It’s A Good Thing They’re Leaving The Country Soon

The library where I work also functions as a passport acceptance agency; we accept applicants’ paperwork, check it for errors, prepare it, take passport photos, and send the lot to the actual processing agency. It costs a small execution fee, but plenty of people in our city and the surrounding area make use of it.

I accept an applicant’s paperwork one day, and it’s a form I’ve never seen before. I’m the only passport agent working that day, so I end up looking up how best to process the form on the Department Of State’s website and doing the best I can. It isn’t until the next day that my supervisor and I discover that I goofed up; certain forms, including this one, can’t be processed and mailed off by us but have to be mailed in by the applicant.

I’m not in trouble (my supervisor understands that mistakes happen) but she has me call the applicant back. The applicant, who was pleasant and full of questions during her passport appointment, is less than thrilled on the phone.

Me: “My supervisors looked over your form this morning, and we found that this particular form has to be mailed in by you. Unfortunately, we cannot process it for you. If you can come in, we will gladly return your paperwork to you, and we will also refund your execution fee.”

Applicant: *Testily* “Can’t you just mail it in? Since you already have it?”

Me: “Unfortunately, we cannot mail this form in for you. If we did so, it would only delay your passport further.”

Applicant: *Still testy* “Okay.” *Hangs up*

The applicant shows up about half an hour later. She is dead silent and glaring at me as I retrieve her documents and the check she wrote to cover the execution fee. I try to remain polite as I hand everything over.

Me: “Would you like me to look up the address where you need to send your application?”

Applicant: *Snaps* “No!”

Me: “All right, then. You have a good day.”

Applicant: *Mutters*

I don’t hear what she says, as she’s turning away from me when she says it… but the next person to come up to the front desk bursts out laughing.

Me: “Do I want to know what she said?”

Patron: “She said, ‘Go sit on it!’”

Me: “…ah.”

Patron: “I don’t know what you said to upset her, but the joke’s on her because that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard all day.”

I understand that it can be frustrating to have to do something over that you thought you’d taken care of, but I did try to rectify the situation. I guess some people just want to be upset.