View Full Version : incorrect use of computer terminology
Raelrigs
13-05-2003, 03:28
rant
i just hate it when companys use the incorrect terminology when it come to advertising computer componets, Peripherals, and the other junk they try and sell to us
i noticed today that in the argos book Cat.No. 676/3365 is a stand for your computers tower, that has a set of casters on it
see the link
link (http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/commerce/command/ExecMacro/ols_prod_detl.d2w/report?prrfnbr=6763365&prmenbr=6970&type=big&thisMode=ols&cgrfnbr=785830)
now this says its a Premium CPU Stand.
now Obviously it is no such thing as it is designed to put your tower in
this is really annoying to me as i know that the CPU is a the Central Processing Unit and not the entire tower
why do the companys think it is ok to misadvertise an item in this way i have many more examples of this but i think this put my point across
/rant
It's even worse when it's in a computing exam ;)
Graeme*Kustom*
13-05-2003, 08:59
I've heard worse - we used to have people coming into the store saying 'how much is a new hard drive' , and we'd like be like 'well, a 40gb is 60 pounds, 60gb is 70 pounds etc' and the response would be 'that's really cheap ! has that good graphics?'
By 'hard drive' they meant they wanted the price of a new base unit.
Had the same situation with someone else , only they called it the 'modem' - yes, they actually referred to the full PC as being a 'modem'
Raelrigs
13-05-2003, 11:27
whilst installing a clients NTL Broadband one day i was requested to upgrade there MEMORY. after about ten minutes of finding a price for them and fitting it my client then asked how much they will have now. so i told them i have installed 256Mb and they now have 512 Mb so they should have plenty for there internet use.
it was then that they told me they have already got 6GB and was in need of more and not less
i just looked at them for a minute and then added a 30Gb hard drive removed the memory and charged them for twice as much labour
serves them right as well
DaveMark
13-05-2003, 11:42
my cousen asked me to build him a new harddrive ... at first i was confused .. same as you graeme he ment the whole system
dave
Originally posted by Graeme*Kustom*
I've heard worse - we used to have people coming into the store saying 'how much is a new hard drive' , and we'd like be like 'well, a 40gb is 60 pounds, 60gb is 70 pounds etc' and the response would be 'that's really cheap ! has that good graphics?'
By 'hard drive' they meant they wanted the price of a new base unit.
Had the same situation with someone else , only they called it the 'modem' - yes, they actually referred to the full PC as being a 'modem'
Mattooooo
13-05-2003, 11:45
Yea on Saturday when I was walking back from the football match with my mate (Lincoln City 5 - Sc unthorpe (Local crappy rivals) 3 :D).....
Mate: How much is a hard drive then?
Me: Depends how big really. Around 50 - 80 quid for a decent one.
Mate: Wow, thats pretty cheap. Is that because you'd be building it.
Me: Huh? I cant build hard drives.
Mate: You said you'd built you're own PC!
Me: Err...yea. But thats not a hard drive, that your PC.
Just think, about 6 months ago I was like that. Oh the shame!
EDIT: This forum doesn't let you say Sc unthorpe, t changes it to S****horpe. :)
Pc world staff are like that :D
Was in the store and heard the member of staff telling the user that to do video editing they would need a scsi card.
My ex`s family were all clueless when it came to pcs and trying to explaing the difference between all the parts in laymens terms got stressful
I am sure there has already been a rant forum on this but I agree with the last post that some of the most dangerous lack of understanding comes from PC world salespeople. Every time I go in there to look at stuff (never to buy) I always hear one of them saying something so massively incorrect that I am incredibly tempted to go over and shout at them and tell them how wrong they are.
danielctull
13-05-2003, 12:58
Originally posted by kopite
My ex`s family were all clueless when it came to pcs and trying to explaing the difference between all the parts in laymens terms got stressful
Is that why she's an ex now? ;):rolleyes:
eXistenZ
13-05-2003, 13:00
I have corrected members of staff in shops before - I do it all the time :D
the last one was in Dixons, and a customer asked the monkey that was supposed to be helping people what cables she needed to connect her DVD player to her Hifi. the monkey sold her a scart lead....
I then went over and asked him how many hifis they sold with scart sockets on the back... when he stood there looking at me like i was speaking Russian, I explained to the customer about optical, spdif RCA cables etc. and gave her directions to a nice little audio shop down the road where the staff actually know what they are talking about :D
nah my ex is an ex after she cheated on me :D
My brother baits me into going into pc world now just to rip the staff apart.
My favourite trick is to go in acting like a clueless customer then when they start spooling the crap to suddenly drop in some key words and watch them squirm.
Example.
