computer store employees: "huh?"

[Malakai]

I went to the local computer store today, wich i wont name, to ask if they had any oem Athlon XP's. One of the guys didnt know what OEM meant. So they all gather round me and i tell them i need a specific stepping and they are all looking at me like im speaking a different language. This is supposed to be the best local computer repair and product store in like the whole county.
when i said the AGKGA Y stepping i got 6 "HUH?"s. so i explained and they all told me when the shipment of XP's comes in i can search through them all and pick the one i want. i never thought i would be able to stump the whole crew of a comp repair shop.

Anyone have any similar experiences?

[Henry Rollins II]

Oh yes....does any salesmen know their product? Far too often it feel like it....

regards,
Henry.

[R0BB23]

i was 16 shopping at compusa with my dad
got blow'n off by the salesmen and he went straight to my dad,
my dad just points the salesmen back towards me.

damn agist.:(:(:(

[Henry Rollins II]

Originally posted by R0BB23
i was 16 shopping at compusa with my dad
got blow'n off by the salesmen and he went straight to my dad,
my dad just points the salesmen back towards me.

damn agist.:(:(:(

Dad´s are good having sometimes, aren´t they? :)

regards,
Henry.

[Diggrr]

Yeah, when I bought my DirecPC (gasp..Best Buy), two clerks stood around asking me questions about it when I opened the box to make sure all the parts were there.
They did just get them in that morning, but hey, don't they have training classes and such? I know CompUSA does.

[DECODER22]

HeHe Dont U Guys Love it When They Dont KNow Anything hehe

[XPogiGTIVR6X]

blah! I can go on forever about this. I come in to office Depot. Im wering a beanie ( sock cap, Knit Cap, What ever) Im grundged out, Baggy longs ( not so long there pants, but not so short there shorts) and a Sweater. Im with my dad. Im just walking around, looking at prices for stuff, looking at stuff. I over hear someone asking about a computer, blah blah, some more technical Questions, and the sales men dude, is like uhhh Im going to ask my Manager. I was like, alright, im going to help these people. I answer all there Questions, whats good whats bad, Why there bad or good. and the Sales men, just looks at me, Wide eyed. like, This kid must be a druggy ( though Im a Straight Edge.) At the end, The couple buy the computer ( though I could have told them, I could build a computer of better Qualty and Cheeper, if they came to me) and leaves the sales men fealing like poop.

a blah blah blah computer for $799! with a 3 year sign up with AOL or MSN! (400 dollers!) GOOD DEAL! yah, Right........

[DECODER22]

ya that 3 year garbage lol i personally hate AOL lol u go to comp stores u can steal there buisness so easily some pople dont know anything about computers so they get ripped off heeh

[Morbid]

I worked in retail at a local CompUSA... unlike the rest of our "crew" I knew about mostly everything in the store (minus the printers and so on). Well, I got laid off there and now I work for HP doing DeskJet tech support... now I know about Printers... hrm, think it's time for my A+ cert.

[Ozzman]

isnt this a bitch u try to get a job at a comp or a store with stuff u like and know and what happens u dont get it but some other dumbass does GOD when they say life is not fair they REALLY mean life is not fair!!!

[DECODER22]

Ya Tell Me ABout It heeh im only 16 hehe

[h20link]

lol...i went with a friend to help him get a computer (i found good buys in computer shopper, etc but he wanted to get it at a store) so we went to best buy....I asked the sales man if they had any machines w/ RDRAM. He said no. I asked if they had any w/ DDR and he said no, all their machines have SDRAM. I told my friend he's better off getting an athlon w/ DDR somewhere else. my friend ended up buying a viao desktop anyways, but after i asked the salesman how many pci slots the viaos had he had to go ask the techs. Later on, before we left the sales guy asked me what the differences were between RD and DDR and SDRAM...lol.

If you don't know that you shouldnt be selling computers.

[xdroorsx]

Originally posted by h20link
Later on, before we left the sales guy asked me what the differences were between RD and DDR and SDRAM...lol. i at least give the guy you dealt with a 1/2 star for being humble and asking you what the diff's were.. most of those fellas would have given you a smirk on your way out ;)

[MadMan007]

Well, not to defend the BestBuy/CompUSA/whatever slugs, but all they are is retail workers who happen to be in the computer department. They may know just enough to spew some buzzwords and sound like they know what they are talking about, but they are there for a paycheck and that's it, not because they like computers or something. You might find the rare one who does, though.

I worked in RadioShack for 2 years during college, we sold IBMs and then Compaqs (ugh.) Anyway, in sales, it is less about what you know than being able to make the customer comfortable with what they purchased. I may have lost a few sales by spewing TOO much techno-babble and scaring off the rednecks, but I was good at explaining stuff in a way that normal people could understand, so I did get a lot of computer sales. I know it is easy for us to bash them since they should know more about computers, but retail sucks so at least have some sympathy for these poor folks, and remember they are not there for their love of computers, but for the paycheck.

[Monaco]

heh, I worked at RS too, I know what you mean!:)

Retail computer places aren't designed to sell stuff to hardcore OCers anyway. CompUSA knows that you and I can find a better deal somewhere else, so they don't even TRY to cater to the hardcore crowd. Which is fine by me!

