Goes On For Hours And Hours

(I work at a community college library. I am shelving books when an elderly man with a ferocious mustache comes up to me. He has a very grumpy look on his face.)

Patron: *barking at me* “What are your hours?”

Me: “Monday through Thursday we are open 7:30 to 8:30; we do close early on Friday…”

Patron: *before I can finish* “OH, so you are closed on Friday?”

Me: “No, sir, that is a miscommunication. We are open until 3:30 on Friday.”

Patron: *very indigent* “So you go home early, then?”

Me: “No, sir, we use that time to do the jobs we can’t do when the patrons are here, like run maintenance on our computers.”

Patron: “Are you open on the weekend?”

Me: “No, sir, we are not.”

Patron: *narrowing his eyes at me, scrunching up his mouth, and saying through clenched teeth* “How do you get away with that?”