"Can I Help You?"

[grizzlyzone]

I really, really hate it when an overeager store clerk interrupts my train of thought just so I can be guided right to my prospective purchase. (Hasn't anyone heard of BROWSING?)

I drive over to the Staples. There's a big sign in the Window with a Western Digital 500MB USB Hard Drive on it. The price is like $100. I want it.

I walk into the store and make a beeline for the flash drive display. Before I even stop moving, there is an overactive store clerk wanting to know if he can help me.

"Can I help you?"

"I wanna hard drive."

"Flash Drive?"

"Hard Drive."

"Internal or External?"

"USB"

"Flash Drive?"

"Hard Drive."

"Internal or External?"

"USB"

"Hard drives are in the next aisle."

He directs me over to the next aisle filed with routers and wireless peripherals.

I circle back.

"That aisle was routers and wireless crap."

"What are you looking for?

I'm exasperated at this point.

"Western Digital. Hard Drive. USB. Book-something.There in the window. Big sign. On sale."

"Sir, you don't have to raise your voice."

I know, that if I had been allowed to look on the shelves, I would have seen the thing. But, no. I have to be led there by a genuine Staples store clerk, who will pick up the prospective purchase, and then escort me and carry my prospective purchase to a cashier. BAH! I may be old, but I'm not helpless.

"I'm going to CompUSA."

Which apparently closed up shop four months ago. The nearest is Greensboro. 74 miles away.

So, it's on to Best Buy. Good news and bad news. Yes, they do have Western Digital MyBook USB External Hard Drives. The FIRST generation. Discount priced at $279.95.

They have one SECOND generation there. Bigger drive. Half the price. Without the shrinkwrap. Sorry. Been burned by that before. I really wanted the THIRD generation. Bigger drive. Less money. {The size is unimportant. I just don't want to pay over $100.00.)

I'm about ready to walk. The store clerk comes by. He patiently listens to my story.

They have a Gateway. (Nope. They bought e-Machines, then got bought by Acer.) HP? (Nope. Not after that scandal they had awhile back.) How 'bout some of these designer hard drives from companies you never heard of? (Nope.) Seagate? (sigh. Well, OK.)

Now, THAT is how you help someone.

Comments

[bearzilla.livejournal.com]

BEWARE...WD MyBooks have a incredibly high failure rate.

I got 2 a week ago on sale and one was DOA right out of the box. I did some research and the failure rate is WAY over industry standards...close to 50% at one year. The older design and newer design shares the same lack of airflow...even with the vents on the top.

I took them back to Best Buy and got a standard Hitach 500GB drive and a very sexy Antec actively-cooled USB/eSATA case to hold it. Works great.

[grizzlyzone.livejournal.com]

DAYUM! Mebbe the forces were being kind to me. I didn't get the WD. I didn't want to pay more for the older generations with lss capacity. I ended up with the Seagate? Any good?

[bearzilla.livejournal.com]

Seagate drive failure rates in general are average at best. The 750G drives are below average and have a high failure according to EMC testing.

The WD's are usually a bit better than Seagate/Maxtor in terms...except for the 160GB IDE drives.

Hitachi 500GB drives tested as the most reliable at EMC labs.

[grizzlyzone.livejournal.com]

Ideally, this drive is just to back up my files (and iTunes) until I get a new, bigger drive in the box.

My other options were to back everything up to a gazillion CDs, or get a DVD burner and try to puzzle them out.

Thank you!

[badjahsensei.livejournal.com]

Completely agreed.

Last night, I went in to Gamestop to get something, and I was looking at the used games they had. As soon as I walked in, "Can I help you?" I politely rebuffed them.

They asked me three more times in twenty minutes. Each time, I got more and more sarcastic. "No, I still don't need help, and I know that if I need it to ask you because you've mentioned it ___ times now."

The fourth time, he got defensive. I think he got the clue.

Had they asked a fifth time, I was about to give them the "look, if you think I'm here to steal empty game boxes from you, why don't I just leave and save us both the annoyance. You seem to think that you need to make me aware of your presence as I keep looking about" speech--one I've had to give to clerks in the past, especially when I had the beard and long hair. I spent a year in retail, and the first tool of shrink/loss prevention is to shadow the suspicious customer, constantly offering "help."

[grizzlyzone.livejournal.com]

I'm sure they do it because they've been scolded threatened by the (mis)management-types to do so, but I buy more stuff when I can look around and see stuff I never thought of buying.

It's like when I walk into a fast food joint. I hang way back, just so I don't get pestered. Maybe, I got a vacuum tube brain and it takes awhile before I "warm up". I dunno. I just need some time to think, to debate, to mentally go over everything.

[truckerbear.livejournal.com]

Shop from home you internet knowledgeable bear!