- Jan 3, 2001
- 41,920
- 2,161
- 126
My in-laws, who are in their 60's, got a nice tax return. Being retired and always in awe of our LCD TV, they decided they wanted to get one to replace their 36" console TV. They ask me for some recommendations, and I give them a full list of things they'll want:
- high def TV service
- receiver to replace their old one (their old one doesn't have HDMI)
- some HDMI cables
- Go look for a TV that looks best to them. 50-55" will work best for their room.
My mother-in-law is famous for being cheap and angry, and one usually causes the other. Being the norm for any purchase over $12.37, cheapness caused a litany of screwups, which in turn caused a 10 megagrump airburst, which in turn caused misery to everyone within 10 miles of the epicenter (FEMA usually gets involved after that).
Her problems started with ordering Dish Network. She has a form of tourette's syndrome that is triggered by the word "extra." She ordered their absolute cheapest package, and when offered hi-def channels, she heard "costs EXTRA", which triggered an involuntary "Idontwanit" response.
"We have a hi-definition receiver available for $5 extra per mo..."
"Idontwanit"
"OK, but for $5 per month you can get the hi-definition channel package for your new t.."
"Idontwanit"
"Do you just want standard TV service?"
"Are there any extra fees on that?
"No"
"I'LL TAKE IT!"
So, Dish Network comes out, hooks up a standard definition receiver to her new 52" plasma TV, finishes, then leaves. She then calls my wife the following morning screaming "WE PAID ALL THIS #$%#$%#$ MONEY ON THIS TV AND IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP! WE SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH CABLE! WHAT THE HELL??!!!! I CAN'T STAND LOOKING AT THIS!!!"
My wife calls me on my way to work and asks if I can stop over to check out the situation. I walked in, and she had my poor father-in-law (who has emphysema) push their old 36" console back into the room and put it in front of their new TV because she couldn't stand looking at the picture on the new one. With an "ooookaaaaayyyyy..." smirk, I looked in back of the new TV, and the tech had hooked up the receiver with RCA cables. Easy enough---we need to use an HDMI cable to hook it up. Only there IS not HDMI port on the receiver.
To make a long story short, my mother-out-law was yelling at everyone from Dish Network, my wife, the installer, the dog, the Sham-Wow guy, and the members of the G20 conference about her poor picture and how hi-def is a sham, when in fact she didn't spend the total of $15/month extra that is needed for hi-def service. I stripped my mother-out-law of her ordering powers and told the father-in-law to call Dish back, plus gave him the exact model of receivers to order, and the exact way he needs his TV's hooked up. Dish was back out there the next day, and they're now flabbergasted at the picture quality....and that's a powerful statement because I've only used the word flabbergasted 4 times in my entire life. They watched Survivor last night and it looked like you could pop the pimples on the guy's back...the way HD should be.
In conclusion- it seems that people born in a certain generation have an inherent "You're out to screw me" gene, which often prevents them from making good choices. Everyone around them has to pay the price until someone steps in and points out their mistakes. What's scary is I think MOST people are like this right now. It's amazing hi-tech services can stay in business with people like this out there. Think of the mindset they're in in for a moment:
"I'll spend $1500 on a TV. Now, I don't want to spend anything extra so the TV will work well, I don't want to spend anything extra to make the TV sound good, and I don't want to spend anything extra to make the TV easy to use. Therefore, HI-DEF TV'S SUCK!"
I'm going to make a new foundation with the slogan "Relatives don't let older relatives get modern technology."
Stay tuned for Episode II: The Revenge of the DVR
- high def TV service
- receiver to replace their old one (their old one doesn't have HDMI)
- some HDMI cables
- Go look for a TV that looks best to them. 50-55" will work best for their room.
My mother-in-law is famous for being cheap and angry, and one usually causes the other. Being the norm for any purchase over $12.37, cheapness caused a litany of screwups, which in turn caused a 10 megagrump airburst, which in turn caused misery to everyone within 10 miles of the epicenter (FEMA usually gets involved after that).
Her problems started with ordering Dish Network. She has a form of tourette's syndrome that is triggered by the word "extra." She ordered their absolute cheapest package, and when offered hi-def channels, she heard "costs EXTRA", which triggered an involuntary "Idontwanit" response.
"We have a hi-definition receiver available for $5 extra per mo..."
"Idontwanit"
"OK, but for $5 per month you can get the hi-definition channel package for your new t.."
"Idontwanit"
"Do you just want standard TV service?"
"Are there any extra fees on that?
"No"
"I'LL TAKE IT!"
So, Dish Network comes out, hooks up a standard definition receiver to her new 52" plasma TV, finishes, then leaves. She then calls my wife the following morning screaming "WE PAID ALL THIS #$%#$%#$ MONEY ON THIS TV AND IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP! WE SHOULD HAVE STAYED WITH CABLE! WHAT THE HELL??!!!! I CAN'T STAND LOOKING AT THIS!!!"
My wife calls me on my way to work and asks if I can stop over to check out the situation. I walked in, and she had my poor father-in-law (who has emphysema) push their old 36" console back into the room and put it in front of their new TV because she couldn't stand looking at the picture on the new one. With an "ooookaaaaayyyyy..." smirk, I looked in back of the new TV, and the tech had hooked up the receiver with RCA cables. Easy enough---we need to use an HDMI cable to hook it up. Only there IS not HDMI port on the receiver.
To make a long story short, my mother-out-law was yelling at everyone from Dish Network, my wife, the installer, the dog, the Sham-Wow guy, and the members of the G20 conference about her poor picture and how hi-def is a sham, when in fact she didn't spend the total of $15/month extra that is needed for hi-def service. I stripped my mother-out-law of her ordering powers and told the father-in-law to call Dish back, plus gave him the exact model of receivers to order, and the exact way he needs his TV's hooked up. Dish was back out there the next day, and they're now flabbergasted at the picture quality....and that's a powerful statement because I've only used the word flabbergasted 4 times in my entire life. They watched Survivor last night and it looked like you could pop the pimples on the guy's back...the way HD should be.
In conclusion- it seems that people born in a certain generation have an inherent "You're out to screw me" gene, which often prevents them from making good choices. Everyone around them has to pay the price until someone steps in and points out their mistakes. What's scary is I think MOST people are like this right now. It's amazing hi-tech services can stay in business with people like this out there. Think of the mindset they're in in for a moment:
"I'll spend $1500 on a TV. Now, I don't want to spend anything extra so the TV will work well, I don't want to spend anything extra to make the TV sound good, and I don't want to spend anything extra to make the TV easy to use. Therefore, HI-DEF TV'S SUCK!"
I'm going to make a new foundation with the slogan "Relatives don't let older relatives get modern technology."
Stay tuned for Episode II: The Revenge of the DVR
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