Retail computer stores are there to sell PCs to folks who really don't know what is up. If they knew what's up, they wouldn't be at CompUSA anyway! Same goes for the employees, if they were computer gurus they would be working at a tech job instead of selling PCs.

So I try to cut retail folks some slack, they do the best they can with limited resources. Sure they get training, but can a 3-day hiring seminar really teach them what everything they need? Nope!

That being said I remember this one time a while back, I went into what is supposed to be the best computer store in CO, looking for a motherboard. I asked if they had one that had official133mhz FSB support( back when P3 'EB' was new). They told me all the boards would do 133mhz, heck they went up to 700mhz on some of them! I then spent the next 15 minutes explaining that FSB speed and CPU speed were two different things. lol:D

[Ebola]

i was just going to make fun of radio shack until madman said he worked there.

[ucfswimmer]

Well I work at Best Buy now, and I'm a Computer Science major in college right now...just 1 more year till graduation...anyways i started working there back in November before the holiday rush and with all my extensive knowledge of computers and printers, digital cameras, scanners, dvd players, HDTVs, projection TVs, stereo equipment,etc. etc....guess where they f***ing ended up putting me...?


In the appliance section. [SIZE=1]haha[SIZE=3]


So I've been there for the past few months (only until I find out what my 3-month raise will be) because it's a pretty easy job and even though the managers know squat about running a business, everyone there is nice...

I do like to wander over to the computer department every now and then just to actually help out a few schmucks buying a new computer or make the sales guys over in computers seem like idiots...

The one thing i can say in BB's defense is that they hire people and don't really care what department they are in - BECAUSE no one at Best Buy is on commission...therefore it doesnt matter to them or the employees how much someone knows about the product, Best Buy is just hoping that the product will sell itself and that you will add on all the MSN deals and service plans, etc etc.


~jeff~

[Malakai]

still, doesnt it feel kinda good when they have to ask u questions?:)

[Wa11y]

I never go to a large chain to ask any questions. I go there because I've already checked their website for their price and availablity. Most of my conversations with retail chain employees are like this:
Me: Where are your (fill in the general name for the part)?
Them: <point>

And that's it.

Now, some of the smaller computer stores I've been in locally....ah, I feel like I am finally home. Intelligent conversation with the person behind the counter, swapping hardware failure and success stories, being able to slip into geek speak and not getting funny looks. It's nice to have converstations with other enthusiasts.

[DECODER22]

ya but they should have people that knwo a little bit about computers in the computer section dont u think that like having someone that only knows computers be a mechanic

[MadMan007]

Originally posted by Ebola
i was just going to make fun of radio shack until madman said he worked there.

THX for the consideration, but feel free to flame RS all you want. It was a college job, and a pretty good one, but I have no attachment to that place at all! They wanted me to go into mgr training but I was like "Yeah, right!" Anyway, tell us what you were going to say, plz!

[Monaco]

They wanted me to go into mgr training but I was like "Yeah, right!"

Dude do you know how smart that was???? I succumbed to their flattery and said "Yes". I got my own store, my own employees, all that stuff, and then realized that I had been suckered. I ended up working 60+ hours a week, my salesmen were making the same $$ as me but with only 30-40 hours a week! My DM kept telling me things were about to change, what a bunch of BS. They only care how many cell phones you can sell. I got outta there fast, thank god. RS managers have the same turnover as a McDonald's.

I want to hear it too Ebola!:)

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by DECODER22
ya but they should have people that knwo a little bit about computers in the computer section dont u think that like having someone that only knows computers be a mechanic

But they aren't there for tech support! They're there to sell units. They're told "This computers are magic and expensive! Sell, sell, sell!"

[DECODER22]

ya they do anything to sell those things

[adamtekh]

oh i went to a local shop to buy $ ASII , and they went on this lil speal about how amd recomends those crapy no good for anything termal adheisve squares

so i told them off , and bought some ASII any ways :beer:

[VegetaQ]

I already know one of these future "Computer store" peoples. My roomate has an Aim buddy named Kittenhawk. She is a 3rd year Computer science Major. I was watching him doing something when she Immed him. She needed help in making a boot disk and installing a new hard drive into her computer.

It physcially caused me pain. She did not know how to make one. So since she had 2k we sent her to Bootdisk .com thinking she was capable. Since she was not we had to walk her through downloading it. And putting it on the disk. All that wasted college time.

[David]

PC World - need I say more :D
I went in and asked where the hard drives are and I got a lecture on capacities before I got a bit annoyed with the simplified talk.
I just said
"I want an ATA100 hard disk drive - preferably 7200rpm spindle speed, but 5400rpm will do, compatible with my KT133 chipset and with a capacity of about 30GB"

He just pointed.

I HATE it when computer store salesmen don't know what they are saying!

Silicon Group - local place - is good. They know what they are talking about.

[nohoy]

i plan to soon be one of those people that dont know all that much at a computer store (only comparitavely to some of the guys there)

so if you come by the mayfield, ohio microcenter and you just happen to see some really skinny kid rambling aimlessly please be kind

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by nohoy
i plan to soon be one of those people that dont know all that much at a computer store (only comparitavely to some of the guys there)

so if you come by the mayfield, ohio microcenter and you just happen to see some really skinny kid rambling aimlessly please be kind

Well im in las Vegas But If I ever end up in Ohio Ill be sure to be Nice. Besides I only like to pick on Best buy employees. Theyre fun.

