I am a Fool.

[redsdemon]

I have come to realize that if stupid people have stupid questions and you try to make it simple for them they think they are smarter than you.

[antihaxor]

I have always believed that making the complex simple is the mark of genius.....but Preach I know just how you feel.....I do unix based eft-transfer tech support and I get that all the time.

green to you

[Terr]

Being unable to help someone who is totally clueless in a field isn't a failing point... I mean, it's like trying to explain calculus to someone who hasn't gotten their multiplication tables down yet. All it means is that you might not be a good teacher. (Those that do, do... Those who can't, teach...)

I mean, try finding a Nobel laureate who can explain some *basic* details of their field (say, magnetohydrodynamics) to a layperson within an hour without having serious frustration...

[D.J.]

don't feel bad. ur not a fool. how easy could you have made it for that customer. ok, you asked him if he had a modem
and if he had any wires in the back of his comp. did you tell him that is what those jacks were for? how could he refer to
you as someone who didn't know what they were talking about? he was probably just confused and got agitated because
of it

[Vorlin]

Don't worry Preach, it happens *all* the freaking time. Just like one of the help-desk support women told me about a guy last week who needed help with his word document and she kept asking him to 'right click' in the page to which he was constantly saying "What? I don't see how that's going to help at all...". Finally, she asked him what he was doing when she told him to right-click in the page and he said 'You told me to write click in the document, so I'm writing the word click in the document.".

10 minutes later, and both sides laughing their asses off, and the problem's fixed. That was a good-ending story, of which there are few and far between compared to those who know nothing. Although, I'd rather take know-nothing over knows-enough-to-be-dangerous because you can't seem to tell those fscks how to do anything, especially with Windows. Thank God I'm a unix admin...

But don't worry, you'll get some good ones (the ones who always say how stupid they are with computers) and you'll get some shitty ones like the guy you dealt with. It's all part of the workload and what sucks is, it's the old ass geriatric fsckers (anyone over 40 generally) who have no idea at all what computers do (these are the same idiots who made fun of the geeks who were making computers back in the 60s and 70s) and now, it's all coming back around.

I mean, try finding a Nobel laureate who can explain some *basic* details of their field (say, magnetohydrodynamics) to a layperson within an hour without having serious frustration...

Terr (Durr!), you just made my nose bleed...wtf is a magnetohydrodynamics? *laughs* That sounds like some hardcore science I invariably would fail. And people think unix is hard!

[shkuey]

Back in the day when I worked at circuit city we had all manner of idiot customers, if you want to keep your job though you should probably just learn to ignore their stupid questions.

Funny story how I got fired from that job, I snapped one day after a barrage of stupidity from the customers, looking back it wasn't even all that foolish a comment made to me, but it was the last straw so to speak. I was scanning a car stereo into the computer so it could be released from inventory to this lady, who remarked, "You guys sure do keep good track of your stock." To which I responded, "Well, we're not the dollar store." (I'm not sure if people outside the united states would get this, we've got stores that sell anything in stock for 1$, appropriately named the dollar store.) So this lady was slightly taken back I guess, and told me I should try being a little nicer. I told her I'd try being a little nicer if she tried being a little smarter. Man, the things people complain to managers about...

[jehnx]

lmao @ shkuey's story

[Terr]

Originally posted by Vorlin
Terr (Durr!), you just made my nose bleed...wtf is a magnetohydrodynamics? *laughs* That sounds like some hardcore science I invariably would fail. And people think unix is hard! [/B]

Short discription, Magneto-hydro-dynamics, the study of moving liquids (or more accurately, fluids) with respect to electromagnetic fields! Whee! Somehow I'm sure they could come up with a shorter name, but I think from a physicist's perspective it's sexier with so many syllables.

My Dad used to work in a shoestore, and he told me of a phrase the owner used once...

This one lady came around, and after hours couldn't decide on some shoes. When she finally left, the manager said: "Thank you for coming, and the next time you pass by, please do."
If you re-parse that..."And the next time you pass by... keep moving." :P A sort of stealth-joke.

[Maverick811]

Originally posted by ThePreacher
I am a fool. I realized this today as I was at work. So am I a computer professional somewhere? Of course not, that would be too easy. No, I work at wal-mart. I was out on the sales floor when a man walked up to me to ask a question. It just so happens he needed help with his computer. He held up an inexpensive telephone jack connector and asked me "Is this all I need to connect to the internet?" I stared at the thing for a second then asked "Do you have a modem?" to which he gave me the blankest stare I have ever witnessed. Finally he replied "This is my first computer ever, and I just want to get on the internet, do I need this?" I then asked if he had telephone cord plug-ins on the back of the computer, to which I recieved the second blankest stare I have ever seen. Finally, I guess he became agitated with me and asked to speak to someone who knew what they were doing. I took him to the person who works in electronics and walked away and later, while he was at the electronics counter talking to his wife he referred to me as "some fool", according to the person who works in electronics. So, I came to the realization that I am a fool, I couldnt help a non-computer using person with their computer problems.

Yea, I know the feeling - back before I graduated college I worked in retail stocking shelves and selling computers. I used to get some of the absolutley most dumbest questions about computers on the face of this earth and it made me feel like an idiot for even talking to this person. I'm just glad I'm away from that mess now...

[Tedob1]

you made the man feel insecure. doubt his intelligence. so he had to knock you down to make himself feel better, as low life creatures do.

as a superior being working in a zoo, you gotta learn to take these things for what their worth, man.

glad to see you back, sorry about the car.