Monday, February 19, 2007

Why Online Is Better than In Person

I should have known better than to go to a computer retailer on a Sunday afternoon. I'm not stupid, and yet I undertook a task of such complete folly that I really don't have a rational explanation for my actions. Not only did I go into a retail environment but I was a bit under the weather and consequently not at my strongest. Let me just say it was a seething pit of hell. Not only could I not find a soul to hand me a monitor and splitter switch, I actually sold two wireless routers for this retailer.

This poor woman was chasing after a store guy with a wired router in her hand saying, "But please, could you just...just..." with such an expression of desparation on her face, that I couldn't help myself. We went over to the router section, talked a little bit about what she was trying to do, and I hooked her up with a wireless router and the wireless adapter for her computer. Then while we were standing there, another lost soul wandered up. He had purchased a wireless router earlier that day, and the store guy had not bothered to ask him if the computer he was trying to network had a wireless adapter. So he got what he wanted, too.

And then I went home and hopped on Newegg and ordered the cheapest monitor I could find -- I don't need no stinking speakers, just fire up all the pixels, boys. I am not sure if the splitter switch I got was right, but I know from having ordered from Newegg before that sending it back will not be a problem. I didn't have to deal with some cocky computer store guy talking down to me, I didn't have to stand in line at the cash register juggling my boxes and parcels, I wasn't told they didn't have the cheap one I want in stock, nobody tried to sell me extended coverage.

Online is good when you know exactly what you want.

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