That one customer who watched me fix her dryer and asked way too many questions

Last Wednesday I was out at a house in Arlington replacing a dryer heating element. The owner stood right behind me the whole time asking about every screw I took out. She kept saying "are you sure that's the problem?" even after I showed her the burned out coil. By the time I finished she had taken notes on her phone like she was studying for a test. Anyone else run into customers who try to learn your whole trade in one service call?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee_reed8d ago

And isn't that just how everything is going these days, everybody wants to be an expert in five minutes after watching a couple YouTube videos. People forget that some things actually take time and practice to get right, not just a quick search on their phone. I guess we're all just trying to feel a little less helpless when the big stuff breaks down.

diana_west278d ago

Did you catch that piece on NPR the other day about the "knowing-doing gap"? It basically says we can watch a million tutorials but actually doing the thing is different. I tried fixing my own toilet last month after watching like four videos, and let me tell you, it did not go well. In my experience, there's a big difference between understanding something in theory and actually getting your hands dirty. Your mileage may vary, but I think a lot of these quick fixes just make people feel good for a minute, not actually solve the problem long term.

river_allen7d ago

My cat actually watched me fix the sink once. Didnt help one bit.