Some people's stupidity never ceases to amaze me...

[Chaotic42]

When I worked at Office Depot, a woman called and said she needed some internal part (something really obscure, I can't remeber what) for her printer than she bought when OD first opened. I told her that she should contact the manufacturer. She said that it was our fault that it broke, and we should give her a new $800 printer. She went on for like 20 minutes.

I never laughed so hard in all of my life, once I got off the phone that is.

 

[Nemesis77]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
This guy calls me up, says he just bought one of our laser printers...

Me: We don't ship parallel cables with any printers except our color laserjets,...

...I ended up giving him the public address of our CEO, with a phone number as well.

Color Laserjets? That means HP. Hopefully you didn't give him the add & number of Carly Fiorina .

 

[Squisher]

Yes, it's been years since any company provided a cable and they all do it. However, what other commonly used computer appliance comes without a cable?

Speakers....no
Camera.......no
Scanner.......no
router..........no
usb hub.......no

Not including this cable has to be one of the stupidest things that a group of manufacturers joined in lockstep to do considering a printer is commonly bought first by computer newbies.

 

[Format C:]

Yeah! Screw these stupid people that expect the world for nothing. What do they think? That we're just going to up and hand over a $5 cable just because they buy a printer from us and was too stupid to know it didn't include the cable? Let 'em take their business elsewhere. Who needs 'em? I can keep my $5 cable and won't be bothered with them OR their stupid money.

 

[Eli]

I'm with Viper.

 

[Muadib]

I'm with the customer. When I bought my C80 at Staples, the sales guy tryed to harass me into getting their printer pak for something in the area of $50. All it included was a cable and a extended warranty. At first, I said no, quite nicely, but the fn guy wouldn't leave it alone. He pissed me off saying something like it was a good deal and how I would be foolish to pass it up. I lost it then, and went on a tirade on how the cable was once included when you bought a printer, and asked him how could he live with himself ripping off mothers and grandmothers? He didn't know how to respond, so I said what else to you call charging $50 for something be both know you can buy for $5 elsewhere. When I got to the register, I saw 3 other people in line who had the printer pak in hand, so I called out the name of my salesperson. When he came over, I yelled out look you ripped her off, and him off, and her off. He got really red in the face and walked off.

One of the women asked what that was about since I pointed at her. When I asked her why she was buying the pak, she said the guy told me I needed a cable, and that this was the best buy. I then asked her did she know that she could get the same cable at the Costco down the street for abould $5? She looked shocked said she didn't know, and thanked me about 100 times before leaving the store, making my day.

It should be in the box. I don't care which type, but put something.

 

[joohang]

Viper, where do you work now? Did you get a new job?

 

[joohang]

One of the women asked what that was about since I pointed at her. When I asked her why she was buying the pak, she said the guy told me I needed a cable, and that this was the best buy. I then asked her did she know that she could get the same cable at the Costco down the street for abould $5? She looked shocked said she didn't know, and thanked me about 100 times before leaving the store, making my day.

hahaha

I hate misleading sales like that. :|

This Sony sales dude once tried to sell me an extended warranty that was the same price as the product. WTF?

 

[Sepen]

When I bouhgt my Samsung laser printer last spring from Outpost I was told it didn't have one, so I ordered one. When it came, yep, one was included in the box. Moral of the story....csr's are sometimes just as clueless.

 

[Bluga]

The cable should be included.

 

[m2kewl]

Originally posted by: Sepen
When I bouhgt my Samsung laser printer last spring from Outpost I was told it didn't have one, so I ordered one. When it came, yep, one was included in the box. Moral of the story....csr's are sometimes just as clueless.

Yeah - Samsung is cool.

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

HP includes cables with their consumer printers.

'Hey! I bought this car here just yesterday but the brakes are already failing!'
'Brakes? But we didn't mention those in the papers!'
'What's use is a car without brakes?? I demand that you put brakes in them!'
'Sorry, can't do that, you have to buy them extra!' *mumbles something about the stupidity of buyers*

To my opinion leaving a printer cable out is like leaving out the remote control when selling a TV. Try looking at a HP printer or scanner box, it will always tell if it is USB only or parallel + USB, and those cables will be in the box.

 

[cavingjan]

I'm with Viper on this one too. I've already got way too many parallel port cables here at the office. For that fact, I wish they would quit sending me more power cables for these things. I just use the one that's already plugged into the wall or ups rather than open up another one. It unfortunately is just another piece of junk that ends up in the landfill. If it is an unusual cable, I want it but if its standard, I've got at least 20 of them by now.
Also for combination printers (AKA usb and parallel port), which cable do you include. I don't want two useless cables laying around my house. USB cables are getting just as bad as parallel cables. I've got an extra 3 of them already too.

However, the mail order stores should be considerate enough to offer a steep discount on the neccessary cables when (and only when ) you order the printer.

BTW I know my 3com router never came with any cables other than the power cable. It would have saved me some money if I didn't have to buy cat5 cables for each port but then again, they probably wouldn't be the right length anyway.

