...that you "make and ass out of u and me." Well I feel a little like that this morning
Earlier today I recieved an email from a software vendor (who, keeping to the rules of this blog, will remain nameless) that in order for them to issue me with a license for a new piece of software they needed the "Host ID" of my Windows laptop. - That was is it, a one line request with no further explanation.
Now about 70% of my time is spent on MAC devices of various types, MacBook, iPad, iPhone. I haven't seriously played around with a Windows machine in years - I had forgotten how to find the Host ID. Clicking on the My Computer icon and looking at Properties, which seemed to be the logical thing to do, was no help at all. So I sent off a quick email asking how exactly I was expected to find this elusive "Host ID"
"Oh, it's easy" came the reply. "Just open a command prompt, run the ipconfig/all command and look for the Phyisical Address it returns - that's the Host ID."
Hang on a minute - so the thing you initially asked me for isn't even called that, and you expected me to know that plus, I needed to go to the OS, and remember a command line I may never have used in my life!
Talk about making assumptions.
OK the end process was in fact easy - but then most things are if you know how to do them. Just beacuse you, your engineers and your support personal maybe confortable working in a partcicular environment, don't assume that your customers are just as familar.
Making yourself look like an "ass" and making your customers feel like one (even if it's only for a few seconds) is never a good idea.
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