[Gravity Man]

I think the retail chains don't want to have people that know a lot about computers selling them. The stores are there to make a profit, and they don't care about anything else. It is much easier to make that profit by telling a complete moron to sell a computer whose profit margin is high and whose quality is low than it is to hire someone who will sell the best computer for an individual's needs regardless of how much money the store will make. The best part is that the average consumer still walks away thinking they got a great deal no matter who sells them what system. Economically, there is absolutely no reason why Best Buy should hire somoeone who knows anything about computers.

[-=HN=- Wild9]

Originally posted by Gravity Man
I think the retail chains don't want to have people that know a lot about computers selling them. The stores are there to make a profit, and they don't care about anything else. It is much easier to make that profit by telling a complete moron to sell a computer whose profit margin is high and whose quality is low than it is to hire someone who will sell the best computer for an individual's needs regardless of how much money the store will make. The best part is that the average consumer still walks away thinking they got a great deal no matter who sells them what system. Economically, there is absolutely no reason why Best Buy should hire somoeone who knows anything about computers.


I agree, ill walk into comp usa or bestbuy or staples or something and look at the computers they have to sell, then some "computer Tech" will walk over and talk to me about why i should get this computer, i just nod my head and then ask technical questions about the computer and get them so confused they have to go get their manager and they both think im crazy. i must say its great fun:D

[Paiynn]

Originally posted by DECODER22
ya that 3 year garbage lol i personally hate AOL lol u go to comp stores u can steal there buisness so easily some pople dont know anything about computers so they get ripped off heeh

What are you talking about? I got the MSN $400 rebate, did some shopping, then went home and canceled my credit card :)

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by Gravity Man
I think the retail chains don't want to have people that know a lot about computers selling them. The stores are there to make a profit, and they don't care about anything else. It is much easier to make that profit by telling a complete moron to sell a computer whose profit margin is high and whose quality is low than it is to hire someone who will sell the best computer for an individual's needs regardless of how much money the store will make. The best part is that the average consumer still walks away thinking they got a great deal no matter who sells them what system. Economically, there is absolutely no reason why Best Buy should hire somoeone who knows anything about computers.

Used to sell for Compusa. Theyre is little margin in them varmints. Or much less than most people think. We make a killing on accesories. Those 55 dollar scsi cables (extorsion by any standards) are like 5 bucks cost. LOL. But still, I used to be a good salesman. Old people came in I sold them a little HP machine with a celly and 64 mb ram. Got them just what they needed nothing more. So all salespersons are not bad. Just the ones who get bonus' and promotions. theyre the ones who skin everyone for a sale.

I remember one time our Mac guy Jumped over the CS counter and grabbed one of the salesmens by the collar of his neck. Since he stole his sale's. Man he was ****es. Managed to calm him down though.

[Paiynn]

One more thing I spose. When I go to buy hardware or whatever, I've done my research and about the only question I might have is "Where is it?" It doesn't trip my trigger or make me feel any smarter to try and belittle someone because they don't know as much as I do about it.

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by Paiynn
One more thing I spose. When I go to buy hardware or whatever, I've done my research and about the only question I might have is "Where is it?" It doesn't trip my trigger or make me feel any smarter to try and belittle someone because they don't know as much as I do about it.

I won't belittle somone who tells me "Im not entireley sure" Or "I don't know" Only those who pretend to know what theyre talking about. OR those who think they are king ****. Ive run into plenty of people who honestly don't know. And usually they are the most helpful because they are willing to go find out.

[Thelemac]

Originally posted by VegetaQ
I already know one of these future "Computer store" peoples. My roomate has an Aim buddy named Kittenhawk. She is a 3rd year Computer science Major. I was watching him doing something when she Immed him. She needed help in making a boot disk and installing a new hard drive into her computer.

It physcially caused me pain. She did not know how to make one. So since she had 2k we sent her to Bootdisk .com thinking she was capable. Since she was not we had to walk her through downloading it. And putting it on the disk. All that wasted college time.

Computer science majors learn how to program, not how to use computers. They can code and the like, but that doesn't mean that they know how to use existing software. Or hardware.

You get a degree to make new stuff.
You get certs to learn existing stuff.

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by Thelemac


Computer science majors learn how to program, not how to use computers. They can code and the like, but that doesn't mean that they know how to use existing software. Or hardware.

You get a degree to make new stuff.
You get certs to learn existing stuff.

She doesnt know the first thing about programming. She is about as illiterate as they get. She is preparing to install linux and Making it as big of a deal like she wrote Linux.

But really, I cannot invision anyone going to be a computer Science Major if they cannot do the Absolute simplest of tasks. I mean building a computer is to easy we have 13 year olds doing this. And shes in mid 20's and cannot install a hdd?

[DECODER22]

Ya its better when u walk in ur local computer shop and everytime u go there they give you liek a diffrent price its liek duh im not dumb i knwo what u said last week hehe.

