Now who is the blonde?????

[susandennis]

So last night I wanted to print out a form.  So I plugged the power cord into the printer and made sure it was plugged into the power strip and then I plugged the USB cord into the printer and nothing.   It looked like there was something stuck in the queue. I could copy fine just not print.  Fuck.  I've had so much trouble with printers over the past few years, I just figured this was another one.

So I deleted the printer from Windows and dug out the CD and fretted.

Finally, just now, I decided to give it a go.  Knowing how finicky HP printer installs are, I pulled the power and USB cords off the back and went to install the CD into the drawer under the desk.

Wait... isn't that the blue USB cord that I just pulled out of the back of the printer?  Lying there on the carpet not plugged into a fucking thing????????

It seems that the motherboard of the new computer is not the only something with a screw loose.

Anybody need anything printed or scanned?  Cause I can do it now.

Comments

[davmoo.livejournal.com]

You would probably be amazed, and feel like you're in good company, if you knew how many service calls I make because a cable was not plugged in properly. And I make quite a few calls because the device is not plugged in to an AC outlet.

This is why when I get a phone call now from someone having trouble, and even though it probably annoys them, the first question I ask is "Are you sure it is plugged in?"

[dkgoodman.livejournal.com]

I used to be a service manager, and like Davmoo I'd get a lot of calls from people with equipment not plugged in. But whenever I'd ask, "Is it plugged in?" they would always, always say, "Of course it's plugged in!" They wouldn't even look.

So I started saying, "Maybe the polarity is wrong. Please go to the wall, unplug the printer and plug it back in backwards." They'd go to the wall, see the plug laying on the floor, plug it back in, then come back to the phone and say, "Yep. That was it. It was plugged in backwards!" :)

[susandennis]

Perfect! I started to reply to Davmoo's comment that I would have 1) been very offended by his asking that and 2) assured him that of course it was plugged in.

I would not buy your polarity story BUT I would absolutely fall for it because in my interest in proving how silly an idea that is, I would have tried it and discovered the unplug!

Brilliant.

[dkgoodman.livejournal.com]

heh. Thanks. Here's another bit of social engineering... I learned to never ask a Yes or No question. The customer will always immediately answer yes or no, choosing the one they think you want to hear. "Is your printer out of paper?" "No." "Is there a disk in the drive?" "Yes."

So I started asking different questions. "What color is the disk in the drive?" "How many sheets of paper are in the printer?" "What does the ink level indicator look like on the cartridge?" Anything to make them actually look at the problem area. When videophones become commonplace, customer service agents around the world will rejoice. "Please aim the camera at the ink cartridge... Well, there's your problem right there, Vern!" :)

[susandennis]

This is too good to bury here...

See: http://susandennis.livejournal.com/1159390.html

And, thanks!! I'm afraid you've forced me to add http://dkgoodman.com/blog.html to my daily readings.