I meet some interesting people at my job. There is such a wide variety of people in this world! The most challenging ones that show up at the Record's window can make for great entertainment a long time after they have left. If you show up at our window and say or do something silly we laugh about it for a long time. A really long time. This happens at other places/business' where a customer shows up at a window requesting something.
I promise you it does.
I would like to share a memorable one from my job. Please understand that we never expect people to know all about the process. Unless, of course, they are a repeat customer. I don't mind when someone calls up and asks if I will explain things for them. They aren't always pleased with the answers but they are usually pleased that someone took the time to explain it. Some people are way more lost than others. I will share this example to show you what I mean.
There is a father that shows up at our window that has been involved in a child custody dispute with his ex-wife for years. Every time he thinks she has done something wrong he would call the cops out to his house, file a police report, then show up to get a copy at the Records window. This has gone on for years. He would regularly lose his copy of any of the dozens of reports he filed and would show up wanting the newest one PLUS all the others he had filed. Of course the longer this went on the longer each visit would take to make all those copies.
Finally he thinks he has a report that may get his ex-wife charged with criminal charges. He was all but dancing in the Record's window when he came to pick up the report. There was such an excited gleam in his eye. You could just tell that he thought that he would finally win the war. I can tell you when he found out that the District Attorney's Office declined to file charges he was devastated. He had to have half a dozen different employees explain it to him over and over before he gave up hope of the ex getting criminal charges filed against her from that report.
He did not give up hope for the future. He did keep calling, filing and picking up reports. The ex did keep him hoping and frustrated. She had......ummmm lots of "problems". Problems that he hoped to take advantage of to get custody. The frustration was when time after time he just couldn't catch her doing anything bad enough.
The day did come when the ex's problems finally got out of hand. The father was again very excited. He expressed great joy at the ex's problems finally getting the best of her. He had a hard time being patient while the charges were forwarded to the DA's Office. He called regularly and he showed up at the window regularly to check the status of this report (his newest most dearest hope). One afternoon he felt that it had taken long enough and he demanded that someone do something. So while we were trying to explain the whole process, again, to him he made a very silly comment. He said, and I quote, "That is not how they do it on TV."
Do you have any idea how hard it is to keep a straight face, when you hear a comment like that, AND your co-worker is failing miserably on his restraint AND is cracking up laughing right next to you? I didn't laugh out loud but I couldn't keep the smile from sneaking back on my mouth every time I wiped it off. I tried, I really tried but the father could see exactly what I thought all over my face. He did finally leave and I was able to laugh with out feeling guilty. For weeks EVERYTHING was explained as "That is not how they do it on TV!
He did finally win the war and get custody. The ex finally self destructed (much to his pleasure) and we seldom see or hear his name any more. My heart goes out to the children. Their mother fell apart in front of them and they watched as their father openly celebrated it. Can you imagine the example this set for these children?
Now you may feel that I was on the mother's side, but you are wrong. I was on the children's. The ONLY positive thing I can say about the mother is that she never celebrated her ex's pain publicly in the Record's window. To try and be fair it could be that she was too busy falling apart to find the time to do that. The children are safer with their father.
How many of you share my opinion that sometimes the best option is just not very good?
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