[Gandalf]

Originally posted by DECODER22
Ya its better when u walk in ur local computer shop and everytime u go there they give you liek a diffrent price its liek duh im not dumb i knwo what u said last week hehe.

Actually prices can (and most do) change everyweek.

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by R0BB23
i was 16 shopping at compusa with my dad
got blow'n off by the salesmen and he went straight to my dad,
my dad just points the salesmen back towards me.
damn agist.:(:(:(

That sucks.. I always get blown off at audio/video stores like Sound Advice, even though I'm a big spender. They always skip me and go to the people with grey/white hair because they think they're in there to spend $20000+ or something.. But that's fine, they don't deserve the commission from me anyways.

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by VegetaQ
We make a killing on accesories. Those 55 dollar scsi cables (extorsion by any standards) are like 5 bucks cost. LOL. But still, I used to be a

Yeah, really.. A 4-pin molex Y-adapter is like $12-13 at CompUSA, when you can get them for like $2 a piece online.

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by Thelemac
Computer science majors learn how to program, not how to use computers. They can code and the like, but that doesn't mean that they know how to use existing software. Or hardware.


That's true, you can't know everything about computers. I learned how to design, build, simulate, and synthesize a CPU using VHDL (hardware description language) before I ever replaced a heat sink or built a computer from scratch. I learned the details of how to design a computer before I ever replaced a processor or motherboard. I always knew I could (having replaced components on literally hundreds of computers), but I was always busy doing other stuff or just never had the need to.

I'm impressed by people who start their computer degrees knowing nothing about computers and come out at the end really knowing what they're doing. I got a comp eng degree but it was easy for me cause I already had a good background in computers before I started.

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by Monster of Rock
Retail computer stores are there to sell PCs to folks who really don't know what is up. If they knew what's up, they wouldn't be at CompUSA anyway! Same goes for the employees, if they were computer gurus they would be working at a tech job instead of selling PCs.
So I try to cut retail folks some slack, they do the best they can

I was about to make a similar point (the guys who know their stuff don't work retail), agree with you 100%. I actually like CompUSA, I go in there for the hot deals or just to see what's new. Some of the people in there know their stuff and will give you a good answer or send you in the right direction (at the ones in Tampa anyhow). There's a few bozos in there, but that's expected.

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by nil_esh


That's true, you can't know everything about computers. I learned how to design, build, simulate, and synthesize a CPU using VHDL (hardware description language) before I ever replaced a heat sink or built a computer from scratch. I learned the details of how to design a computer before I ever replaced a processor or motherboard. I always knew I could (having replaced components on literally hundreds of computers), but I was always busy doing other stuff or just never had the need to.

I'm impressed by people who start their computer degrees knowing nothing about computers and come out at the end really knowing what they're doing. I got a comp eng degree but it was easy for me cause I already had a good background in computers before I started.

I know nobody (Except for out Super mods of course) Know everything. But this woman is a 3rd year Comp science major and she knows nothing. It just ****es me off Ill still be getting nowhere and she will probably be an admin somewhere for 40+ a year, and knows nothing.

Sorry it just infuriates me.

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by VegetaQ
I know nobody (Except for out Super mods of course) Know everything. But this woman is a 3rd year Comp science major and she knows nothing. It just ****es me off Ill still be getting nowhere and she will probably be an admin somewhere for 40+ a year, and knows nothing.

I know what you're talking about. I worked under this network admin who knew nothing. He only had a job because his mom was a big shot at the company. I worked as his assistant and I'd tell him when he was wrong, but he wouldn't take my advice and ended up screwing himself over plenty of times. He was a total jerk to everyone too, he'd get ****ed off when people had trouble on their PC's, but it was usually something he did that was the problem, and he'd screw it up worse and delete files and make them lose their work. He almost destroyed a laptop because he couldn't remove a hard drive, but I saved the day when I showed him all you have to do is remove one little screw. It didn't bother me, I had fun cleaning up after his mistakes, and I was working as an outside contractor so I got to bill them nicely :D

Anyways, the point of this story is, I know this guy isn't going to get anywhere because he's an idiot and has bad character. And this woman you know might make $40k, but she'll never make $65k or $90k, because you have to know what you're doing to make the big bucks. Or maybe she will once she gains enough experience and actually does know what she's doing. But give her a break, at least she's trying to get somewhere.

[Thelemac]

Originally posted by VegetaQ


I know nobody (Except for out Super mods of course) Know everything. But this woman is a 3rd year Comp science major and she knows nothing. It just ****es me off Ill still be getting nowhere and she will probably be an admin somewhere for 40+ a year, and knows nothing.

Sorry it just infuriates me.

A CS degree is for programming...you don't actually have to know anything about computers to write a program. At least, not in a high level language. You *might* have to learn a bit about what goes on under the hood...but it's rather idealized.

Let me ask you a question. Do you know how to take apart a computer in a car? The one in your microwave? In your TV? Those are all computers, too, that have to have programs written for them.

You said she doesn't know anything about programming...and used an install of Linux as proof. I don't see it. Installing an OS is a TON different than the level of knowledge that a third year programmer would need. Trust me on this one.

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by Thelemac


A CS degree is for programming...you don't actually have to know anything about computers to write a program. At least, not in a high level language. You *might* have to learn a bit about what goes on under the hood...but it's rather idealized.

