Letter
to the editor: Bad Service
I'm
a graduating senior atCal State Long Beach,
I was hoping to make this my last and final
semester here; unfortunately, some occurrences
are putting a halt on my expected triumph.
It seems I was never enrolled in a math
class that I thought I was in. Because I
barely became aware of this yesterday, I
was unable to do anything about this matter
until today.
I
went to the math department office, thinking
that I was going to get some help, and what
I ended up with was disappointment, rage
and a headache. Two members of our CSULB
faculty were responsible for these emotions,
and to add insult to injury -- they were
both female.
When
I took my issue up with the first woman,
she quickly gave me a look of annoyance
when I stated that my problem dealt with
adding a class. Although this was a bit
unprofessional, the empathy that I felt
for her restrained any outward signs of
disapproval. It was only seconds later when
she began to speak in a very defensive manner.
She bluntly insinuated that I should take
my problem elsewhere because my problem
was "not her fault;" thus, she
wasn't willing to do anything about it.
Upon
advice from an instructor that I speak with
someone of higher authority, I decided to
go back to the department office and ask
where and when I could find the chair. I
was happy to find that the person sitting
behind the counter was not the woman whom
I had previously dealt with. However, this
pleasant surprise soon turned into a nightmare!
When
I asked, "When is the chair available?"
this woman responded, "We don't know.
He is very busy. He comes whenever he has
the time, sometimes he's out for up to three
days," "I see," I responded
"I'll just go ahead and keep checking
then. Better yet, can you give me his number
or email so that I can get a hold of him?"
She gave me the chair's business card but
not before asking, "What did you want
to speak to him about?" I explained
my situation, hoping that perhaps she would
be able to give me better guidance, and
before I was through with my story, she
went on a rampage. She pointed her finger
at me and said, "Well good luck, but
I think he's just going to blow you off
this was your responsibility!" She
kept going on and on, I listened stoically,
I never interrupted. After what seemed an
eternity of gibberish, she said the following:
"That is just lame. You're lame"
I couldn't believe my ears! By this time
there were other faculty behind me waiting
for service -- so I put a stop to this woman's
needless insults by casually saying, "Thanks
for calling me lame" and I walked away.
As I was walking away, I heard her say,
"Well you are!"
I
cannot describe how humiliated, disrespected
and dissatisfied these women made me feel.
Is this the type of people that we have
working here at the university? Because
if they are, upcoming freshman should really
re-think their choices. If there is something
about your job that you don't like -- leave
it! Nobody is forcing you to be there. If
you don't approve of the chaotic lives that
college students live through day by day
-- then don't work to serve and help us!
Furthermore,
this is what's really lame: the fact that
these people have obviously worked at this
campus for many years, they are surrounded
by educated and commendable individuals
day in and day out. Their job feeds on university
students who are well mannered and well
spoken -- and yet the word they chose to
come out of their mouth when tahey are humbly
asked for help -- which again, I repeat,
is their job -- is none other than "lame."
Nice
job! Keep up the good work! Oh, and by the
way, in kindergarten most of us learned
that finger pointing was improper -- maybe
these people should re-take the class.
-- Martha Lopez,
Liberal Studies
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