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Discolor Online

Weblog of the sweetest person you never want to piss off.

 

Geek sense of entitlement

Wil Wheaton wrote about the geeks lined up at the wrong theater for the new Star Wars movie, who (instead of admitting they were wrong) have decided to stay in their line "as an act of protest." The sense of entitlement, the idea that they can't just admit they were wrong and take their licks for being stupid but now must "escalate" the whole thing and make it a so-called protest...oh it's so familiar. How many times have game publishers had to deal with some snark on the internet bent on calling them out for a mistake in the rules that "ruins the game" or some other overwrought hyperbole? Or the guy who makes a big post about how something is broken, when it's really just something that he doesn't like? Every game company at one time or another has fallen under the unwanted attention of someone who pops up on every message board, backhands a company or product at the slightest provocation. I know I've personally wondered hundreds of times, "Who are these people? How the hell do they function in the world?" (Perhaps they sit in lines at movie theaters in their spare time?)

Here's a recent encounter:

Customer X orders a product. When the customer's address is entered onto the UPS label, there's a slight typo in the address which results in the package being literally delivered to Customer X's neighbor. Customer X asks about his package: the error is discovered. UPS confirms the package was delivered to neighbor. Customer Service suggests that Customer X ask if his neighbor accepted the package for him. This concept is so abhorrent to Customer X that he writes angry letters back to Customer Service (wherein he admits he doesn't know his neighbors so they "couldn't" have accepted the package for him, and goes on a rant about he feels would be an acceptable solution which includes UPS coming back to pick up the package from his neighbor's house to personally hand-deliver it to him, or return it to the sender so the sender can send it correctly, all while casting aspersions on his unknown neighbor's general honesty).

This whole ridiculous exchange is followed up the next day with a one-line message that his package showed up in his mail slot (apparently without his having to go talk to his neighbor, which seems to be the issue of most concern to him) and he is willing to consider the matter resolved.

 

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