Unrealistic expectations

[Ironclad Alibi]

"Do you have the installation software?"

"A who to the what now?"

"*EPIC SIGH*"

I am reminded of a story (which I can't quickly find) I read on Computer Stupidities about a guy that threw away all of his floppy disks after he installed his programs. He had to get a new hard disk and was upset his programs were no longer on there. When told he had to reinstall them he admitted he had tossed the original floppies when he first installed the programs because he didn't hink he would need them any more.

[An Haddock]

I am reminded of a story (which I can't quickly find) I read on Computer Stupidities about a guy that threw away all of his floppy disks after he installed his programs. He had to get a new hard disk and was upset his programs were no longer on there. When told he had to reinstall them he admitted he had tossed the original floppies when he first installed the programs because he didn't hink he would need them any more.

I can understand misplacing them - they get stuck in a drawer or a box, you move, you lose track. But throwing out disks for software you're presently using? "Here's your sign!"

[raudf]

My son and I went through his 6th grade's EAST lab's computer CDs, because it was a rat's nest and their IT idiot deleted half the programs the class needed. Smart person, she may have temporarily miss-placed the disks, but she wrote the key codes on the disks in case the papers got lost! (I also do this with CDs/DVD games I buy.. I write the blasted codes on the disk, so if I lose that stupid piece of paper...)

My favorite for MW repair when we had computer repair was, "I can get all my bootlegs installed by ya'll right?" Umm.. hell no.

Actually, people are like this about anything that needs repair. At the same repair center, I spent a lot of times dealing with customers calling, "I just dropped my product off today and wanted to know if it's ready naow." Umm.. no. The estimated time of repair didn't magically change to an earlier time since you left the shop. In fact, it's now going to take longer. And that's if there's no parts to order. If there are parts, you're looking at another WEEK before it's ready. Seriously, you don't need your VCR that badly. It's not going to kill you. Well, it might kill your boner (given how often it was porn stuck in a VCR), but it won't kill YOU.

[icmedia]

Soooooooooooooooooo many people claim that "Other Company Wireless" never dropped calls, and they're going back there because one of their texts took an hour to load!!!!!!!!!!!

I was a customer of "Other Company Wireless" for 7 years and, unless you lived in a shack on top of one of their towers, I know you're full of it.

[notalwaysright]

Some customers have amazingly unrealistic expectations. If they can buy a shirt for $15 ready-made, they expect to buy the fabric to make a shirt for $2, and bluster and rant when this is not possible.

And random discount demands? Worse, they want stuff for free. Here's the way it goes. Person wants a yard. There's another foot, which is offered at a 50% discount. They want it for free. When told that we can't give product away, I am then told how "other fabric stores always throw it in" or "it's ridiculous, you want to CHARGE me for that???" Yeah, that's kinda the way stores work. It's not like I'm forcing them to buy it, I'm asking. Bonus points for the wanna be comedian / passive aggressive hag, "Do I want the extra? Yeah, if it's free!" or "not if I have to PAY for it!"

[wolfie]

Smart person, she may have temporarily miss-placed the disks, but she wrote the key codes on the disks in case the papers got lost! (I also do this with CDs/DVD games I buy.. I write the blasted codes on the disk, so if I lose that stupid piece of paper...)

Back when I worked in computers, one company had ONE copy of the C compiler that everyone in the department used (can you say "piracy"?). Somebody wrote the code on it - by scratching it into the label side. Can you say "$600 coaster, and now nobody can install components they need"?

[chimera]

Some customers have amazingly unrealistic expectations. If they can buy a shirt for $15 ready-made, they expect to buy the fabric to make a shirt for $2, and bluster and rant when this is not possible.

Oh gosh yes. Sewing is incredibly expensive. Too many folks are still under the impression that DIY always means saving money.

A lot of the SCs I come across have unrealistic expectations about how much help we can really give them, especially since we're chronically understaffed. Admittedly, a lot of times I only have so much patience for people who waltz in totally unprepared and expect me to do all the brain work for them - how to find a pattern, which thread, which fabric, what notions, which glue-on seam junk, do you know anyone who can sew it for me, etc., etc. I can make some suggestions, but please don't expect me to be your sewing guru/personal shopper.

