[Publib] Headphones - late entry

[K.G. Schneider]

> For those who find headphones potentially gross, icky, disgusting,
> etc....have you checked the earpiece part of your telephone recently, at
> home or at work?  Sometimes I am *amazed* at how much detritus I leave
> behind

John, there is a world of difference between your ear detritus and my ear
detritus. I often forget my own headphones at the Y and then find myself
squeezing the earpads on the headphones in the box at the front desk to find
a pair that aren't sopping wet. (And I usually take 2, since there's a 50/50
chance they won't work.) I always feel creepy. 

> to people, "Yes, you may use our computers but no, we aren't providing
> something that, for better or for worse, is necessary for proper
> access/use to whatever it is you're looking at/for," is not very good
> custopatronomer service.

You might be surprised by the response to "We'd like you to be able to hear
sound on our computers, and for $2 we can give you a pair of headphones that
no one else has used and that we'll guarantee are functional in both ears
and that you can KEEP." You could still offer headphones for temporary
use... but this may be a case where offering a small purchase is a terrific
custopatronomer service, and a much better practice, in terms of public
health. 

There's also the image question. Several health sites suggest that shared
headphones rarely contribute to lice epidemics. That said... do you really
feel good about saying that the chances are low your kid got lice from our
headphones? 

You might even have some under-the-table "scholarships" and GIVE AWAY
headsets now and then. I remember working in a library (though I
conveniently forget which library, exactly) where we were supposed to charge
for floppy disks, but I was not above awarding an on-the-spot, albeit sotto
voce, floppy disk scholarship. 

I checked, and our YMCA buys the Coby CV-H32, which I've seen for under $2.
I remember buying headsets in bulk, when I did that sort of thing, so I bet
they could be gotten for half of that. 

Karen G. Schneider
kgs at bluehighways.com