Can you tell me what this fine is about? I don't owe this. This bill is wrong. I returned that recall on time. Etc., etc., etc.

How do you reply to a patron's questions (or demands!) regarding bills and fines?

a) Tell them you don't know.
b) Look up their patron record and report your findings to them.
c) Get your supervisor.
d) Pretend like you don't see the patron.

Answer: C, get your supervisor. Although you like being helpful, do not try to look up the patron's bill & fine record yourself. The bills and fines screens on Workflows are not easily interpreted. Believe it or not, your supervisors had to go through TRAINING to understand them. PLEASE do not give out bill and fine information to patrons, because what you plainly see on the screen is probably not accurate. The screen may say the patron has no fines when he does. Or it may say the patron has paid fines when she hasn't. And you know how some people are...they can get pretty snarly when they're given incorrect information. Especially when it concerns their money. Can't really blame them for that, can you?