For the purposes of introduction, I work with a couple of different teams of intelligent hard working folks who maintain software, I also support hundreds of end users for said software in an environment where importer utilization can mean significant harm or even death for those we serve. When I ordered my TextBlade, I was an end user and had often shaken my fist at the computer and cursed the faceless IT Team, “you had one job!” Needless to say I had overestimated my understanding of the complexities (by orders of magnitude) of maintaining a diverse complement of systems complex and capable enough to deliver service on the scale and to the degree required.

Despite my vastly expanded understanding of the capabilities and limitations of the concerted efforts of the various “IT” like teams out there, I still forgot this simple principle of perspective and was unexpectedly and frustratingly humbled while reading the reply to my fairly scathing response to an employee survey question.

This principle is neatly summated in a quote from a kind wise and fatherly figure, and is being shared on this topic with the same tenderness and respect with which it was originally stated:

“Yes life has it’s problems, and yes, there are negative things to face, but. . .no misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse.”

~J.R.Holland

Venting on this forum is tempting and at times somewhat cathartic but at the end of the day, no more effective that feverishly jackhammering the elevator button while awaiting it’s arrival. Instead, perhaps you could smile, talk to someone about something else while you wait, or if you are in a terrible hurry and unable to wait any longer without taking action, run. Find the stairs and get there another way. The problem is rarely the elevator, and more often our inability to accept the fragility of our anticipated or expected reality. It is often uncomfortale when our reality is challenged.

I hope things improve for all of us, but I am doubtful that any satisfaction or resolution will come, even if what we all seek arrived in the mailbox tomorrow. In fact this feeling of conflict has been identified in a number of studies to be at the heart of what some call “buyers remorse” or “retail regret.” There is shockingly little any company can do to impact our feelings in a meaningful way. Once the emotional tone is set (by the customer) the proverbial die is cast. That emotional “die” has been attributed to everything from the spec sheet to the salespersons haircut, but at the end of the day it isn’t any of those things that make the determination, it’s us. There are plenty of us that love products that by many measures are terrible, and hate products that are just fine. My wife for example could not stand the thought of us owning a particular car because of the way a character in a film identified with the car, and I like to write with a pen that costs many times what a textblade does. Both are equally irrational, but we don’t have that car, and I write with that ridiculous pen to unwind. Life is short and thankfully neither the car or the pen were enough motive for resentment, so life is still good.

Okay enough nonsense from me, and happy Easter!