Was in PC world last year looking at monitors
me" I`m looking for a new monitor. what are these flat ones like?"
sales rep" Flat screens are really good what type of price are you looking at"
me "not sure I have about 500 pounds available"
Sales reps eyes light up" Well; for that cash you can get this one. its available in grey and silver and has built in speakers"
me " Thats really cool looking"
sales rep" yeah its one of our most popular models. Its 15inch but really thing as you can see"
me" now that is thin. whats the screen resolution on it"
sales rep" 1280*768"
me" thats big. So does it have a dvi connection or is it only vga"
sales rep"................. I`ll go and ask the manager"
me " No thats ok It looks like vga only. Whats the response time on it like?"
sales rep" I`m not sure what you mean"
not an exact transcript as it was ages ago but It was fun neverthe less
eXistenZ
13-05-2003, 13:15
My fave for asking PC World staff is when they have spouted all the stuff about how this 16mb ega gfx card is top notch,and the soundcard could run a cinema, and a 15" monitor is more than big enough for my hardcore gaming needs, ask them if the pc has LRF support.... it's so ammusing seeing them run around trying to find out what it means :D and when you say you have £5k to spend on a number of PCs, but they must have LRF support it gets even more amusing :D
LRF = Little Rubber Feet :D :D
DaveMark
13-05-2003, 13:30
Originally posted by eXistenZ
My fave for asking PC World staff is when they have spouted all the stuff about how this 16mb ega gfx card is top notch,and the soundcard could run a cinema, and a 15" monitor is more than big enough for my hardcore gaming needs, ask them if the pc has LRF support.... it's so ammusing seeing them run around trying to find out what it means :D and when you say you have £5k to spend on a number of PCs, but they must have LRF support it gets even more amusing :D
LRF = Little Rubber Feet :D :D
lmfao....... (keeps laughing for ages)
if brings me to staples .. i went into by some paper and for a laugh i went to ask about a laptop and said im looking for a laptop with good spec .. he tryed to sell me one with 128 meg of ram and said that thats is the standard :p lol
dave
Mattooooo
13-05-2003, 13:32
LoL, I gotta do that some time. I'll get one of my mates to film it.
Graeme*Kustom*
13-05-2003, 19:27
i think it would be funnier to go into the store in a group on skateboards, dressed as pandas and just mess about ala jackass ;)
Mattooooo
13-05-2003, 19:34
Originally posted by Graeme*Kustom*
i think it would be funnier to go into the store in a group on skateboards, dressed as pandas and just mess about ala jackass ;)
OMG, we went into Tescos on skateboards and filmed it once. Apparently they don't allow camaras ;) You'd be surprised how fast you can skate with security guards chasing you...
danielctull
13-05-2003, 19:35
The best one is phones. I swear I have de-ja vu here but anywho...
Me:"Umm, do you by any chance know when the Nokia 7650 is released?"
Link Salesman:"I don't think it exists, just let me have a look on the computer... Nope it's not on there, are you sure its the 7650?"
Me: "Yeah, it's got a little slid out keypad. So much for keeping your knowledge topped up"
Then I left...
There was one I asked about a minidisc player once in dixons, but I canny remember it...:rolleyes:
I had a friend who tried to buy an sata hard drive and was told taht there`s no such thing
Good idea graeme :D
WHOS UP FOR A TRIP TO THE KUSTOM SHOP DRESSED AS PANDAS?
The PC World staff in my town are monkeys! I overheard a woman talking to a member of staff saying her computer is running really slow and the little red light flashes for ages. The guy said to her I'm sure we can sort that out for you, we have a facility called Defrag which tidies up your computer so it will run faster! I was laughing my head off!
Another story my mate told me was he went into that store asking advice about his dead PC. He described the problem to me and I said sounds like your PSU has died. He had taken it into the "PC Clinic" and told them that the power supply had popped and it wouldnt turn on now. He wanted to know if they could test it and perhaps test other components to make sure nothings been damaged. They said they don't know if that's possible but they could try running a Scandisk to see where the problem lies! My mate was like have you listened to a word I've said?! Needless to say I either sort out my own problems or get advice from Forums. ****wits!!
DaveMark
14-05-2003, 14:52
Originally posted by Poogash
The PC World staff in my town are monkeys! I overheard a woman talking to a member of staff saying her computer is running really slow and the little red light flashes for ages. The guy said to her I'm sure we can sort that out for you, we have a facility called Defrag which tidies up your computer so it will run faster! I was laughing my head off!
