Microculture
Every little subdivision of life on this planet has it's unique culture. One time I heard some business biggies talking about the "culture" at General Motors. Right. General Motors. But every little business, agency, office, etc, also has its own small in-house culture.
The Multi-Purpose Building in Park Place, the one connected to Monroe School. That place has a distinct culture of service to the consumer. In spite of the fact that most of their client base is poor, semi-literate, unemployed, needy, and sometimes troublesome, the people at the main desk as well as those who man the agency offices are all nice folks. They see someone approach, they smile. They stand up and extend a hand. They greet you with friendly words spoken in a nice voice. They do whatever you need and they go above and beyond. It's a difficult job site, but the employees' culture speaks volumes about their goodness and decency. You come out of there feeling as though you were among friends who will be glad to see you come back.
The small library housed there is famous for knocking itself out to serve the their patrons. The librarians may not speak English very well, may be physically handicapped, may be elderly and need new glasses, but they sure do act glad to see visitors. They sure do work to satisfy their reading public. "We can get you any book in the Norfolk system, ma'am. Don't do without. And you don't have to go elsewhere. Just check online here on this computer, and if you see a book you want and we don't have it, we'll get it for you and give you a call when it comes in." They always provide a second-hand grocery bag for you to use in carrying home your books. When you return books, they ask if you enjoyed them and which you liked best. It just does not stop. Those folks want people to visit that library and come away feeling the trip was worthwhile.
The Virginia Beach Library on Witchduck Rd., now that place has a lovely culture. It's all about friendliness and service to the customer, encouragement to those who seem confused, smiles and niceness. You feel welcomed into someone's big, comfortably appointed home that happens to be full of bookshelves.
In contrast, the Norfolk Van Wyck library has a culture of rudeness, and outrageous behavior on the part of employees...so much so that everyone who uses this place says the same, "Those librarians are so awful, I dread approaching the main desk." They are horrible librarians, just without excuse in their studied misconduct. The part I don't understand is that their little bad people party goes on year after year unabated. No one speaks up. Library patrons cringe their way in and out of the place. The strangest thing is this; that library is in the neighborhood known for the high level of income, education, achievement of its residents. People who go into and out of this library are the polite type...and they're being treated to absurdly churlish employee conduct. Someone needs to nmake that library clean up it's crummy microculture.
The Multi-Purpose Building in Park Place, the one connected to Monroe School. That place has a distinct culture of service to the consumer. In spite of the fact that most of their client base is poor, semi-literate, unemployed, needy, and sometimes troublesome, the people at the main desk as well as those who man the agency offices are all nice folks. They see someone approach, they smile. They stand up and extend a hand. They greet you with friendly words spoken in a nice voice. They do whatever you need and they go above and beyond. It's a difficult job site, but the employees' culture speaks volumes about their goodness and decency. You come out of there feeling as though you were among friends who will be glad to see you come back.
The small library housed there is famous for knocking itself out to serve the their patrons. The librarians may not speak English very well, may be physically handicapped, may be elderly and need new glasses, but they sure do act glad to see visitors. They sure do work to satisfy their reading public. "We can get you any book in the Norfolk system, ma'am. Don't do without. And you don't have to go elsewhere. Just check online here on this computer, and if you see a book you want and we don't have it, we'll get it for you and give you a call when it comes in." They always provide a second-hand grocery bag for you to use in carrying home your books. When you return books, they ask if you enjoyed them and which you liked best. It just does not stop. Those folks want people to visit that library and come away feeling the trip was worthwhile.
The Virginia Beach Library on Witchduck Rd., now that place has a lovely culture. It's all about friendliness and service to the customer, encouragement to those who seem confused, smiles and niceness. You feel welcomed into someone's big, comfortably appointed home that happens to be full of bookshelves.
In contrast, the Norfolk Van Wyck library has a culture of rudeness, and outrageous behavior on the part of employees...so much so that everyone who uses this place says the same, "Those librarians are so awful, I dread approaching the main desk." They are horrible librarians, just without excuse in their studied misconduct. The part I don't understand is that their little bad people party goes on year after year unabated. No one speaks up. Library patrons cringe their way in and out of the place. The strangest thing is this; that library is in the neighborhood known for the high level of income, education, achievement of its residents. People who go into and out of this library are the polite type...and they're being treated to absurdly churlish employee conduct. Someone needs to nmake that library clean up it's crummy microculture.
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