Friday, June 28, 2002
Just What Exactly Do The Vendors Owe You?
Posted by Brad Adrian in "THOUGHT" @ 07:40 AM
Some of the discussions we've been having in the Thoughts forums have gotten me thinking more and more about the kinds of expectations that Pocket PC users have for the companies that produce the goods and services we use. On more than one occasion, I've noted a strong sense of entitlement that some customers (and potential customers) have, especially when it comes to the latest and greatest devices and their features.
Here are a couple of examples of what I'm talking about:
• The backlight on my iPAQ started messing up, just like it has on many people's devices. It is fair for me to expect HPQ to fix or replace that unit until the backlight performs the way I was told it would perform and in a way that most reasonable people would expect it to perform. I'm entitled to that remediation.
• The news of how the upcoming XScale-based devices will probably not exhibit significant performance increases over current models was a huge disappointment to many of us. I was personally looking forward to getting a new speed demon Pocket PC. However, I hadn't plunked down any money for one yet, I hadn't significantly altered the way I live or do business in anticipation of the XScale devices and I am none the worse for wear because they will not provide the promised improvement.
Now *assuming* that there has been no X-Files-type conspiracy afoot to deliberately bilk us out of our hard-earned money, why do so many of us have that same sense of entitlement with the XScale devices that I have with the backlight issue? The device, software and chip manufacturers surely didn't set out to provide Pocket PCs that are a flop, and they will bear the brunt of their mistakes in the form of diminished or nonexistent sales. Yet, many readers still feel they are *owed* something, some remediation, as a result of this fiasco. They seem to take it quite personally.
Unless someone has suffered a loss or damage as a result of this mess, how can that person feel entitled to anything more than a bit of disappointment over a technology that never came to fruition?
Here are a couple of examples of what I'm talking about:
• The backlight on my iPAQ started messing up, just like it has on many people's devices. It is fair for me to expect HPQ to fix or replace that unit until the backlight performs the way I was told it would perform and in a way that most reasonable people would expect it to perform. I'm entitled to that remediation.
• The news of how the upcoming XScale-based devices will probably not exhibit significant performance increases over current models was a huge disappointment to many of us. I was personally looking forward to getting a new speed demon Pocket PC. However, I hadn't plunked down any money for one yet, I hadn't significantly altered the way I live or do business in anticipation of the XScale devices and I am none the worse for wear because they will not provide the promised improvement.
Now *assuming* that there has been no X-Files-type conspiracy afoot to deliberately bilk us out of our hard-earned money, why do so many of us have that same sense of entitlement with the XScale devices that I have with the backlight issue? The device, software and chip manufacturers surely didn't set out to provide Pocket PCs that are a flop, and they will bear the brunt of their mistakes in the form of diminished or nonexistent sales. Yet, many readers still feel they are *owed* something, some remediation, as a result of this fiasco. They seem to take it quite personally.
Unless someone has suffered a loss or damage as a result of this mess, how can that person feel entitled to anything more than a bit of disappointment over a technology that never came to fruition?
