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Woman comes in to buy a laptop today. She was comparing our prices against something she saw at Wal-Mart. She told me that she had a new digital video camera and wanted to do some editing. From that I knew that her laptop would need a firewire port. This I explained to her, and noted that the computers she was looking at did not have the connection she needed. I got the impression she wasn't listening.
She had an accent, which told me that English wasn't her first language, but I'm fairly sure she was fluent and was just ignoring me.
Me: This Gateway is the least expensive I have with the firewire port you need.
SC: But this is different from mine. (Shows me a firewire port on a desktop.)
Me: Yes, desktops use a 6-pin connection, but laptops use a 4-pin connection. It's the same type of cable.
SC: So, this Compaq will work?
Me: No, it doesn't have the firewire. You wouldn't be able to connect your camera.
SC: Oh. What do I need for that?
Me: You need a firewire port.
SC: Does the Compaq have that?
Me: No, it doesn't. The least expensive I have with that port is this Gateway. I also have this Toshiba for just a little more that will work, and it has twice the memory.
SC: What do I need for my camera?
Me: You need a firewire port. Like the one on this Gateway.
SC: No, mine is different.
Me: I know. Desktops use a different connection, but it's the same cable.
SC: Will this Compaq work?
Me: You still want to edit your videos, right?
SC: Yes. Will this Compaq edit my videos?
Me: No, it doesn't have the firewire connection. You'll need that to use your video camera.
SC: What about the one at Wal-Mart.
Me: It doesn't have the firewire port either.
And on, and on, and on, and on it went. Finally, I decided to try something. Just out of morbid curiosity.
SC: Maybe I should just buy the Wal-Mart computer.
Me: You can buy whatever computer you want. You're not listening to a word I say anyway, are you?
SC: This Compaq looks good. It will edit my videos, right?
Me: Nope. Sure won't. The least expensive I have that will work is this Gateway, and the Toshiba will do it better. But you'll just buy whatever you want and blame me when it doesn't work.
SC: I don't know. This is very hard. What do you think? Will the Compaq do what I want?
I knew it! I knew it all along! She wasn't listening to a word I said. I'm sure it is because I wasn't telling her what she wanted to hear. If I cared less about my job, I just might try that on other customers, just to see if they're listening. Now I can prove it.
She had an accent, which told me that English wasn't her first language, but I'm fairly sure she was fluent and was just ignoring me.
Me: This Gateway is the least expensive I have with the firewire port you need.
SC: But this is different from mine. (Shows me a firewire port on a desktop.)
Me: Yes, desktops use a 6-pin connection, but laptops use a 4-pin connection. It's the same type of cable.
SC: So, this Compaq will work?
Me: No, it doesn't have the firewire. You wouldn't be able to connect your camera.
SC: Oh. What do I need for that?
Me: You need a firewire port.
SC: Does the Compaq have that?
Me: No, it doesn't. The least expensive I have with that port is this Gateway. I also have this Toshiba for just a little more that will work, and it has twice the memory.
SC: What do I need for my camera?
Me: You need a firewire port. Like the one on this Gateway.
SC: No, mine is different.
Me: I know. Desktops use a different connection, but it's the same cable.
SC: Will this Compaq work?
Me: You still want to edit your videos, right?
SC: Yes. Will this Compaq edit my videos?
Me: No, it doesn't have the firewire connection. You'll need that to use your video camera.
SC: What about the one at Wal-Mart.
Me: It doesn't have the firewire port either.
And on, and on, and on, and on it went. Finally, I decided to try something. Just out of morbid curiosity.
SC: Maybe I should just buy the Wal-Mart computer.
Me: You can buy whatever computer you want. You're not listening to a word I say anyway, are you?
SC: This Compaq looks good. It will edit my videos, right?
Me: Nope. Sure won't. The least expensive I have that will work is this Gateway, and the Toshiba will do it better. But you'll just buy whatever you want and blame me when it doesn't work.
SC: I don't know. This is very hard. What do you think? Will the Compaq do what I want?
I knew it! I knew it all along! She wasn't listening to a word I said. I'm sure it is because I wasn't telling her what she wanted to hear. If I cared less about my job, I just might try that on other customers, just to see if they're listening. Now I can prove it.
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