The Right Tool

Router? I hardly know her!

Once, I had a customer come into Best Buy with a router to return. The box had been opened but it did not look touched. The customer informed me that the router box said that the package would come with an installation disc and that the disc was not in the box. I looked on the side, and lo and behold, it said that there was a disc. I looked in the box, and sure enough, there was no disc. Fair enough. I did have a little inkling of an idea though, well, actually a pretty big idea, as to why there was no disc in the box. It was a misprint. To double check though I grabbed another router box and opened it up, and as you can imagine, there was no disc. At this point I looked back in the original box and the instructions were still sealed. I unsealed the instructions, with the customer in front of me, and the set up did not require the disc. The customer was dumbfounded, and at first did not believe me.

"How on earth am I supposed to set it up without the disc?"
"The instructions tell you how, see?" *holds up instructions*
"Yeah but it says there is a disc!"
"Well, the instructions do not have a disc in them. I'm sorry, it was a misprint." *holds up instructions further*

As you can imagine, that went on for some time. Finally, the customer accepted the six step illustrated instruction guide and walked out of the door with his original box and router.

I can certainly understand his frustration and disbelief, as well as his reaction upon not receiving a disc in the box. That being said, he immediately gave up. When a tool wasn't presented to him that he believed he needed, he did not take the next step of opening up the instructions that would have then shown him that he did not need the disc.

People often run into these obstacles everyday and simply give up, but even on a larger scale.

"I can't afford programming classes, therefore I can't become a programmer."
Solution: Online training sites such as Coursera and Code Academy.

"I don't have Microsoft Word, therefore I can't write my paper."
Solution: Google Docs, Open Office, and so many more free programs.

A hammer isn't the only thing that can make a nail go into a wall, and a hose isn't the only way to water plants. When the supposedly "right" tool isn't available, it isn't time to give up - it's time to find an alternative.