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  • Writer's pictureTina

Be Wrong

It's a natural human instinct to resist the notion that we could be wrong. That we can make mistakes. As a both a writer and an editor, it's second nature for me to search through my own work for errors. No one is ever perfect and the notion that we might be in error is something all writers expect. There will always be another typo, a misplaced apostrophe, a grammar check program that turns a sentence into incomprehensible gibberish. It's natural and human to make mistakes.


What bothers me the most is how many people refuse to admit its even possible they might have made an error. As if the concept that they might be flawed is somehow beyond their comprehension. If you make a mistake, just shut up and deal with it. Don't blame someone else for your own mistakes. Frequently I see stories online of people in restaurants who order food and then get mad at the server for giving them exactly what they ordered. It's not the fault of the server what you thought you wanted isn't actually what you thought you wanted. Nor is it the fault of a salesperson that you didn't properly research the software you were looking to buy before getting it. It isn't the responsibility of a retailer to ensure you actually know what you're talking about before you buy something.


I wish people would be more willing to admit they don't know what they're talking about and are most likely wrong about their thoughts. It would certainly make Customer Service a less stressful job if people would admit they don't understand the deliveries process instead of screaming about how their fridge was supposed to arrive on Monday when it's scheduled for delivery on Thursday. It just makes the employee upset because he or she must then explain to the customer that they're wrong without outright calling them an idiot.


Then there are the ones who claim to know everything. While a part of it may be because I was a young woman trying to sell computer software to middle-aged businessmen, I frequently was told I was working with someone who knew exactly what they were looking for and what it did. Unfortunately for them, nine times out of ten they didn't have a clue and ended up leaving with the wrong thing no matter how many times I tried to tell them otherwise, because they were "experts". For those who are thinking they couldn't possibly be part of the problem, you may very well not be. However, it's a near-certainty someone you know is that exact person. So for all those people, I have a little bit of advice.


Don't claim to be an electrician and then ask what the difference between positive and negative poles are.


Don't claim to be a plumber and not know what PVC is.


Don't claim to be a software engineer if you've never heard of Photoshop and think Adobe is some company in Arizona making houses.


Last, but certainly not least, don't try to tell me you know your delicate electronics were defective at the time of purchase when you bring them in after dragging them to the store in the back of a pickup through a major thunderstorm.

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