Grr... And Argh!
So I went to the bookstore to pick up my books earlier today, around 4:00 P.M. Any OUE student who is reading this and who is more in the know than I am will immediately know why the title of this post is "Grr... And Argh!" just after reading that first sentence. You see, on Fridays, the OUE bookstore closes at 2:00 P.M. That's right: 2:00 P.M. I went to the bookstore to pick up my books a full two hours after it had closed. And no, the bookstore is not opened tomorrow or Sunday. It opens again at 10:00 A.M. on Monday, about ten minutes before my first class.
This would normally not piss me off as much as it has, except for a few things...
1) When I called yesterday to see if my books were in, one of them was (my history book) but the other one wasn't (my art book). The manager recommended that I should wait and see if the other one came in today, and then come today to pick them both up. That's right: the manager recommended that I come today to pick both of them up. Did she tell me that the store was going to close at 2:00 P.M. (it's open until 6:00 P.M. Monday-Thursday)? Of course not. Did she inform me that the store isn't open on Saturday and Sunday? No. Apparently, I'm supposed to magically know these things. Granted, I should probably have thought to ask about them, but since she was recommending that I come get my books today, you'd think she might slip in there that they close earlier than on Monday-Thursday. Now I have neither of my books.
2) When I called yesterday to see if my books were in, one of them was, but no one had called me (as they were supposed to) to tell me that it was in. I didn't complain then because, I figured, no harm done. Well, nobody called me today either to tell me that they were in. This means one of two things. Either the books were not both in, in which case the art book did not come in when the manager said it was going to; or the books were both in, and they neglected to call me and tell me. Either of these options is unacceptable. When I prepaid for the books, I was told: a) that I would be called when they came in; and b) that they would both be in either Thursday or Friday, because the manager had ordered them by two day air express. Had I not had these two guarantees, I might well have not prepaid for the books.
3) Now, for the most vexing thing of all: I was supposed to read three chapters in history and two chapters in art before Monday. Now, mind you, I know that I'm not going to have a quiz in history, and I doubt that I'll have any kind of quiz or test in art -- but that's not the point. I should have my books by now. The store should have had enough to begin with. If this stupidity hadn't happened, and if I had gone to get the history book yesterday, I would at least have one of my books. But now I have neither of them. This likely means that I will end up having to read six chapters in history and four chapters in art before Wednesday now, which means that I will have to read about ten chapters on Monday night and Tuesday. I'm a good student, but even I have my limits. I've started out the quarter way behind and it's going to be hard, already, to catch up. And all of this is contingent upon my art book being there on Monday. I don't know if it will be or not. It was supposed to be there today, but who knows if it was?
What makes me so angry about this is that the bookstore is not somehow providing a charitable service for students. Believe me, they're not. First of all, I should point out that nobody there is providing a service period. Every student there is either paying for his or her education, or he or she has worked so hard that somebody else is paying for it for them (i.e., scholarships). I'm getting some grants, but I've also got some hella loans that I'll probably be paying back for decades after I graduate. We are paying, and they are getting paid. With that straight, the bookstore is even less of a service than the rest of the college. Believe me, they must make a pretty penny off their business. The four books I bought cost me almost $300. When I sell them back, I'll be lucky if I get half of that. Then they will sell them to the next poor sap for the same, or only slightly reduced, price. I'm paying good money for those books, and for this education, and I think the least they could do is provide a decent service. They haven't, and I'm pissed.
This would normally not piss me off as much as it has, except for a few things...
1) When I called yesterday to see if my books were in, one of them was (my history book) but the other one wasn't (my art book). The manager recommended that I should wait and see if the other one came in today, and then come today to pick them both up. That's right: the manager recommended that I come today to pick both of them up. Did she tell me that the store was going to close at 2:00 P.M. (it's open until 6:00 P.M. Monday-Thursday)? Of course not. Did she inform me that the store isn't open on Saturday and Sunday? No. Apparently, I'm supposed to magically know these things. Granted, I should probably have thought to ask about them, but since she was recommending that I come get my books today, you'd think she might slip in there that they close earlier than on Monday-Thursday. Now I have neither of my books.
2) When I called yesterday to see if my books were in, one of them was, but no one had called me (as they were supposed to) to tell me that it was in. I didn't complain then because, I figured, no harm done. Well, nobody called me today either to tell me that they were in. This means one of two things. Either the books were not both in, in which case the art book did not come in when the manager said it was going to; or the books were both in, and they neglected to call me and tell me. Either of these options is unacceptable. When I prepaid for the books, I was told: a) that I would be called when they came in; and b) that they would both be in either Thursday or Friday, because the manager had ordered them by two day air express. Had I not had these two guarantees, I might well have not prepaid for the books.
3) Now, for the most vexing thing of all: I was supposed to read three chapters in history and two chapters in art before Monday. Now, mind you, I know that I'm not going to have a quiz in history, and I doubt that I'll have any kind of quiz or test in art -- but that's not the point. I should have my books by now. The store should have had enough to begin with. If this stupidity hadn't happened, and if I had gone to get the history book yesterday, I would at least have one of my books. But now I have neither of them. This likely means that I will end up having to read six chapters in history and four chapters in art before Wednesday now, which means that I will have to read about ten chapters on Monday night and Tuesday. I'm a good student, but even I have my limits. I've started out the quarter way behind and it's going to be hard, already, to catch up. And all of this is contingent upon my art book being there on Monday. I don't know if it will be or not. It was supposed to be there today, but who knows if it was?
What makes me so angry about this is that the bookstore is not somehow providing a charitable service for students. Believe me, they're not. First of all, I should point out that nobody there is providing a service period. Every student there is either paying for his or her education, or he or she has worked so hard that somebody else is paying for it for them (i.e., scholarships). I'm getting some grants, but I've also got some hella loans that I'll probably be paying back for decades after I graduate. We are paying, and they are getting paid. With that straight, the bookstore is even less of a service than the rest of the college. Believe me, they must make a pretty penny off their business. The four books I bought cost me almost $300. When I sell them back, I'll be lucky if I get half of that. Then they will sell them to the next poor sap for the same, or only slightly reduced, price. I'm paying good money for those books, and for this education, and I think the least they could do is provide a decent service. They haven't, and I'm pissed.