CU Curbside Monday

                                         Or - They really, really want some books!

Wish we could say it was all hands on deck for the first day of curbside pickup. Instead it was limited, sanitized hands on deck with masks and temperature checks. We thought we were ready. 

The tables were set, signs were up, and pick up orders were waiting in their brown paper bags for the first appointments at 12:00 p.m. The first cars drove up and we waited for the phones to ring. We waited some more. There were so many calls to schedule pick-up appointments that patrons in the parking lot could not get through to let us know they had arrived. If we saw vehicles sitting we communicated from a safe distance to get their name so items could be placed on the tables under the portico for pickup.The phones were ringing so much we called Joan in from home and Sarah over from HQ to help answer them. Mary and Melissa took over extra CHAT sessions from home so the HQ staff could stay and help us out in the branch. At one point in the early afternoon,  five people were answering the phones and we had 34 voicemails.  Most patrons were patient with the phones and only one or two had to be told not to place return items on the pick up tables or not to leave bags of donations. We ended up adding in about 10 patrons who didn't have appointments but just could not leave without their books. Most of these politely waited in the parking lot until we located their items, and checked them out so they could go out to the pick up tables. Only a  few patrons had to be reminded to stay at a safe distance if staff were outside or to park their cars instead of sitting in the drive-thru. We feel it was a win that we only had 3 appointments missed and two of those are already rescheduled for later in the week. We are fully booked for most of Tuesday already. 

Staff  checked in quarantined items, searched for books on the pull list, processed the courier and shelved many many many holds. Denise and Dave spent some time chasing the new parking signs. It was so windy they were blown over and the water leaked out. With some sand and more water they seem to be staying in place. After the last order was picked up, we sanitized all the workstations, made some plans to smooth out Tuesday deliveries and left the building ready for a new day. Here are some photos from the day!