Let me ask you a question. Do you know how to take apart a computer in a car? The one in your microwave? In your TV? Those are all computers, too, that have to have programs written for them.

You said she doesn't know anything about programming...and used an install of Linux as proof. I don't see it. Installing an OS is a TON different than the level of knowledge that a third year programmer would need. Trust me on this one.

I understand your point but this person is Inept. She is totally void of anything. Nil_esh already made a good point about it. I don't really care about what the degree entails. Im not upset about that. I just don't like dumb people in positions of good pay when they don't deserve it. Or things like going to school and wasting it. I would kill for the opp to have paid College for Any computing feild. And she wastes it. Thats what I don't like.

[Kryten]

it's a simple catch 22 situation, by the time someone is smart enough to give you the answers their smart enough to move up to the next step therefore unless you ask the million dollar tech you will always wind up with computer store answers

[XPogiGTIVR6X]

yah, but wouldnt you Feal better if you got some info on WHY This computer is better then the other? Knowing that you Made a good Choice, being able to weigh the pros and cons? Any one can read the Discriprtion of the product, but Explaing what is what is a whole difrent story. do you think being A+ Certified, Actualy effects a Repair Buisness? because the people usualy comming in, dont know what A+ is ( if they did, Im sure they would know how to fix it them Selves )

[lee]

hehe, you poor smucks..............yes, most places have best buy/circuit city/ radio shack, etc.............but here in atlanta, ga, we have "little silicon valley" where there are about 8 'puter shops that deal in OEM and specialty parts - most of these places have fairly knowledgeable people so its pretty decent to shop there - and they are competitive (so you WALK from store to store and give 'em prices from the store next door and let 'em match it or beat it ).......................they still aren't as cheap as retail, but they aren't bad either...........

[XPogiGTIVR6X]

I live in Delray, There are NO Computer Shops, there is one, but the dude is so damn stupid, And Really Rude. I came in there asking for a ps\2 to USB adpater, and before I can Explain, he says Nope, cant do it. Im like yea ive seen it before. hes like, nope, basicly calling my a liar, and On ebay, I find a Fast Access II Ps2\usb keyboard, with PS\2 to USB adapter, I bougt it for 12 bucks, talk about pimp. Yah, Tell me there inst one, Im going to go in there and ask him, if he has any of these( show him the piece), and give him a peace of my mind.

[res0r9lm]

Originally posted by nil_esh


That sucks.. I always get blown off at audio/video stores like Sound Advice, even though I'm a big spender. They always skip me and go to the people with grey/white hair because they think they're in there to spend $20000+ or something.. But that's fine, they don't deserve the commission from me anyways.

yea and they spend 30 minutes with them and they don't buy crap

[Garfield]

Listen to this...

I was at a comp store and looking at computers when I overheard this one salesman helping this guy in there. I heard the guys problem was simply with booting. There was an error with Windows and he couldn't do anything (he was pretty illiterate). So, this salesman tries to con this guy into buying another computer!!! I go over, pretty hot-headed, and tell them both that he just needs the boot disk because there must have been corruption of Windows on the hdd. So, this salesman is giving me that look the whole time. He eventually left because he "had to help another person". This guy I was helping was so amazed at my computer ability. LOL :D, I got a kick out of that.

He tried to con him into getting a whole new computer! People these days...

Garfield



This overclockers.com board should take over the computer stores in the world and then, and only then, will you get quality help. What do you say? LOL :D

[nohoy]

Originally posted by VegetaQ


Well im in las Vegas But If I ever end up in Ohio Ill be sure to be Nice. Besides I only like to pick on Best buy employees. Theyre fun.

yes good people, no clue, but good people. and thanks.

ive a good anecdote. so ill share.

one day i went into the local best buy to get some speakers for my computer. this guy comes up and says you need any help. so i say yes (i dont know whats a good speaker or not, could care less if it sounds decent) and so i spend about 15 to 20 minutes with the guy comparing the sheer totality of which set can output the most bass. after about 5 minutes of this i tell him im looking for surround sound and i dont really need bass cause im gonna set it to just above norm any ways. yet he still goes on and on. then about 10 minutes in he sees some lady picking up the speakers that she just bought, he sold them on the bass feature alone i ended up buying the surround speakers online and getting a true knowledge for just how much bass they have against other speakers

in his defense he was a really nice guy and i understand how bass can be important, just not as a total selling feature

[nohoy]

Originally posted by Kryten
it's a simple catch 22 situation, by the time someone is smart enough to give you the answers their smart enough to move up to the next step therefore unless you ask the million dollar tech you will always wind up with computer store answers

kudos to the powers of observation

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by VegetaQ
Or things like going to school and wasting it. I would kill for the opp to have paid College for Any computing feild. And she wastes it. Thats what I don't like.

I can see what you're saying. I didn't really mean to defend her or anything, maybe you have every right to be p**sed, especially if she comes to you for help.

I know this chick who was talking about getting a computer degree, she was in her freshman year. Total airhead, though a really nice person. She didn't know how to connect her computer (it was a name-brand PC with color-coded connectors) and needed help with that. Then she thought you could just get on the internet with any computer. She didn't know you needed a service provider and a modem connected to a phone line. She actually tried running AIM even after I told her this. I had a good laugh, and told her she may want to reconsider going for the computer degree, or at least go a less technical route.

