Library Life: Phone Etiquette

Conversation #1

______ Library, how may I help you?

My name is _____ _______ and I lost my book, or I think I lost it, but I don't really know, and it might be in my cottage in North Bay which is several hours away, and my daughter might be able to get it in a week or two, but I don't know. What do I do?

Okay, let me take a look at your account. Can I get your name again?

*Patron now thinks I am an idiot because they already told me their name, and proceeds to spell their name which is something like "Mary Smith"*

Situations like this happen to me several times a week, and there are a few simple ways to change this - but it seems like learning phone etiquette is a thing of the past...or never occurred at all. So, I would like to share a few tips on how to conduct yourself over the phone with a business or organization. Now, organizations have different ways of doing things based on how their computer system works, but this is a generally good guide.
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What to do before making a call:
1) Know what has happened (even if you don't know why)
2) Know what you want to achieve
3) Have your client card/number present

Tips when speaking:

1) Say hello.
You don't need to ask how the person you are calling is, it's okay. You are welcome to (politeness is definitely not a bad thing), but please also keep this relatively brief - often staff are minding phones as well as other things, and drawing out a phone call for a long time over pleasantries can be a bit frustrating. However, please never EVER just launch into what your problem is without even saying hello - it is just plain rude, and people are less likely to do you a favour.

2) First state in a single clear and concise statement what the problem is.
This is not the moment to give the entire backstory of what has occurred. Often people will have launched into their full problem in complete detail...only to be told that they need to be transferred to another location or person. Some businesses have people to answer the phones simply to route the calls to the correct place and answer simple questions (ex. hours of operation, nearest location, etc.), while others have fully trained staff answering the phones and taking care of other things (or somewhere in the middle). Since you likely won't know the capabilities of the person on the other end, the best thing that you can do is to simply inform the person what you need/the problem, so that they can determine what tools will be needed to help you - whether that is opening the correct computer module, or transferring the call.

YA in Review: The Scorch Trials (James Dashner)

This post will essentially be Spoiler Free, however as it is part of a series, some comments may spoil portions of the plot of previous books by default. This book is the second book out of The Maze Runner series. My post about the first book can be seen here.

biblio.com

What it's about:

After the Gladers escape from the Maze, they find themselves in the company of WICKED scientists. The Gladers learn that they are not only in another phase of an experiment, but that they have caught a horrible disease called The Flare, which causes those infected to lose their minds. Yet, WICKED offers them a cure - they just have to make it through the Scorch - the deadly desert that stretches for miles, by the end of two weeks. Except there's one big catch: the Gladers aren't the only ones vying for the cure.

Mini-Reviews: Clueless, Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, Age of Adaline, Then Came You

It's time for another round of mini-reviews! A few fun ones this time, I mostly kept things light except for the last review this time.

express.co.uk

Clueless
I actually watched Clueless! Although this was a huge cultural phenomenon for people of my age, I was never in the least bit interested in checking it out. When I heard it was actually based on Jane Austen's Emma, I thought about it briefly, but...Emma is hands-down my least favourite Austen work, so I still was hardly tempted. I decided to finally bite the bullet, and ended up enjoying it. It definitely wasn't my favourite movie, and there are some annoying aspects about it, but it also could be really cute (young Paul Rudd is a heartbreaker!). I likely wouldn't seek it out again, but I'm glad I checked it out. Basically, if you like Emma, then I would check this out, but if you despise it, then you're much safer staying away.

nospoilerreviews.com

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I remember hearing the title of this book a while back and thought it was just about the dumbest title I had ever heard. It sounded like a book that only the seniors were going to read, and that it would be about as dull as dust. And now I make my copious apologies. When I saw the trailer for the movie, I realized that I had gotten it 100% incorrect. I knew I wanted to watch it right away, and ended up really loving it! It's sweet and lovely, and both Lily James and Michiel Huisman are great to watch. If you're looking for a feel-good romance film that has some hardships along the way, then this is perfect.

August 2019 Update

August was largely a month of rewatching comfort movies, so although I have watched a few things, I definitely didn't get through as much as I did last month!

Started Watching:

cbc.ca

The Office (US) - season 4
I've watched two or three episodes of this season, and I'm not sure if I'm going to keep going. There is nothing wrong with it, but the episodes are longer, and a lot of the dynamics have shifted...so I'm not very motivated to keep going actively. If it's on, I'll enjoy watching it, but I think I'm done binging this show!

netflix.com

Dark - season 1
To put it bluntly, this show is...well, dark. It's in German, and I personally chose to watch it with in the original German with English subtitles. Only 10 episodes long, this is good if you are looking for a dark science fiction show that is full of mystery and intensity, but also doesn't stretch on forever. Specific, eh? I've watched four or five episodes, and although am enjoying it, I find it a bit heavy to blast through in a few days. Definitely looking forwards to seeing where it goes though. Oh, don't watch this alone at night - trust me.

Uncomfortable Recommendations

Do you ever recommend something to someone - a book, show, or movie without really thinking about the content?

What I mean by this, is that you enjoyed the content, but you were either desensitized to something in it or have forgotten it. For example, you might encourage a fan of the fantasy genre to watch Game of Thrones...but I hope that it isn't a twelve year old whom you are suggesting it to.

Sometimes you might not think about the level of graphic sex, violence, or language used in a piece before recommending it. I know that for myself, I might remember one or two of those aspects (ex. sex and violence in Game of Thrones), but the language is something I might have forgotten. So if I'm telling a friend to watch so-and-so, I might omit to ask them if they are okay with graphic language.

Well, that was unexpected...

Era of Ignition (Amber Tamblyn)

This post will essentially be Spoiler Free, however comments by other users may possibly contain information that spoils portions of the plot, so read at them your own risk.

penguinrandomhouse.com

What it's about:

Era of Ignition: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution is, in a sense, Amber Tamblyn's life work. Detailing her experiences acting from an early age through her teen years and young adulthood, to her years as a mother and producer, Tamblyn discusses being a strong female in a male-driven world. Told through essays, letters, and interviews, Tamblyn re-examines what it means to be a feminist, and why it's so important now to stand up for women everywhere.

Library Life: And I Quote...Unusual Favours

I'm going to start a new series! Well, a segment within a series. Within my new "Library Life" series, I want to do an occasional segment, which I'm thinking I want to call "And I Quote..." but that might change, haha. Basically, I wanted to share some of the hilarious situations I deal with while working in a library. Some of these are very much exclusive for libraries, but a lot of them are things that people in all public service situations can relate to. So, here is my first installment of this series - let's see how it goes!

*Disclaimer: to protect the privacy of the people involved, small details and/or wording may be changed from what actually occurred, however the main content is the same.