with our copiers nearly every day. It's especially annoying that we have 2 different machines, and even if a customers knows how to operate one, if they have to use the other, the control panel is completely different.
ji/STF
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