[Krieger]

I don’t know if any of you are professional programmers and I'm not flaming anyone here. I've taken CS degree classes and worked for a small company programming custom built applications. I can safely say that programmers tend to need to know about the systems they are programming for, not necessarily on the level of a computer engineer but at least how to do simple installs and track down problems with the systems. I’ve personally had to rip apart systems because something that worked on every other system it was installed on would not work for some stupid hardware problem or conflict. All the schools I’ve taken classes at ( 2 or 3 at the least ), all have had hardware, application, and OS courses that were required. they might not teach a lot of the nit-picky stuff that real world problems tend to come up with but at least they are a starting point. I’m surprised that the 3rd year CS major has made it as far as she has, from my experience people like that tend to be weeded out very quickly. For instance in my first lecture class(C and C++ if anyone is wondering) there were 275 students. Halfway through the semester there were 125 of us, 50 took the final, and less than half passed. That was a bit of a tough a** class though. I just wanted to point out that understanding hardware is a integral part of programming. Yeah some programmers are clueless, but then again some car mechanics are too. I’ve found that understanding the hardware aspects of a computer system helps when you are programming anything for that system. Just my 2 cents.

[Legionnaire]

This overclockers.com board should take over the computer stores in the world and then, and only then, will you get quality help. What do you say? LOL

TO ARMS MEN! TO ARMS!!!

[Monaco]

Welcome to the party Krieger!:)

I just wanted to point out that understanding hardware is a integral part of programming. Yeah some programmers are clueless, but then again some car mechanics are too. I’ve found that understanding the hardware aspects of a computer system helps when you are programming anything for that system.

heh, that's what I'm talking about! Far too many 'Pros' out there that don't know their way around a mouse. Same goes for the computer sales guys- you need to know quite a lot about PCs to sell them effectively, even tho most computer salemen don't know jack. Still, CompUSA etc still muddles along somehow eh?:D

[Krieger]

First off, thanks for the warm welcome Monster. I really expected to get some negitive feedback from that post. I'm new to message boards and forums. I figured being that I love overclocking this would be a good place to take it up(Plus the pages load sweet at work).

Most of the "Pros" out there that are clueless are a direct result in the IT market being flooded when the Dot Coms fell from grace. Which means that people who are perfectly qualifed are losing out on good jobs that they otherwise would have had. Personally I'm looking for work programming or Network Admin. But there just is not anything out there and when there is, you end up competing against tons of people, so of whom's degrees are not even related to CS. Personally I would rather the clueless "Pros" go to best buy and CompUSA then take up valuable jobs that people like myself would be happy doing.

*End Rant*

Sorry guys, this is just something that been buggin me out for a while...

[VegetaQ]

Originally posted by Krieger
First off, thanks for the warm welcome Monster. I really expected to get some negitive feedback from that post. I'm new to message boards and forums. I figured being that I love overclocking this would be a good place to take it up(Plus the pages load sweet at work).

Most of the "Pros" out there that are clueless are a direct result in the IT market being flooded when the Dot Coms fell from grace. Which means that people who are perfectly qualifed are losing out on good jobs that they otherwise would have had. Personally I'm looking for work programming or Network Admin. But there just is not anything out there and when there is, you end up competing against tons of people, so of whom's degrees are not even related to CS. Personally I would rather the clueless "Pros" go to best buy and CompUSA then take up valuable jobs that people like myself would be happy doing.

*End Rant*

Sorry guys, this is just something that been buggin me out for a while...

Thats what I was angry about. I lost a position in IT Here at Nextel Partners to somone else based souly on the fact that "he has been with the company for almsot 2 years" and I know far more than he does. Now that they realize hes an idiot he gets paid 37,500 a year to go around and zip tie computer cables and Image new Machines.

[res0r9lm]

Thats what I was angry about. I lost a position in IT Here at Nextel Partners to somone else based souly on the fact that "he has been with the company for almsot 2 years" and I know far more than he does. Now that they realize hes an idiot he gets paid 37,500 a year to go around and zip tie computer cables and Image new Machines.
a promoting decision should be based on time with company and also experience.

[Monaco]

Krieger we don't flame people here, ever:) One of the reasons the Overclockers.com forums ROCK!! If you like to OC, you are definately in the right place.

Most of the 'Professionals' I know are exactly as you say- leftovers from the Dot-Com boom who have no real skills. heh, when you ask em if they have taken many CS courses they say " do you mean like Counter-Strike?" :)

I say give it a few years, eventually all the fakes will get fired or transferred or whatever and it'll be our game again:D

[Krieger]

Too bad hiring decisions can't be based on the same... too many people out there claiming to be able to do things that they cant. I went to an interview once, and the interviewer and I were talking about things I had programmed in the past, I had pretty much written his whole system over the past two years through various projects. He handed the jobs over to someone else, but told me that I was "In the top five". It's happened in almost every interview I've been to so far.

[Krieger]

Monster. Thanks for info about flaming... makes making harsh comments a mite bit easier. Also also of the problem is that some of us that deserve jobs are working s*** jobs just to get by and it's getting ugly. I've also found recuiters a little less than helpful. I get more responses out of cold emailings. Any other techs here that have similar experiences with recuiters?

