1666 Volunteer day

Saturday, February 2, 2008

I volunteered at a free tax clinic today. I was assigned to the intake desk, right inside the front doors of the votec school where the clinic was held. I took names & addresses, and handed out forms and materials. It would have been a pretty good assignment, except for a few problems.

There were two sets of double doors between me and the outside, but one of the inner doors wouldn't close when anyone opened it. And if someone pushed it partially closed, it crept wide open again. This meant if I didn't get up and close it everytime anyone went through the door, I was blasted by a constant cold draft. The door was about 15 feet from my desk.

I did manage to get hold of a building custodian. I explained the problem. She looked at the door hanging open, pulled it closed, and said "There, all fixed." I gave up. I considered blocking the door with a garbage can or something, so people would use the good door, but I was afraid I'd be breaking some fire regulation.

I noticed something really odd. The door with the attitude was on the right as you look at it from inside, on the left from outside. You'd push it to exit and pull it to enter. Everyone who exited pushed that door open. Ok, that makes sense. We automatically keep to the right in the US. However, about nine of ten people who entered, pulled on that door! They all reached out with their left hand to open the door, and pulled the door on their left open! They did not reach with their right hand to pull the door on their right open. About the only time anyone entered through the "good" door was when someone else was on their way out the "bad" door. How odd is this?

There were adult classes going on in the building, so there were literally hundreds of people going in and out.

The actual tax assistance was going on in a large room elsewhere. I think they forgot me. I was there for almost six hours, and nobody came to see if I needed a potty break, or a drink of water, or lunch. I couldn't leave the post because of the papers there, and because we couldn't have un-checked-in people wandering around the building looking for the tax room.

Luckily, I didn't need a potty break because I was so thirsty.

I'll be doing this again in two weeks at a different location, and I'll make sure I don't have the same problem. I'll make sure someone is assigned to relieve me occasionally.

I was surprised at the number of people who came in for tax help with all the kids in tow, mostly one-a-year ages. Like, three toddlers, or five preschoolers. I can't imagine what it was like in the tax room.

Most people left happy, and smiled and waved at me on their way out. That was nice. There were only three people who left in a huff - two because there weren't enough Spanish speakers to help them and they'd have had to wait, and one woman because "They're too impersonal in there!" Whatever that meant.
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