Zennious' forum posts
Lately I've been a little upset, at least upset enough to write about it. I have been noticing something troubling to me as a person, a person with a decent set of debatable morals. I saw a big-name business take advantage of the misguided and misinformed individual, particularly the older generation. Maybe it's your parents or the more targetable group, your parents parents.
Let me throw out a situation that I witnessed this past weekend.
Behold...
Here we have your everday, average, older couple. They are the traditional, hard-working folks that just want to get back into the times and connect with their family on their level. (they pretty much resemble the couple I saw) Lately they have been hearing things about the internet that will allow them to keep in touch with their families a whole lot easier. Things like sharing photos, emailing, and talking to each other through an instant messenger service like AIM. They have an older computer, probably one their son has given them, but here is their problem. Their Internet isn't fast enough to do all of the wonderful things they have heard so much about. These two casually walk into their local Best Buy and talk to one of their sales reps who is OOOOooooohhh so eager to help them with what they need. Without even allowing the couple to finish their initial sentence pertaining to their problem the sales rep comes in with "I know exactly what you need!"
"Come with me and check out our latest Gateway product. In this GREAT PACKAGE you'll get an AMAZING!!!! 2.4 Gigahertz processor that runs a DUAL-CORE. (this all being said with a lot of vigor and excitement) This will all help your computer run much smoother." This statement is probably true, given that their computer comes from the old Pentium 3 or 2 eras. The older gentelman comes back with a question. "Now son, will this help me run the internet faster at home so I can look at my grandkid's photos?" The Best Buy Guy immediately answers "OF course it will! This computer is complete with an NVIDIA 7600 GT! for all of your photo needs. Photos will look crisper and you can watch movies of your grandkids too!" The older man looks confused, not really understanding his answer, and asks another question. "Yea...but will my internet be faster?" The Rep shoots right back some other computer jargon and the older man still looks confused. "Well I wanna talk to my wife about it, but thanks alot for your help. By the way, how much is this computer?" "Only fifteen-hundred sir, which is only for this weekend!" Yea right...
The sales rep surprisingly leaves the couple to their thoughts. I, just being your typical 21 year-old kid, approach the couple. I ask them the most important question, What kind of internet connection do you have. The man informed me that he had a dial up connection and was wondering if the new computer would really help with that. I explained to him about the slow ass 56k connection was the real problem in his calculation. I explained that he should look into a cable modem before he buys a brand new computer. He thanked me for helping shed light on his situation and continued to explain that he was competlely lost and didn't want to be taken for a fool with his money. The gentleman proceeded to thank me again and wish me a good day.
After that, I felt completely better about my day, for that moment I actually helped this man save $1500 on something that wouldn't even help his situation. It was at that moment that I felt completely sick of Best Buy and what these businesses have become. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for capitalism and earning your dollars but seriously ask yourself what you would have done in the situation. You might have walked away and not paid any mind to it or you could have helped out as well. All I saw was a misguided couple that was hoping to find their answers in a store that sold them on the idea that they were there to help them and the money was a bonus. I know I'm getting in a huff and puff about it, but as a g community and the upper echelon when it comes to knowledge of the workings of our generation's machines, I think it is our duty to help those that are misguided and lead them the right way just as they have lead us with other things. So the next time your put in a situation where you know someone doesn't have all the information, don't just call them a n00b and move on thinking they are an idiot, take that extra step and help them out.
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