[res0r9lm]

you'll get alot further BS'in someone then actually know what your talking about

[Krieger]

tell me about it.... I'm not going to get into what kinds of things I've seen on resumes. My last workplace was rather democratic, everyone got to vote on hiring(granted boss had final say). We used to rip apart people's resumes to see what they really knew. Turns out that generally they dont know much... most places dont do that though. Typically if you can talk the talk you got your way in the door.

[Monaco]

k man we have the same problem it seems. I just got beat out by a girl cuz she had an MCSE, and zero experiance. So of course they want her instead of me and my 10+ years. ARGGH. Back to construction work to pay the rent for me, I guess.

Well she was a little hottie too, I suppose that might have done it.:D

What gets me is the folks who talk the talk, but don't really know s***. They will make things up out of thin air to sound smart and be impressive. Like, a regular human would just say they don't know and go find out, but Mr. Super Tech has to make up a BS answer that is completely ridiculous front to back. That happens to me a lot at Best Buy for some reason, at CompUSA they don't care enough to lie.

I think I just need to be more shady on my resume, I'm being too honest now:)

[res0r9lm]

A guy told me yesterday he was getting a new computer with his income tax check for $1000 and it was a windows 2001

[Krieger]

Monster, I'm thinking the same thing too, but my damnable morals keep getting in the way. I've never lied on my resume, but I wonder if I nocked myself up a few notches if it would help me.

res0r9lm, Yeah most of the people I know are like that. Some guy where I'm working now wants me to add two lines to his resume because he doesn't know how to make it look the same as all the rest of it. Odd though because he's suppose to good at robotics and engineering...hummm something to think about.

[nil_esh]

Originally posted by Monster of Rock
I say give it a few years, eventually all the fakes will get fired or transferred or whatever and it'll be our game again:D

Hell yah.. The place I work we got nothing but hardcore geeks, and some people who are just really experienced (though aren't really geeks). Hell, my boss is an overclocker! We got no tolerance for fakes around here, and identify them very quickly.

I think the big corporations are gonna have a harder time getting rid of the fakes, but it'll happen after a few years.

That sucks about the MCSE chick snagging your potential job. Normally recruiters are more interested in experience..

[The Pingmaster]

This guy at compusa tried to sell me a warranty plan thing for my monitor when i got it (19" flat tube viewsonic $249... good value, A90F), and said:

"Hey, you know, yeah, you really look like the person for this plan. If you think ANYTHING is wrong with this monitor, than you can just take it back in and we'll give you a new one. That's right I said IF ANYTHING happens.... like for example a pixel goes out."

My dad and I almost died laughing when we got out of that place.

[Malakai]

dead pixel on a CRT, LOL!

[matti2]

The majority of the people who shop for computers have no idea what they are doing. They do not know they are getting ripped off. And almost all the employees know about as much as the customer + whatever is on the little display sign below it.

CompUSA should recruite in this forum. Well, nevermind I suppose they would lose buisness.

[matti2]

Originally posted by res0r9lm
A guy told me yesterday he was getting a new computer with his income tax check for $1000 and it was a windows 2001

Hahaha! That is great!

P.S. I was wondering does Windows 2001 have less bugs than ME? I might look into it.

[res0r9lm]

Originally posted by matti2


Hahaha! That is great!

P.S. I was wondering does Windows 2001 have less bugs than ME? I might look into it.
you do know there is no such as windows 2001.. right

[matti2]

Yeah, I know. A little sarcasim.

[Malakai]

do u mean windows 2000 or XP?
they are both WAY BETTER than winblowsME. 98 2'nd editin was mad better. the 9x windows suck a$$! 2000&XP are unbelevably stable.
and NTFS is better than fat32.

[res0r9lm]

Originally posted by matti2
Yeah, I know. A little sarcasim. whew!! wasn't sure if you were j/k or not

[res0r9lm]

Originally posted by Malakai
do u mean windows 2000 or XP?
they are both WAY BETTER than winblowsME. 98 2'nd editin was mad better. the 9x windows suck a$$! 2000&XP are unbelevably stable.
and NTFS is better than fat32.

have both 98 & me they both suck!! contemplating eithier win 2000 or linux mandrake

[Malakai]

im gonna learn linux when i finish my folding machine, itll be a tbird 1.33 on an sdram mobo, cause i have all of the parts but mobo and ram. im mainly gonna do it just to learn. id love to know Linux well:)

[matti2]

Originally posted by res0r9lm
whew!! wasn't sure if you were j/k or not

I know there isn't one but I am sure it is better than ME. Because ME is horrible! It crashes all the time and I am about to chunck my slow laptop out of my window.

[res0r9lm]

me will slow you down alot compared to win 98

[RnPgrosz]

Yeah, XP is much more stable than ME. ME crashed all the time but with XP its not an issue. I guess for the average person who only knows how to use a computer and not much more ME was an ok OS.

[res0r9lm]

Originally posted by rnpgrosz
Yeah, XP is much more stable than ME. ME crashed all the time but with XP its not an issue. I guess for the average person who only knows how to use a computer and not much more ME was an ok OS.
Luckly I haven't had any problems with winME other than not releasing memory.

