I can only claim half the title credits… the other half goes to the incredible computer guy at work..
***
“I need a new toner cartridge for the printer”
“Ok, that’s fine, but you’ll have to order one yourself..”
“???”
“Uh, yeah, since they implemented the new system, I’m no longer responsible..”
“Oh. So how do I know what to order?”
“It’s written on the data print out..”
“The what?”
“The data print out.. All the info about the printer, on one page..”
“Oh. And how do I find that?”
“There’s a menu, probably 2 or 3 levels deep, you usually have to click…[blah blah blah]…”
<blank look>
“Should I come down to the workshop and check for you?”
<Nods> “Yes please, that would be fantastic.”
***
20 minutes later, the cartridge was ordered. Despite the data sheet being totally useless (and in an unusual place on the menu), and having to take the printer to pieces to get to the old cartridge in order to read the right number from a row of several, and ‘the system’ not having the cartridge number as a search criteria, and my particular cartridge not being explicitly listed, and… Ach, all kinds of hurdles.
Sometimes I feel better about not insisting on doing everything by myself.. 🙂
Tech is a mess.
Yes! And whoever decided it was a good idea to not only decentralise the ordering process, but also allow everyone to choose their own technology was a crazy person. There must be 50 different printer cartridges in the system! The company isn’t even that huge