What is it with people?

[darkrose.livejournal.com]

Suppose I went to a store 5 years ago and bought a round table cloth for a round table. Everything was fine and good for 5 years and then last week my kid was jumping on it and broke it. So after beating the crap out of him for jumping on my table and breaking it, I go out and buy a new table. They don't make a round table anymore, so I buy a square one. The table cloth doesn't fit.

So do I take the table cloth back to the store? No. I put it in the closet, give it away on freecycle, throw it in the goodwill box, etc. The store would never accept the return of a 5 year old tablecloth.

So why is it that users think they can use software for 5 years, and when they upgrade their computer, they should get a refund or a free upgrade simply because the software won't work on Vista? I should point out that a version that DOES work with vista is available for a nominal upgrade fee ($10).

Am I the only one who thinks this is crazy?

Granted, this guy is a financial planner, so he's probably freaking out about $10 because he's screwed in this economy. Oh, and he's an AOL user, which explains a lot as well..

Comments

[katejaneway.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's always the AOL users... I often say, 'now pull up Internet Explorer,' and they say, 'who? let me open AOL...'

[alpha-orionis-v.livejournal.com]

UGH!

I get this call probably ten times a day. "I have over 200 Playstaion2 games! What am I supposed to do with them if my PS3 won't play them? Are you gonna refund me for all my games!?"


And then I tell them that the PS2 is still in manufacture, and they can always go buy a new one.

[darkrose.livejournal.com]

I have a theory about AOL users. AOL spoon-feeds these noobs all the support they want (or at least used to, I think I heard a rumor they charge for it now), and when they get out into the real world where they are charged for support and such, they flip out. Even when our reps explain to the users that AOL gives them free support because it's in their best interest to do so as it is a subscription service..they just don't get it.

Basically, they get a taste of AOL and they think that it's like that everywhere.

I'm pretty sure they'd have a coronary if they ever had to call Microsoft Exchange Support...

[darkrose.livejournal.com]

I usually don't handle these but the guy's problem wasn't fixed. When I showed the ticket to my boss on Friday and my proposed response, he thought it was great that I basically fired the customer. I think he's a real advocate of this now because of the exchange in the tickets. He kind of mouthed off to our reps more than once in the tickets.

[katejaneway.livejournal.com]

Our support is free & English speaking, but apparently it's blasphemy that we do a callback service between 9am and 5pm EST. The way I see it, this is a great advantage for customers in PST zone, they get to get up earlier and get their calls with us over before their first customers walk in the door at 9am. But apparently it's illegal in California to wake up before 9am.

I can't wait until the youngins become professional photographers, you know, the people who actually know how to use technology. (I work in support for digital photographers)

[katejaneway.livejournal.com]

So... don't throw out your PS2? That's why I kept my old xbox... >_>

[toxico.livejournal.com]

These are the same people that scream that the table manufacturer should instead fix the table, aren't they?

[melstav]

Well, see, obviously, if the table broke when the kid jumped on it, it *must* have been defective. After all, who *doesn't* jump on their diningroom table?

[doublefelix.livejournal.com]

Oh don't worry, there's plenty of kids that don't know ANYTHING about their computer. They just use "Internet", google, and myspace.

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

GRRRR, $10 for an upgrade on 5 year old software is awesome!! Very lame

[salavora.livejournal.com]

Only 10$?
Most of the time you have to buy the whole product once again, so 10$ is more like a nice present.

Some people really don't understand, that even things they can't touch (like a program for example) do expire, get old and outdated... and that you have to buy a new one sometimes... expecially if they upgrade everything around it -_-

[raventhourne.livejournal.com]

Very nice analogy for this...wow.

Course a friend of mine is a AOL person because her husband used to work for them (before all of the jobs moved to India and he had to train his replacement)...and she's having a hard time working out how to get a gmail account. Oi!

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

It's because the $10 upgrade is being offered AT ALL. There should be no upgrade option - simply a "buy it or don't buy it".

Or offer it as a 'trade-in', or something. Drag out the ol' car metaphors for another go-around.

Or sell the upgrade as a "Vista adaptor" rather than a software expansion or replacement. People are used to paying for electric adaptors, cable adaptors etc.

[mix-hyenataur.livejournal.com]

I hate the customers that wont buy any software without the Vista sticker on it, like ya know... software that came out before vista.

They are so paranoid.

Though I had a guy who wouldn't upgrade from 95/98/NT (I forget) coming in for a printer. Nothing new supported less than 2000.

You'd also be surprised of how many AOL customers still pay AOL monthly, even though they have different ISPs. They argue with me that if they drop AOL, they'll lose their email account or phone number. I had a client paying AOL for a dailup account for 7+ years, convinced he was paying for his email account.

Also sad is that I know some forum moderators that are hell bent on sticking firm to pictures being less than 50k (200x200) because they beleive solely that EVERYONE is still using 56k dailup. Hell, DSL is cheaper then dailup nowadays. SO it isn't a money issue, it's the fear of upgrading.

I agree, sell it off as a 'Vista adapter'. That made me giggle.