Clueless customers

Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:00 pm   

On Mar 11, 12:11 am, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:
....snip...

Actually, in their defense, I've fallen prey to this tactic, too. MS
updates change the methodology just enough to make one not accept the
insult to intelligence. Just ask someone else to do it. At least
that preserves the illusion of having power and being in control.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:04 pm   

On Mar 11, 4:45 am, "amdx" <a...@knology.net> wrote:

True, so you added a 'reflecting' shield, right?

Thu Mar 11, 2010 6:54 pm   

On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:52:38 -0800, Jeff Liebermann
<jeffl_at_cruzio.com>wrote:


I gave up on PC repair because of the people who use them and don't
learn from their mistakes. I went back to vintage musical instrument
repair like tube amplifers and recording studio gear from the 70's.
I have a couple good clients who really understand their gear and
still use tube powered gear like the vari-mu stuff from Manley and
Neve.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:12 pm   

On Mar 10, 11:52 pm, Jeff Liebermann <je...@cruzio.com> wrote:

WHo provided the air hose??

Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:13 pm   

Jeff Liebermann wrote:


OTOH, if you destroyed a CD-ROM or two, they weren't as careless the
next time.

--
Lead free solder is Belgium's version of 'Hold my beer and watch this!'

Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:17 pm   

On Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:52:38 -0800, Jeff Liebermann <jeffl_at_cruzio.com>
wrote:


I have the image of the evil explorer falling into a pond full of
pirhania.


That makes sense. The odds are that half the time he'll put it in
right-side-right.


It has a cup-holder. It just holds the cup sideways. Darn. Jeff
already said that.


Hmmm.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:49 pm   

On 3/10/2010 11:54 PM Jeff Liebermann spake thus:


[...]


Ah; I think the saying that applies here is "No good deed goes unpunished".


--
You were wrong, and I'm man enough to admit it.

- a Usenet "apology"

Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:58 pm   

On 2010-03-11, Meat Plow <Meat> wrote:

Most people are just too stoopid to be using a computer. They would be
far better off and everyone happier if they stuck to using a typewriter.

--
Roger Blake
(Change "invalid" to "com" for email. Google Groups killfiled due to spam.)
"Obama dozed while people froze."

Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:04 pm   

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:58:21 +0000 (UTC), Roger Blake
<rogblake_at_iname.invalid>wrote:


I spent several years as an IT consultant and you are 200% correct. I
would much rather sit 8 hours in a NOC and monitor traffic and admin
routers and other ingress/egress equipment than to deal with an office
full of idiots.

Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:33 pm   

Hi!


But that shouldn't cause any *lasting* harm that turning the machine
off and tipping it forward to let the disc slide out...at least with
common 5.25" drive types. BTDT when my younger brothers stuffed a CD
into the 5.25" drive of my then-fairly-new 386SX.

I would agree otherwise, because there are some drives that could do
Bad Things to a disc and/or require extraction. I've got some drives
that have oddly-designed slimline mechanisms or electronic insert/
eject features.

William

Thu Mar 11, 2010 11:41 pm   

Hi!


alt.sysadmin.recovery is a good place too. There's an entrance exam.
(Sorry, but the FAQ for the group says you're not to drop hints.)


Oh. Oh my. I think I'd have told him to just push it into the trash at
that point, or maybe that I'd come by to perform the autopsy.


Later in this thread, I believe you relent a bit. I like to see the
best in people, but really--they can't be "bothered" to make sure the
disc is put into place the right way every time? What else (whose
outcome might be significantly more serious) can't they be "bothered"
to concern themselves with doing correctly? Driving? Voting? Wiring
the house? Servicing potentially safety-sensitive equipment used by
the general public?

I start thinking some very BOFH-ly thoughts when this kind of stuff
rolls around.

William (sorry, think I got on a bit of a soap box there)

Fri Mar 12, 2010 3:37 am   

Jeff Liebermann wrote:

the gas pedal sticks.

Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:02 am   

"Jeff Liebermann" <jeffl_at_cruzio.com> wrote in message
news:uk0hp59knc6mgnd0sht0cd3q4mpr3nvfhn_at_4ax.com...