[Cooler666]

Originally posted by Malakai
do u mean windows 2000 or XP?
they are both WAY BETTER than winblowsME. 98 2'nd editin was mad better. the 9x windows suck a$$! 2000&XP are unbelevably stable.
and NTFS is better than fat32.

NTFS is not better than fat32, well depends for what

[RnPgrosz]

NTFS is defitintley better than fat32. Ever since I switched to NTFS I have had a fraction of the crashes I had with fat32. Plus NTFS is a more secure file system and will not loose your data as easily as fat32.

[Cowboy X]

Windows ME isn't as stable as 98SE and is also slower :mad: ( sorry there is no Barf emoticon )

But back to this tread's original discussion:

Even 'educated ' people make those store clerk sort of mistakes and we here have to remember that some people just do not know anything about hardware ......... no matter how good they may be at msoffice.

I had a summer job at an exams center chocked full of trained programmers and they allowed IBM to charge over $1200.00 to replace a HD with an identical model ..... no software installation was needed :) !!

There was also a guy there being paid more than i was with a BSC in maths and computing I ( schoolboy )remember having to show him how to create a directory ( the days of dos ).He got a permanent job there over a buddy of mine 'cause he had no degree !!:rolleyes:

[ThePunkGeek]

i got a bad mobo that killed my CPU so i wanted it repalced. before they replaced it they wanted to test my motherboard so i brought in my computer. they staired and it confused. the only difference from it is that there some metal switches on the front a case window cold cathod ramsink and just little things.

[heezer7]

I just went lloking for a laptop w/ my girlfriend. her parents already have a gateway so that was the first place they wanted to look. i was amazed when the salesman knew what he was talking about but he was only a college student. he even under stood when he told me about his PC and then i told him oi had a dual athlon. while i was there i say a sign w/ LCDs on sale. i asked him to point me out one. then he started saying how bad their refresh rates and other stuuf is. i asked him for a spec sheet on it and he told me they didn't know stuff like that!

[Starfoxer]

Originally posted by Malakai
I went to the local computer store today, wich i wont name, to ask if they had any oem Athlon XP's. One of the guys didnt know what OEM meant. So they all gather round me and i tell them i need a specific stepping and they are all looking at me like im speaking a different language. This is supposed to be the best local computer repair and product store in like the whole county.
when i said the AGKGA Y stepping i got 6 "HUH?"s. so i explained and they all told me when the shipment of XP's comes in i can search through them all and pick the one i want. i never thought i would be able to stump the whole crew of a comp repair shop.

Anyone have any similar experiences?


LOL, the exact same thing happened at Fry's. i was looking
for an AGOIA and they were like ask "jim" he knows
wut you be talkin bout. i ask jim and he said "huh"
so i schooled em and they said, NO you cant choose
a stepping! you buy what you get, then i left :p

[gtsimmo]

One particular time I remember the most is when I went into a small computer store and asked for aftermarket heatsinks and fans for my Pent3. He said the stock cooling was the best cooling for the chip with a rather stupid grine on his face, like I had just asked a stupid question. To say the least I walked straight out of the store after that.

[Rafjr00]

There is this long standing thought that the best things come from big stores that sell things made by big companies. I have built computers for my fameily, friends and friend's fameilies. Ever single one of them said that they will come back to me for another computer. I for the life of me will never understand wy a person sould go to a store other then a localy owned and operated computer store to get a computer. I love to pick on compusa and best buy sales people. i was at best to get a webcam for my mom. I went to the rep. and said that i had seen that their crutial mem was on sale. he said ya it is the best mem made and he went on about all the testing it goes through and so on. then i said ya but is it better then micron mem:-: he said it is way better. I said I saw a stick of it oc'ed to 320Mhz. He tells me rether bluntly that it is only rated for 133Ghz. No that is not a typo he said Gigahz. I almost ****ed on myself I was leaghing so hard. I will never cut these people an slack. Some of your are right that what do you expect from 3 days worth of training. But that is just unexeptable. If you are going to be selling something that changes as fast as computer do you have to know about the product, end of discussion!

[Malakai]

its okay for salespeople not to know and be honest about it, but when they lie to try and make a sale i get angry:mad:

and Starfox if i were u i would never go to Fry's again. we dont have em on the east coast but for them to say u cant choose a stepping is rediculous.

ALWAYS go to local mom and pop stores, like Trancebear's store. they usually dont do much business and have a hard time staying afloat. all of the ones ive ever seen had nice, knowledgeable employees and if they didnt know they just say they dont know and thats the end of it;)

and they ALL so far will let me dig through their XP's to find a stepping i like. help the little stores out and do yourself a favor, buy from them and not BB or Fry's.

i buy almost all of my parts online but for CPU's i always hit up the local stores. its usually a few more bucks but well worth a good o/c. id rather pay 125 for a 1600+ AROIA Y (how much my AGOGA was when i bought it) than to pay 100 and get a crap stepping that wont o/c for ****

[Skiing Squirrel]

I hate when you go to the tech department at compusa or bestbuy and their answer to everything is that your mobo is shot and you will have to buy a new one, than they quickly guide you to their large selection of 3 mobos.