We’ve all had them, those poorly illustrated guides to putting together a retail product or instructions on how to use a new piece of electronic equipment. What gives? For those of us who have mechanical issues, this can be really frustrating. The world of electronics keeps a special frustration for many, like assembling a computer equipment, for example. Once learned, they’re usually not too bad, but it just takes getting used to.
My new printer arrived today. Once again, I dropped everything to figure out how to set it up. What a job. Programming stuff is definitely not my strong suit. It’s a good thing no one is looking at me when I’m working on these projects, as I get so annoyed by poor instructions, programs that don’t load properly (and need to be reinstalled), along with other inevitable hiccups that come with the purchase. new electronics. Programming my vcr is a nightmare, and setting up an all-in-one fax/printer/scanner is not far behind on my list of things that drive me crazy.
Now the printer is configured and working fine. Phew. I always go through the phase of blaming him for things that go wrong, only to find out later that it was my mistakes all along. I even called the toll-free number listed in the instructions, and the phone technician walked me through part of the process, from India. Thank God for phone technicians. Surely he was laughing to himself, thinking that this fool doesn’t know the box from the printing press. But, in the end, the problem was a simple and overlooked step on my part.
It would help us all a lot if companies thought more about not just designing their products for those of us who need a little extra help deciphering complicated instructions. Make sure all the steps in the diagram are fully explained, not just draw a picture and let us figure out what goes where. As an illustrator, it annoys me to see poorly done drawings, skip critical steps or details, and print useless information. It doesn’t take a lot of time and money to put together a truly accurate drawing of a product and then label the steps to put it together. The right illustrator should know how to do this without hesitation. Don’t skimp on the money and let your cousin’s brother who took a drawing class somewhere do the work. Hire someone who knows what to do and how to do it.
I recently purchased a new countertop convection oven. The manual was a complete disaster. It arrived packed with a bunch of slips of paper, each with a correction of errors in the manual. The entire booklet had about ten pages of crudely printed instructions. There was no 1-800 number to call for more information, and the recipes that came with the oven were mislabeled with the wrong cook times. Reading customer reviews of the product, others had similar complaints. With practice, on my own, I got used to the oven, but the company lost sales for those who did not want to deal with it and asked for refunds. To make the sales stick, they needed good instructions… What a great “Oops!”
Once the project resolves itself, there is a sense of mastery. I once put together a complete stationary bike and actually did a good job of it. That was quite a miracle, given the large pile of nuts, bolts, and various other mysteries that needed to be solved. In the end, it sure is great to have the project in one piece and working properly. If you’re one of us mechanically untalented, take heart. After trial and error, it will join. Just be patient and use the toll free number for help, if they have one.
It’s late now, and I’m starting to relax. The printer sits in its corner, its LED lights illuminating everything. I finally figured it out by much trial and error. The manual on this one wasn’t great, but it was better than many products I’ve bought in the past. At the end of the day, everything is fine. The next time I buy another complicated piece of machinery, the process starts all over again. It sure would be nice to have great addresses, across the board with all products. It would cut down on wasted time and save some frustration. Come on companies, give us manuals that anyone can understand. We would surely appreciate it.