22 December 2014

Today's topic: Knowing Where To Look

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.

Standing at the counter of Mr. Tire in Fallston, ready to pay for a pair of new tires just installed on my Cobalt, I turn the screen of my first smartphone, an iPhone 6 ( from my son ) toward L. Elmore ( sorry I didn't get his first name but I will and will add it here later ) and ask, 'Okay if I use this?' 'It' was an online coupon for $20 off a Mr. Tire bill of $75 or more. 'Yes' was the response.

As I turned the phone back towards me a man standing to my right says, 'Where did you get that?' 'On the Mr. Tire site,' I replied. He proceeds to place his smartphone on the counter between us and asks, 'Will you show me where, how?' I look down at his phone, an iPhone that's clad in what looks like an OtterBox Commuter case, just like the one my son is giving to me for my ( early Christmas present ) iPhone, right down to the colors… black on black, which as a matter of fact is due to arrive tomorrow. How cool is that?

After checking out the back of the case to verify it was in fact an OtterBox, I flipped the phone back over and started tapping away. In just a few seconds the same coupon was on his screen. L. Elmore smiled and commented, 'I can give the discount without seeing it on his phone.' I replied, 'Yes, but half the fun of doing geeky stuff like this is actually accomplishing what you set out to do.'

Bill, the fellow Mr. Tire customer I was helping out turns to me and says, 'That's amazing. You really know what you're doing.' Fighting the urge to permit my head to expand to the point that I would have to leave the building not through the front door but rather through one of the service bay doors I turned to Bill and said, 'It's just a matter of knowing where to look.'

I finished up by saying, 'There's nothing more frustrating than having such technology at our fingertips and being unable to use it.' Bill nodded and thanked me repeatedly. I reached into my card case and handed him one of my cards, indicating that if he ever 'got stuck' to contact me. I told him I work with temperamental technology all day long so I may be able to help. Before I could leave he was telling me about his sister's misadventures in microprocessing. Another card, a 'Happy Holidays and a Merry Christmas' wish to everyone in earshot and I'm on my way.

Give a man a coupon and he saves money today; teach him how… well, you know the rest.

Until next time...

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