Ok, so the nice email from Aria telling me they'd slashed their CPU prices made me briefly happy....and distracted me from my original intent of posting a bit of a flame towards retarded computer users.
Retarded in the sense that, they have NO CONCEPT of the 'importantness' of things, nor can they 'do' things on their own.
Example, I'm helping (read: doing most of the work) to install a new MS 2003 SBS server.
This means, taking out the old (knackered, nearly dead) server and moving the profiles over, setting up the web access, vpn, fiddling with the entire network infrastucture, pointing all the workstations and laptops (20 ish) to the new one, making sure they all work, sorting out peoples 'Outlook' accounts....etc, etc, etc and praying it all works.
Meanwhile, a certain person keeps on asking me to do things:
Examples:
"I can't log in my computer wont work!!"
Me > "All the logins have been reset to the companys default password, which, as you know is xxxxxxxx"
"Ok, but I have to go out now, just make sure it works"
I go back to configging the server, so the rest of the company employee's can actually get some work done, in the mean time, they keep reminding me, making out as if its very urgent, to the point where I go over, type in the default password and log them in.
"My emails are gone!!!"
Me > "No, your Outlook icon is under Start, programs, Microsoft Office"
LOOK ON THE DAMNED COMPUTER, DAMN YOU.
"My signature on outlook is gone!"
Me > "Yes, go to Tools, Options, then format or messaging, its very obvious...and theres a button to set your signature"
No...I had to go do it.
Why, can nearly every-damned-one else, work things out, try things and 'explore' a bit, when something doesn't automatically fit their user model, but SOME people have to pester you to do things, even when you explain that you are AMAZINGLY busy and you've told them exactly (in simple terms) how to do what they want.
Its even worse when you have several of these people.
Lets not get on to the entire terminology...oh...that reminds me about Dell (read a bit below).
Sometimes, when you *know* someone has their terminology wrong - or simply call things the wrong damned thing, its fun to string them along.
Its the only amusement I get.
"I've lost Windows on my desktop, can you put Windows on my desktop???"
Me > "WTF???"
"I've lost Windows"
Me > "You've 'lost' Windows?"
"Yes, its not on the desktop"
Me > "I should hope not"
"Can you put it back?"
Me > "Well yes, I could put Windows on your desktop, but, um, it would be....um, not very helpful"
Ok, so what they meant was that the shortcut to WORD wasn't on their desktop, since they had DELETED it.
Now for Dell.
I call up the general sales line to get a quote on a 10 pack of Office 2003.
Ring ...ring....ring ring.....ring ring.....ring ring..
And of course, calling an American based company, I get through to their sales call centre....in India.
So I gave ALL MY DETAILS AGAIN.
(Note: I've spent a good 2 weeks solid calling Dell, every time...they ask for the same damned details, even when they transfer you to someone else...they ask for them all...)
Then I get transferred, "To the uk sales centre".
Ring ring....ring ring......ring ring.....ring ring....ring ring...
My call is obviously answered by someone in India, I ask to confirm this and am told there is no UK sales call centre.
Not really a suprise, nice one Dell.
I give ALL MY DETAILS again.
Then:
Me > "I'm looking for a quote on 10 licences for Office 2003"
"Is that an operating system or an application"
Me > "....."
Me > "Is Office, 2003, an operating system....or an application?"
"Yes"
Me > "Well, I'm pretty sure its an application, k?"
"Ok sir, I shall get you the information you want shortly"
Me > ...hold....
I eventually get the quote, at a stupidly high price.
So, not only have I achieved almost nothing - aside from happily repeating my own details again AND educating someone that no Office software is an OS, but I've come out with a useless completely non-competative quote.
GO DELL! You suck.
I can, in fact reel off several full Dell numbers of certain employee's I've been dealing with over the past two weeks.
I can't even remember my girlfriends MOBILE NUMBER, despite trying to remember it all the time.
But Neal at Dell, his number? Sure, its 087090757**
(** for privacy...or something, the last two digits consist of a 0 and a 1, I'll let you guess which order they go in)
I just hope that I don't meet anyone from Dell in the next few years, nevermind them doing a presentation at my University.......
Barbed wire underwear, tar and feathers anyone?
:!: