L.E.V. Parking Spots are the Worst...

My branch is newly remodeled, it's all fancy with its LEED - certification and green roof.  Unfortunately, the parking lot needed a certain amount of L.E.V. (that stands for Low Emission Vehicle you anti-green, polluters) spots and they happened to place them all together in the front row.  I'm sure this move makes for great P.R. for the district supervisor, but it has been nothing but hell for library staff.

We get so many curmudgeons coming in to complain about them, it's become an almost daily event.  Last Wednesday was the worst for me.  3 different patrons during the whole day took the time to bitch to me at the info desk.  The first two were funny, the last was just a pain in the ass.

The first patron to approach me asked in a Seinfeldian way, "What's the deal with the LEV parking?"  I gave her the spiel about the LEED certification and that the library had no input or control in the matter.  I gave her the district supervisor's number, since it's pointless to bitch to me thinking I can just put on a hard-hat and redo the parking lot myself.  Then she went on a tirade about "all these damn Leftists, controlling how the majority lives."  "You know what, if something isn't healthy for you then don't eat it, but don't take that option away from me."  Amen to that sister, eeerrr ma'am, you can take my parking spot but you'll have to pry this Krispy Kreme from my cold, frost-covered fingers.

The second patron came up to the desk and asked me what constitutes an "LEV."  He doesn't drive a hybrid but gets 28 mpg.  I gave him the same spiel, blah blah not the library's decision blah blah supervisor blah blah.  When I asked if he wanted to district supervisor's number, he said that he would look it up.  Before he turned around, he asked the name for the supervisor.  After I told him he replies, "Oh, THAT guy??  He's an idiot!"  I couldn't help but laugh at that.

Lastly, came the worst.  She came up to the info desk and pointed at the lady who had just walked up to the circ desk and told me, "That lady right there just parked her Lexus SUV in one of the LEV spots."  My eyes just glazed over and I stared blankly in her general direction.

Oh, you think I can/will do something about that?

She pretty much tattle-tailed on that woman to me, who knows maybe it was RX - Hybrid, which isn't just a plain old regular LEV, it's a SUPER-LEV, ooooh-aaaaah!  I knew from the tone in this patron's voice that there was not going to be an amicable ending to this interaction.  So I figured, eff it, I'm going in, no attempt to try to appease her.  I told her that those spots are not enforced.  I got the reaction I was expecting, "What?! Why not?"  Because no one cares, park there, it's not that serious.  She kept repeating over and over, "But that lady parked her SUV in one of those spots."

I asked if she wanted the number for the district supervisor, she said she was just trying to be in and out, so I told her she could go get her books and I'll find her.  It really only took 10 seconds, and she also failed to mention that her "in and out" also meant spending another couple minutes bitching to me about the lack of materials.  I told her that we, at the branch level, do not make any of the decisions.  There's a whole department called Acquisitions, that, shocker---acquires ish.  She said, "Well, have you made any suggestions or advice?"  I said no because it's not in my job title, then she says, why don't you take the initiative, I quickly got bored of her inane arguing and asked if she wanted the number for the library director.  She could only reply, "I'm so sick of this bureaucratic nonsense, 'it's not our fault, blame this or that.'"  Well, lady, I don't know what to tell you, blame the system.