If Somebody Screws Up,
We Don’t Think We’ve Won the Lottery
John, my friend, my client and my mentor lives in the Foothills and donates to One Can A Week nearly every session we have. He buys those handsome food packs of soup, peanut butter or fruit you find at Costco. Out of respect and gratitude, I always place them in the upper right hand corner of the shopping cart so he can quickly spot his donation. (See photo below.)
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| Ultra Thin MacBook Air |
For many months now we have been switching John’s electronic media from PC to Mac starting with the iPad. He got an iPhone next and just this past Friday, a MacBook Air. The transition has been fun and interesting, like Go Daddy doesn’t handle iPads well so we had to move John’s company website. (Bluehost.com is the answer for those interested techies.)
This whole move is possible because Microsoft Office now works well on Macs. Consequently, it makes no difference what operating system you have; you can Outlook, Word, Excel or PowerPoint to your heart’s delight on either system.
What turned out not to be so much fun were the glitches on the retail side. I suggested John buy his new computer at Simutek on Ft. Lowell because I’ve known them for years and I like their style, not to mention, the lines are much shorter there.
We wanted the Office Suite loaded on the machine when we picked it up, but this did not happen. Then when I tried to download the software at John’s home, the Mac was password protected. Son of a …!
“Call Simutek,” John quietly suggested as I tried a few generic passwords and several more colorful words. My frustration was growing because John is really important to me, and too, I do not suffer incompetence well.
“Call Simutek,” he said again handing me the phone.
The person who answered my call had no idea what the password might be and the person who would was off.
As I packed up the computer John said, “We cannot let our frustrations get in the way; we just have to get it done.”
“I’m just venting, John,” I replied. “Of course I never talk to people like that. It’s counter productive.”
There was a young woman behind the counter when I arrived at Simutek. After my brief, smileless explanation, she quickly apologized and went into the back to get the generic password because she did not know it either.
Upon her return, she gave me the password and then asked me if I wanted to speak to the owner. “We, and especially the owner, pride ourselves on how we handle our customers,” she said.
“No,” I replied smiling now, “John and I never think we hit the lottery because someone messes up. That’s just not right to take advantage of people like that. What I would like you to do is take responsibility for this situation and talk to your boss. Inform everyone about generic passwords and train staff to do what they say they are going to do. It appears that folks here aren’t really working as a team. Nothing seems to be passed on.”
Before we parted, she asked me for my business card so she can put it in their book of computer instructors. The only card I give out these days is One Can A Week, which I realized, will really stick out among all those techie designs. Maybe I will win a few new clients from this experience. Even if nothing happens, it is so much better than winning a gotcha-lottery.
Jeff and Emily opened the door and there stood their little blond hair blue-eyed baby boy dressed from head to toe in a blue jumper. He handed me a can of beans and said “Bye.” Got to remember to bring my camera on my Sunday rounds.
We collected a total of 206 lbs. of food. The money we donated amounted to $36.50, a $25.00 check and $11.50 in cash.
See you Sunday,
Peter
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