Another story my mate told me was he went into that store asking advice about his dead PC. He described the problem to me and I said sounds like your PSU has died. He had taken it into the "PC Clinic" and told them that the power supply had popped and it wouldnt turn on now. He wanted to know if they could test it and perhaps test other components to make sure nothings been damaged. They said they don't know if that's possible but they could try running a Scandisk to see where the problem lies! My mate was like have you listened to a word I've said?! Needless to say I either sort out my own problems or get advice from Forums. ****wits!!
lol a another good example ... lol any one of us in this forum .. probbley could run pc world on are own lol with one hand broken .. and bline .. ok ok i gone a bit far now .. you get my point .. they should replace all pc worlds to kustom pcs :)
dave
Da_Rebel
16-05-2003, 02:32
lol. As well as being completely inept, it seems most of the PC World monkeys are illiterate. When i went asking if they had any external CD-ReWriters, they took me straight to the shelf with all the CD-RWs and then made me stand and wait while the assistant monkey picked up about 4 different boxes, one after the other and each time I pointed out how the box had "Internal/IDE" plastered across the front of it. He then told me that "they must be sold out of external ones", and quickly ran off. It just so happens that I had spotted an external one as soon as we got to the shelf, but I was having so much fun watching the assistant monkey's face turn more red every time I pointed out how stupid he was :D
danielctull
16-05-2003, 08:33
I've done that before. We went in to ask about wireless routers with a built in broadband modem, me and my dad didn't know too much about networking, but we knew the one we liked from the net. My dad just likes to see things in boxes first plus to see the price difference ;)
It turns out that didn't have any, after lots of atempts to sell us models that had no wireless, or had no modem... IDIOTS :rolleyes:
I used to work at Compaq a while back, and as part of my job i had to replace parts, but first I had to get them.....
me - can i have a replacement motherboard please?
storeman - I take it your refering to a system board, because that is what we call it it here
me - ok sorry, may I have a system board then please?
storeman - no I ain't got any :)
me - ok then have u got a case 'cos this one is badly scatched (I could see hundreds of cases behind him)
storeman - no we've none of those
me - well what that behind u then?
storeman - those are CPU chassis
me - cpu chassis please
he gets me a case, I then ask for a CPU
storeman - no ain't got those
me - u must have CPUs in a computer factory
storeman - I can give u a processor if thats what you're trying to say
me - sigh ok processor then please
After that a memo went round the factory instructing all repairmen to use the correct terminology when ordering parts as failure to do so would result in the order not being met.
next day I needed another CPU chassis (case) and CPU (processor) and HDD unit (hard drive) so off I went to the stores, but this time I took the faulty PC with me.
I arrives at the desk and put the PC on the floor, rings the bell and waits. The same storeman appears with a great big smug smile on his face. "What can i get you?" he asks.
I pick up the case and sit it on the desk and open it up, "ok can i have one of these, one of these and one of these please?"
storeman - you're a smart bas***d aren't you?
lol
after that he gave up as I used to wheel stacks of PCs round and point to the bits I wanted. I went round one day and asked for a CPU, a case and new hard drive and he sighed and got the stuff.
me 1
storeman 0
kewl
Da_Rebel
18-05-2003, 23:32
Yay :)
I hate people like that who go out of their way to be awkward.
richcase
06-06-2003, 20:18
i know where you are all coming from, i absoloutly hate it when people use the wrong terminology for something.
But you shoyld try doing a GCSE course in ICT when their is nothing but misleading infomation and a teacher that doesn't know what a NETWORK CARD IS WHEN HE IS THE ADMINISTATOR OF THE NETWORK!!!!!!
And on the subject of PC World staff i go in their regually (to taunt not to by!) and i overheard a member of staff try and convince an innocent old lady that genuinlly doesn't understand about computers that a 30GB hard drive was bigger than a 60gb one (Yea you heard me right!) i corrected him and he turned out to be the manager!!!!! i got told to leave and not come back!!! Can you beleive the nerve of them!
[GPO]Solitaire
06-06-2003, 20:34
I hate the general use of wrong terminology but in my line of work you sometimes have to use it!!
Like when you have to explain how a program like "Easy CD's Direct CD" works, they don't know (and don't care) the first thing about PC's apart from how to turn them on an break them! you HAVE to dumb down the explination to very Very simple terms!
a standard simple explination of how Direct CD works is.....
" it fools the Computer in to thinking that your CD is a big floppy disk! you can add things and remove them like a floppy but you can only do it a certain number of times the you have to replace the CD!"
I know it's totaly missleading but they understand it better then giving them the proper explination which would probably go over their heads and confuse them!!
I've had too many blank looks from customers!! :) lol!!
Gotta agree with you on that one..... And trying to explain to people the difference between CD burning stuff in general is a nightmare.... such as how you can use a CD-R more than once which noone believes!