 

[TapTap]

Originally posted by: Eli
I'm with Viper.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

Don't blame the guy for being frustrated. The case of the "no parallel cable" is an odd collusion in the industry. Regardless of the list of "what's included (or not)" on the box, it is entirely reasonable for someone to assume they would get the necessary cable(s) to run a piece of equipment, simply because the vast majority of products to come with everything required (save batteries).

Me: We find that the majority of our customers have parallel cables already & would simply not end up using the cable if we did send it.

Personally, I didn't have a cable when I bought my laser printer a couple years back. Started stocking up on a few extras so I can help out the folks that buy printers w/o cables

If enough people complained, you'd see more cables being included.

The caller wasn't a good example of a stupid caller. We've all seen (and heard) from much worse.

 

[XZeroII]

I've never gotten a printer that came with a cable. I think it's a conspiracy...

 

[Viper GTS]

I never expected so much division over this.

Just a couple more points:

- The particular printer has three potential connection options (Parallel, USB, ethernet)... Which cable would YOU include? All three? What length? Will a 6' parallel cable suffice? If the customer needs a 10' they'll be calling in demanding a longer cable. If we include a 10' & they need 15'? You get the picture.

- His stupidity was not proven by him not knowing there wasn't a cable in the box, but by his reaction. A parallel cable simply isn't a big deal! I have three drawers full of extra cables at home, parallel, IDE, FDD< you name it. When I buy OEM drives locally I tell them to keep their IDE & CD audio cables - I don't need them or want them.

- When you buy a product you need to read what's included. It's stated very clearly, in a nice colored box. Hard to miss it. I've never received a parallel cable with any printer I've purchased, & I wouldn't want one to be included. I'll pick my own cables, thanks anyway.

- I might have been a little harsh on him. I don't like rude, demanding customers any more than anyone else, & he pissed me off.

Viper GTS

 

[FoBoT]

Originally posted by: Viper GTS
I never expected so much division over this.

yeah, this is wacky, it looks like Civil War will erupt, the "yes, include the cable" camp vs. "no, buy it seperate" camp

 

[GSOYF]

<<Good Lord people, your brain is there for more than preventing echos!>>

Now that's funny

 

[Hossenfeffer]

- The particular printer has three potential connection options (Parallel, USB, ethernet)... Which cable would YOU include? All three? What length?

A good point and reasoning behind "no cable"

- His stupidity was not proven by him not knowing there wasn't a cable in the box, but by his reaction. A parallel cable simply isn't a big deal! I have three drawers full of extra cables at home, parallel, IDE, FDD< you name it. When I buy OEM drives locally I tell them to keep their IDE & CD audio cables - I don't need them or want them.

Not a good point. You're the exception, rather than the rule A parallel cable can be a big deal, particularly if you just got your computer shipped to you, went out to Best Buy (or ordered online) to get a printer, drive back (or wait for shipping) to your home/office only to learn you can't hook the damn thing up yet.

- When you buy a product you need to read what's included. It's stated very clearly, in a nice colored box. Hard to miss it.

It's all in the assumptions/expectations. People don't realize the "extras" (cable interface, length, color ) involved with a printer purchase/install. Nothin' stupid about it. Ill-informed, perhaps, but not stupid.

 

[apoppin]

Here's a direct copy off of the web page:

what's in the box
(Brand/Model) printer, 500-sheet paper tray, power cord, toner cartridge, getting started guide, (Brand/Model) CD

Notice the lack of parallel cable?

Viper GTS

Perhaps it would be better if the web site had a large disclaimer: Cables NOT included with printer.. It is so simple to add so the customer doesn't have to think about what's NOT included.

That way - read uninformed (not stupid) - people wouldn't have a chance to be irritated and thus pass on the irritation to the CSR.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

Lots of controversy over this heh. As long as it is clearly stated on the box, I think it is ok. Though I would rather have a computer come with a cable, and I bet he wanted a parallel cable, 6 or 10' should be good enough, because the people who don't know about printers and computers seem to be the ones that ask, and will probably want the parallel cable.

 

[Hossenfeffer]

Originally posted by: apoppin
Perhaps it would be better if the web site had a large disclaimer: Cables NOT included with printer.. It is so simple to add so the customer doesn't have to think about what's NOT included.

That way - read uninformed (not stupid) - people wouldn't have a chance to be irritated and thus pass on the irritation to the CSR.

Disclaimers will help folks and won't stop others from calling. I imagine some of them would call even after seeing a disclaimer, speaking in a tone of deservitude that they are entitled to a cable. Others might play dumb in an attempt to prove what they consider to be a valid point.

 

[apoppin]

Disclaimers will help folks and won't stop others from calling. I imagine some of them would call even after seeing a disclaimer, speaking in a tone of deservitude that they are entitled to a cable. Others might play dumb in an attempt to prove what they consider to be a valid point.

A obvious disclaimer separates the uninformed from the stupid. And it is no big deal - nor is it a lot of work to add a disclaimer to a web site. That's why the printer boxes that do not include cables state so.

I have learned in my own business when a customer makes a complaint, many others are thinking the same thing even though they say nothing. I do not want to lose the business of uninformed people. There are so many.

 

[Dyflam]

Hey man... I bought a cable from you and it didn't include a printer... WTF!!