Scroll-wheel resistance
Posted on March 31, 2005 @ 7:16 am
Assume for a moment that you work at Best Buy. One afternoon, you come across a customer testing all the computer mice on display. When you ask if he needs any help, he assures you that he’s just “comparing the scroll-wheel resistance.” Would you think that customer was insane?
Because I’m pretty sure the guy at Best Buy thought I was insane.
Posted by Jess | Filed Under Geek |
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Well, it depends. There’s nothing inherently wrong with testing scrollwheel resistance… (after all, they tend to vary from “Geez… why… won’t… this… thing… MOVE!” to “Whee! Lookatitspin! No WD-40 needed for this one, baby!”)
… however, if that was the *only* aspect of the mice you were comparing, yeah, I might think you were missing a few.
Ha ha! My boyfriend used to work at Best Buy. The question here is really whether or not the Best Buy guy knows anything about COMPUTERS (and by that I mean more than how to start it and type illiterately away over ims). If he’s a computer- knowledgeable gadget freak, he would have understood. If he’s the OTHER kind of BB employee, he walked away and started making fun of you with his friends
Makes perfect sense.
I find that the Logitech scroll wheels are much better in that department than the MS ones. The Logitech ones click with each little turn, where the MS ones have no resist at all..
The MS ones are also too easy to click accidentily, as opposed to the delibrate scroll-wheel push needed on the Logitechs.
I have a Best Buy story too:
A couple of years ago, I had a client that was interested in satellite internet access because they were located where neither cable nor DSL was available. I didn’t have any experience at the time with satellite internet service, but I had seen displays in BB for DirectWay (or whatever it’s called) and naively thought that someone there might now a little something about it.
A coworker and I went to BB and read over the information on their display, and it mentioned download speeds but mentioned nothing about upload speeds (and I had heard they were horrible). I asked a BB employee about this and his answer was “I think it’s pretty fast.” He then proceeded to tell me that he wasn’t the satellite expert (really?) and was going to get the guy that new “all the stuff” about the satellites. When the “expert” comes over, I then ask him about what kind of upload speeds I could expect, and his answer: “Pretty fast.” What made this really funny, though sad, was that the original guy was standing there giving me this look like, “See, what did I tell you? Now it’s officially confirmed.” (Yeah, it’s confirmed that you both are complete morons, and I’m an idiot for ever thinking that you guys might know any details about one of your products.)
Best Buy got some ugly press a few years ago when they had security remove a man from the store because he was using his PDA to record store prices. He swore he was only making notes for his own shopping comparison, but they didn’t believe him and kicked him out.
The store refused to issue an apology and said that it is their policy not to allow people to use electronic devices to record their prices.
Now, THAT’S insane!
Not insane. Full of crap…maybe.
At Christmas time, I stopped a Best Buy late one afternoon to look for last minute presents. Much to my dismay, there was a long line out the door! “What the hell,” I thought. “I might as well get in line.”
While I was in line, I noticed that everyone else was much younger than me, plus they were all dressed in hip-hop attire. I then noticed that other people were just walking right into the store! I couldn’t get out of line because I was almost inside and there was a rope and a security guard blocking the way. Havig no other choice, I continued inside and found myself standing in front of a rapper named “Nate Dogg” who was there signing autographs. Nate Dogg looked at me (a 45 year old man wearing a tie) like I was INSANE!
“Uh, no thanks, Mr. Dogg,” I said, as he held his felt pen poised over his photo. “I’m in the WRONG line!”
You totally need to check that; don’t worry about the losers who mock you!
It depends. Did you mean you were checking out how easily the scroll wheel moved, or whether it was easily susceptible to new ideas?
I hate BB. I get screwed everytime. I live in Ohio where our state just sued them over selling used items as new and not upholding their own warranties. It’s a scam I tell ya!
Best Buy is definitely getting cocky of late, all the way of up to the corporate level: Their CEO has made a lot of noise about embracing the “angels and demons” customer concept, which basically discourages “troublesome” customers from shopping there. Sounds great, as long as you’re pulling loads of people in. But come the next general economic turndown — which, with gas prices soaring, doesn’t appear too far off — and that hardnosed approach will come back to bite you hard.
If I didn’t know any better, than yes, I probably would think so. But then again, you don’t know my boyfriend.