I have read through the whole thread that is posted to date.
I am going to make a few observations.
First a bit of background. I am in a 55 plus community. I am more than 20
years on the plus side of that age requirement.

There are lots of seniors here. Some are computer savvy, some are really
trying to learn and some are absolute technophobes.
Computers here are used primarily for e-mail and web searching. I have
become the local PC fixer. I see most of all the little anecdotes in this
thread up close and personal.

Now a lot of these folks are part year residents owning a house here in
Florida and one up north. In their younger days they were smart enough to
amass enough money for this lifestyle without the need for computers. They
hired the people they needed to do that IT stuff and used their talents
elsewhere.

Some enjoy seeing the rest of the family using Skype, others get infected
with malware sort of regularly regardless how many times they were told to
update, update, update.

A lot of us have memory problems and refer to lapses as senior moments or
CRS (can't remember shit). For those in this newsgroup, who seem to be
demeaning, think about what you have to look forward to (if you are lucky
enough to get to the retirement age).

I am not apologizing for the silly things that some of us do. It is life and
I hope you last long enough on this side of the grass to be looked at by the
new kids coming up who think you are old fools because you can't keep up
with the latest greatest toys and tools.

So have a little compassion because what you see is where you are going.

A tradesman coming into our area said he hated to work with seniors. My
response was that, in that case, I hoped he did not live long enough to be
one.

So I wish you all my favorite thought. May you have health and wealth and
time to enjoy them. And be kind.

Charlie (who started out testing germanium transistors)

Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:09 am   

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:17:48 -0500, mm <NOPSAMmm2005_at_bigfoot.com>
wrote:


Not this customers. However, I do have an occasional customer that
drops his laptops off when he visits the area. However, he's not
evil. He's a doctor that travels to some of the strangest parts of
the planet, lives there for up to about 3 years, tries to leave the
locals in better shape than when he arrived, and returns to
civilization every few years. The laptops have come back full of
fungus, green slime, mud, corrosion, and insect remains. I have to
disinfect and deodorize the laptop before tearing it apart for a more
thorough cleanup. A few years ago, it came back smelling of rotten
Durian fruit:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian>
I stock replacement keyboards in anticipation of his arrival. Also
spare HD drives in case something dies. Most of the LCD's have the
bottom part of the screen trashed, where capillary action sucks water
into the LCD panel. Fixing his machines is like equipping an
expedition.

I got him to buy a 3 year warranty extension from Dell on the last
laptop (Dell Precision M4400). I haven't tried it yet, but I wonder
what Dell would think if I mailed them the smelly fungus farm laptop
for repair?


He has disk envelopes for most of his CD's. About half of them are
inserted with the data side facing the window, where he can't tell
what's inside the envelope. My guess(tm) is that the definition of
"right side up" depends on which way the disk is inserted in the
envelope.

--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl_at_cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS

Fri Mar 12, 2010 5:22 am   

On Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:41:15 -0800 (PST), "William R. Walsh"
<wm_walsh_at_hotmail.com> wrote:


Been there, done that, and know the trick. (No, I'm not telling). The
problem is that most of the posting are for or about sysadmins doing
evil and dastardly things to customers and lusers. That's fine, but
not very interesting to me. I have no intention of retaliating
against paying customers. It's just that sometimes, I get a bit
frustrated and need to unload. Methinks a repair newsgroup is more
appropriate for a repair oriented rant.


I gave it about a 50% chance of being able to recover the keyboard. I
was more worried about what was inside the keyboard that was causing
the intermittent connections and sticky keys. I guess the alcohol and
water washed it and the contact cleaner oil away.


Good slippery slope theory, but it doesn't apply here. The customer
is quite wealthy. If I bothered to take his annual income, and divide
it by the number of hours that he "works", he could easily afford my
exorbitant rates instead of learning how to operate the computer by
himself. Let's just say he has better things to do.


Sure. Biting the hand that supports my decadent and lavish lifestyle
is not good policy.



--
# Jeff Liebermann 150 Felker St #D Santa Cruz CA 95060
# 831-336-2558
# http://802.11junk.com jeffl_at_cruzio.com
# http://www.LearnByDestroying.com AE6KS