People would rather buy a CD-RW for near a tenner than a cake of 50 CD-R for £25ish, and half of them always claim that they're not the right brand.
(Don't ask about the prices, I don't set them ;))
Originally posted by richcase
...... i overheard a member of staff try and convince an innocent old lady that genuinlly doesn't understand about computers that a 30GB hard drive was bigger than a 60gb one (Yea you heard me right!) i corrected him and he turned out to be the manager!!!!! i got told to leave and not come back!!! Can you beleive the nerve of them!
Your kidding right. Something like that happening is absolutely terrible. If I was the manager of a PC World store I would have probably fired someone saying something like that on the spot and given you a reward. You should send PC World head office a letter or e-mail telling them that this happened. If they had any sense they would fire the manager for mistreating both you and the woman so badly.
Sorry, just realised the bloke giving thr bad advice was the manager and that they were not seperate people. You should still let PC World know this though.
Lord Avatar
06-06-2003, 21:02
When my father wanted a new laptop, he insisted on buying it from PC World. God only knows why.
I went with him.
Suffice it to say, it was amusing. :D
Why didn't you persuade him to go to PC World find the model he likes the look and specifications of and then go home and buy it off the internet for a much reduced price?
Admittedly that is the one good thing about PC World (and the only reason I ever go in there) that for items such as laptops and keyboards you can go and look at their size, feel etc. before going home and ordering them on the internet.
Nice idea, the "hands on" window shopping approach. :D
Normally I would feel guilty doing that to a shop but the only reason I don't buy is the price difference is so absolutely massive when compared to the internet (most of the time). What are they spending all of this extra money on? Certainly not staff or training!
Lord Avatar
06-06-2003, 21:48
He doesn't trust internet shopping.
Don't ask me why. :confused:
on the subject of pc worlds i went in to buy my apple imac a year or so ago...
i walk to the imac section and from nowehere this sales-demon appears (he was actually a nice kid but he is a threat until he has been 'saved' and gets a proper job).
"can i help you"
sure i want this imac
"ok sir, i'll go and get one from out back..."
but... but...
"he dissapears"
...but they are kept here under the display table...
[5 mins later]
"sorry sir all out of stock"
but whats this box under here then...
"oh erm right... you want that one"
that is the model i asked for...
"ok"
[he gets trolley and loads it up]
[this is the annoying bit]
"sir have you considered out cover plans"
no if it's damaged i have contents insurance
"but this means....[blurb]"
no thanks i dont want it
[he dissapears again asking me to stay there]
this is how i imagine him talking to his boss went...
[goon] he doesnt want the protection cover
[boss] well make sure he buys it anyways
[goon] but...but...
[boss] now!!!!
[he comes back looking a little shaken]
"are you sure i cant interest you in.... blurb...because blurb"
no.
this goes on and i am asked a total of 10 times (i counted) if i want the protection. between getting the item on the trolley and the guy taking it to the till for me to pay.
:rolleyes:
-----------------------------------------
and just recently i went in to see if they had any of the kodak cameras which they had on offer (they were actually the cheapest around :eek: )
me: do you have the kodak ls433
them: duh!
*checks*
them: no sir we dont stock them are you sure its not a *insert random number*
me: no its the ls433 as shown on your website.
them: oh i think we stopped selling it then *lie*
me: ok never mind *go to walk off*
them: oh hang on i think we got the replacement model for that in this week
*unlocks cabinet*
them: this is the lsxxx its the replacement model for the one you wanted
me: what megapixel resolution is it?
them: duh!
*reads box*
them: 3.1million ...blurb about how great it is
me: but how can that be the replacement for the one i want if its 3 megapixel the one i want is 4 megapixel
them: duh!
*ignores my question*
them: yeah this camera has lots of great features such as...blurb
me: does it come with the docking station?
*opens box*
them: yeah *lie*
*waves a see through plastic stand with no form of electronics in it whatsoever*
them: so this makes it a pretty good deal seeing as them docking stations cost £60 normally
me: err whatever thanks anyways bye...
*wander off to look round*
he then comes over 3 more times in the various sections i am looking to see if i need his expert help and advice...
me: no thanks
:eek:
This is completely unrelated to PC World but one of my pet hates is the way people and TV programmes misuse the words upload and download! So many times when people want to send me stuff they say "I'll download it to you" simply cos I live in the south and the data will be transferred down the country! Grr
Originally posted by Poogash
This is completely unrelated to PC World but one of my pet hates is the way people and TV programmes misuse the words upload and download! So many times when people want to send me stuff they say "I'll download it to you" simply cos I live in the south and the data will be transferred down the country! Grr
LMAO, its funny how people work in this way depending on where yo uare situated in the country. :D
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