Another common unrealistic expectation is that we've got enough fabric for any possible project. Oh, you need 10yds in one piece? Tough tacos, that fabric only comes to us in 8yd bolts! You need 40+ yards of white satin? We've got a few bolts, some with short pieces, but you can order some. You need it now? Don't know what to tell ya - prepare to hop around every fabric store in town.

[protege]

To the OP, I apologize for my dad's behavior

Seriously, before he went insane and left my mom...his hard drive had some issues. Rather than simply let me look at it, and replace it for a beer and the price of new drive, my mom told him to take it to the "specialist" across town. Apparently, she got tired of listening to him bitch

Anyway, he hauled his cheap-ass HP desktop over there, and told them to replace the drive. I'm sure they tried to tell him that they'd need the original discs to reinstall Windows, Office, various network drivers, and other "essential" stuff.

He pays $300 for that, the computer comes back, and the bitching begins. Why? All it had on it was Vista and the old version of Office he'd installed. At least he was able to restore his data from a USB stick. But, the driver discs had disappeared, so he couldn't get online. At that point, I quit listening.

I was willing to take care of it, because I more-or-less serve as the company tech. But, I wasn't about to get screamed at. I could have had that heap fixed and back to him same-day, but he apparently decided I didn't know what I was doing. Whatever. It must be nice having money to burn...

[raudf]

Reasonable: Bringing in a push mower during the late winter for an oil change and tune up, expecting a week turn around.

Slightly less reasonable: Bringing in a push mower during the early fall for an oil change and tune up, expecting a week's turn around

Unreasonable: Bringing in a push mower during the late spring for an oil change and expecting a week's turn around.

Wildly Unreasonable: Bringing in a push mower during the summer for an oil change and expecting two week'sturn around.

Hello, summer was our insane time of year in Lawn and Garden. You brought in that push mower, you'd be lucky to see it by the end of the mowing season, due to the fact that everyone and their uncle thought of the same thing. When you toss in all the morons who hit rocks/stumps/toys/neighbor's small dogs*... we'll be lucky if we can fit your mower into our lawn and garden storage. I swear, Tetris was created by a lawn and garden tech! (Or someone who worked in the backroom of a store.)

*Unconfirmed... just found a collar around the spindle assembly of a lawn tractor.. no blood or dog parts found.

[katzklaw]

Of course, the guy has such a hard-on to get his computer back quickly (why, I really don't know...

you say you don't know why he wanted his comp back, and yet i think you stumbled upon the reason in your choice of phrasing... hard on.. or lack thereof. dude just wanted his pr0n collection and surfing device back, pronto!

[bbbr]

This problem is an absolute PLAGUE in the wireless industry.

I get customers all the time who think:

1) They should get 5 bar LTE even in a valley in the middle of freaking nowhere.

2) Cell phones should never drop calls. EVER.

When traveling through the White Mountain National Forest with friends after dark I've had em' bitch when their phones drop the connection all of a sudden. I'd usually tell them it's because the town we're in would turn off the cell towers at night to save money, because, well those things cost a lot of money to run and these towns aren't rich like the ones back home. It never ceased to amaze me how many of them would nod their heads in agreement and go along with it...

The fact we were traveling thru deep notch between two mountain ridges, with the nearest cell tower 10-15 miles away was totally coincidental to their latest wunder phone going off the grid.

[raudf]

Back when I worked in computers, one company had ONE copy of the C compiler that everyone in the department used (can you say "piracy"?). Somebody wrote the code on it - by scratching it into the label side. Can you say "$600 coaster, and now nobody can install components they need"?

I knew a person who did that, until I explained why that was a bad idea. Sharpies work just fine for writing numbers ON TOP of the labels.

The stupidity of people will never cease to amaze me, because by the time I think they've hit the bottom of the stupid well, someone breaks out the dynamite.

[Seanette]

The stupidity of people will never cease to amaze me, because by the time I think they've hit the bottom of the stupid well, someone breaks out the dynamite.

I love this line. A lot.

[An Haddock]

I knew a person who did that, until I explained why that was a bad idea. Sharpies work just fine for writing numbers ON TOP of the labels.

The stupidity of people will never cease to amaze me, because by the time I think they've hit the bottom of the stupid well, someone breaks out the dynamite.

Helloooo new sig...