Patience

Just spent half an hour dealing with a customer (it turned out I was the senior member of staff at the time). "I've told him and told him, but he won't take no for an answer," explains Vera, sotto voce. This guy lost his mobile 'phone some time last week and wanted to go through the security camera tapes to see if he dropped it in the library either on Monday when he was in for a couple of hours or else Wednesday when he was in all morning. I explain at length that he's not seeing the tape, adding that under Data Protection regulations we would be criminally liable if we were to let him see the tapes as that would be infringing the statutory rights of the other people in the library. And besides which, as a matter of principle he's not. Seth the caretaker joins me and eventually we get him to agree that Seth will check the tapes and let him know if he spots anything.

"Well, I suppose. But I don't know why you won't let me look at the tapes."

I don't tell him it's because it's a dummy camera put there by Reggie Clockwatcher.