When you buy a new piece of equipment, read the damn manual. I don’t care if you’ve run virtually identical pieces of equipment for your entire life. Read the damn manual.
And if you DON’T read the manual, and the piece of equipment won’t work, read the damn manual THEN.
And if you STILL haven’t read the damn manual, don’t call the store screaming about how we sold you defective merchandise, because I WILL wait you out and then walk you through the steps to start your new lawnmower properly and be delighted when you clearly feel stupid.
The fact that I sound about 14 over the phone helps with this, but still, you could avoid the whole thing by just reading your damn manual.
A very different frame of reference, but given nearly forty years experience as a software developer, I find that the current generation not only will not, but cannot, Read The Fine Manual.
I have occasionally noticed this myself, but this one has pictures!
I will admit to occasionally not reading the manual at first. However, if things don’t work out, I do consult it. Since I don’t see most pictures well sometimes that also means getting on the internet to see if someone explained it further. A lot of manuals use stick figure drawings, fuzzy/grainy black and white 1960’s photos (that are a copy of a copy of a copy), or they give you no frame of reference – like they show you the switch but not where the switch is at on the machine.
One of my personal favorites for written manuals is when they call an item one thing in the parts list then call it something completely different directions (or the switch says something like “fire” and the manual uses “igniter” as the name of the switch).
The last two items I have put together, the manual never got updated so what they were showing and what I had to work with were not even the same basic shape. I don’t think I have ever had to come back to the store though since the web is such a wonderful resource.
True, I’ve seen those manuals! But I specifically checked this one myself after the first couple phone calls. While its not the greatest of pictures it DOES show what it needs to, and the directions specifically state that if you don’t do this the lawnmower won’t start…..
LOL…I find that NOBODY reads manuals anymore…people are “too busy”, make that TOO IMPATIENT. Our society wants instant results and a 3 page manual, well, no time for that! I always read manuals from front to back, then again because I have a need to KNOW what I’m doing! 🙂
there is definitely an bit of that in there too!