Have you ever been to CompUSA looking for Mac stuff? Several people
like myself have. It has been the general consensus of that - to put it
eloquently - they suck. (I'm sure that there are exceptions to the
rule, but I have yet to find any.) Chances are you know more about the
Macs they're selling than they do. It's been my experience that you can
stump them with one to three questions.
I never actually ask them questions anymore if I want any
intelligent help. I go to Low End Mac or
browse around the Net for help. I go to CompUSA only if I know what I'm
looking for, or if I just feel like having fun.
I know that people think it's horrible to torture these poor sales
clerks, but I just have this insatiable urge. I have actually had to
correct them when they were talking to customers and giving out
incorrect information. Imagine a million George W. Bush clones running
around talking about computers. I think it's very scary.
Following are some funny stories, both mine and my friends'. If you
have any that you'd like published, I'll be happy to post them in an
article with other stories that people want to share. If you work at
CompUSA and are actually one of the bright ones, I would be more than
happy to post your stories about stupid customers. I'm an equal
opportunity guy.
Remember that this is just for fun and shouldn't be taken any more
seriously than a stand up comedian. This is humor, not hatred. Make
peace not war. :-)
RAM? What's this RAM you speak of?
I went into a local CompUSA and approached the upgrade desk, I told
him that I needed RAM for a Power Mac 7200. After he figured
out what a Mac was and who sold them, he flipped through his trusty
book. Sure enough, it was listed. He disappeared in the back for about
ten minutes and returned with some EDO RAM for a Power Mac G3. He told me that
it was all they had in stock for the Mac, so I said thanks anyway and
took a ride to another CompUSA.
After I waited eight minutes for them to figure out that there was
someone standing at the upgrade counter who wanted something, they
finally approached me. They asked what I was looking for, and I told
them the same thing I told the guy at the other store. The guy then
looked through his book a few times and said that they never carried it
at any of the locations. After I calmly thanked him and left, I went
home wondering why I bothered.
Networking Macs? Who thought you could do that?
At my school, I'm the technical editor of the yearbook. It's kinda
like the tech-help guy. Well, we wanted to network three G4/450s. I researched it a
bit, because I had never set up a network before. I then went to the
local CompUSA and told the guy I needed a hub and RJ-45 ethernet cables
to network three G4/450s. After the panicked look on his face
disappeared, he got his supervisor. They kindly directed me to what
they "thought" I needed. It continues to be an interesting experience
to look back on, but at the time it was really annoying.
I set up the network without a hitch, and I wanted to add the two
7200/120s that were there.
My teacher said she would pick up the extra cables one day after
school. When she gave them to me a few days later, she told me that she
had told the CompUSA guy about it, and the guy said that the network
wouldn't operate without a bridge. She was a little concerned, because
she only knows how to use computers. I told her that the guy was wrong,
and I showed her how the network functioned five minutes later.
People shouldn't give bad computer advice to poor unsuspecting
customers. It's just not right.
You want to put PC Word files on a Mac with Word? You'll need a
really expensive program.
This is by far my favorite. My friend Jason and his dad were at
CompUSA picking up ethernet stuff to set up a PC network in their
house. Jason is a PC user, and I wouldn't convert him, because that's
unnecessary. I have taught him the basics so he won't look like a putz.
But I digress....
There was a guy in a heated conversation with the clerk over
transferring Word files. Jason's dad told the guy that I "knew
everything about Macs," which was a bit of a stretch. Jason gave the
guy my number, and I went over to help the customer.
His wife owns an iMac SE, and he owns a brand new PC that he's
probably never touched. The guy wasn't exactly the sharpest pencil in
the box. Apparently he's really rich, so he never actually has to do
work, which is kind of sad. His wife was almost as bad. When they
wanted to send Word files from his PC to her iMac, they just emailed
them from the PC to the iMac. They just didn't know what to do after it
got there. I quickly remedied that. I found out that the clerk they
talked to at CompUSA told them to get MacLink Plus or they wouldn't be
able to do it. Needless to say, it's still in the box.
Only the elite can hack an Apple demo
I was at the local CompUSA about two years ago, and I wanted to look
at the functions of the iMac they had on display. There was this stupid
Apple Demo playing, and there was no visible way to get out of it. I
looked around and saw that there was no one there to help me. I
force-quit the demo and started looking around and playing with
AppleWorks and Nanosaur. One of the clerks came by and was a little
unsettled by this. He didn't say anything at first; he just looked at
the screen like he could have sworn that there was supposed to be a
demo running. I looked at him and smiled. Then I quit the programs and
when back to the demo. I walked away still smiling. The guy wasn't
quite sure what I had done, so he didn't do anything about it.
I do not encourage you to force-quit the demos. In fact, I think the
new demos have a way to leave the demo. I would just like to say that
it's fun to do. In fact, some bozo at BestBuy almost reported me to the
manager for doing the very same thing. Do it at your own risk.
Signing off for now....
Remember, to have fun, live every day to the fullest, and see the
humor in every situation. Spread the Mac gospel, and educate people
mislead by uninformed clerks. Just don't be a psycho - no one likes
psychos. Not even CompUSA.
Share your perspective on the Mac by emailing with "My Turn" as your subject.
