People sure don't read...

[Treebore]

My wife and I have done a lot of "business" via things like Craigslist and I have ran into something way too often, people don't read.

What am I talking about?

Well, let me use todays visit as an example. I am selling one big frickin egg incubator. In the add I mentioned two things I knew people would want to know. First I said it does not have an automatic egg turner, I even added "so eggs will have to be rotated by hand". Second, I said that the hinged will need to be repaired, and even mentioned it is because of how heavy the door is.

So the guy says he wants to buy it and asks directions. He spends two hours driving out here, and he makes it to my town, and then calls me asking how to get the rest of the way here, so I pick up a copy I had printed out of the e-mail I sent him, and read him word for word those self same directions, and he gets the rest of the way here in a couple of minutes.

So he can't read the driving directions, but he can listen.

So we then show him the big incubator (this things is like 5 foot square, you can go inside of this when the shelves are out).

First thing he asks, "How does this thing turn the eggs?"


I give him the "you are an idiot, aren't you?" look, and then say, "Like I said in the ad, you have to turn the eggs by hand."

So he then starts looking it over, and sees that the hinges are indeed need of repair. He then says, "I think I will pass on this."

No surprise to me, as soon as he made it clear he didn't read my ad I figured this as going to be a "no sale". It often is, people are mostly too damn lazy or busy to turn eggs manually, especially hundreds. Which is why I put that fact into my add. I also know that the hinges have to be repaired, which is why I say that in the ad too.

So this guy has wasted over 4 hours of his life driving to get an incubator he ended up not getting, for reasons he would have known about if he bothered to read the ad.

So I am sure he is driving home right now, all mad, because he probably thinks I didn't put this information in my ad. I hope he reads it again, this time completely and thoroughly, and I hope he then go beats his head against a wall for not reading my ad.

This is far from the first time we have ran into a guy like this. We usually get two or three people who come to look at something, with a stated intention to buy, and then say they don't want it because of the very issue or issues we had in the ad, often with pictures sent via e-mail. So apparently a lot of people have issues not only with reading, but reading descriptions and matching them up with the photo's we sent them. Its usually the 4th person, or later, who comes, and verifies how the item in question matches up with our descriptions and/or pictures, and then buys because it was what they expected.

This process would go a heck of a lot faster if people took the time to read, but I guess they prefer wasting hours driving here (have I mentioned we live essentially in the middle of no where?) because taking the minute or two to fully read and make sure they fully comprehend what is being described is too much time to spend. ??? WTH? A few minutes being sure of what the ad says versus hours of driving? I don't get it, but that is probably because I do take the time to read, and reread an ad I am interested in. I often then take the time to call, ask for pictures, etc... BECAUSE I don't want to waste a lot more time driving to some place and finding out I don't want it then.

Any insights as to why people don't read?

[AGNKim]

tl;dr

[Rikitiki]

Uh, this may sound simplistic, but I think it's one of the spin-offs from
television viewing (with a side of movies). Far too many folks these
days (yeah, I know I sound like an old codger with that line)...far too
many don't read books. Or, if they do read, read maybe one book
a year. And for many that one book isn't something well-written,
no. It's some pablum-lit.

Possibly the scariest thing I've ever read was an essay written by
Harlan Ellison, "Revealed at Last! What killed the dinosaurs, and
you don't look too good yourself". I highly recommend it, I read
it once per year usually.

In it, he talks about TV, the death of imagination, and the rising
state of illiteracy and functional illiteracy in the U.S. And it is
scary to me for two reasons: he makes a valid case, and that
essay was written over thirty years ago -- and I think things
have gotten worse since.

[serleran]

tl;dr

QFT. And the ever infamous +1.

[Treebore]

tl;dr

QFT. And the ever infamous +1.

Wish I knew what the heck that means...

[AGNKim]

tl;dr

QFT. And the ever infamous +1.

Wish I knew what the heck that means...

http://tinyurl.com/c8lrbb

[Treebore]

Is that in reference to my ad or to my post?

[AGNKim]

Is that in reference to my ad or to my post?

You made a lengthy post about how people don't read and I responded "That was to long, I didn't read it". An attempt at humor that has apparently died on the vine.

[Sir Ironside]

Is that in reference to my ad or to my post?

You made a lengthy post about how people don't read and I responded "That was to long, I didn't read it". An attempt at humor that has apparently died on the vine.

Not to everyone.

[Treebore]

Is that in reference to my ad or to my post?

You made a lengthy post about how people don't read and I responded "That was to long, I didn't read it". An attempt at humor that has apparently died on the vine.

Timing is everything in humor, so if you had written it out completely so I got it when it was relevant, it would have been funny. Instead you lost me.

[Frost]

Treebore, if you solve this riddle let me know. I deal with this at work all the time. I work from home, so I communicate with most people via email. I have found that bullet points help a little.

[bloodymage]

I love to read, but it's damned hard for me to absorb anything here in the middle of "music city" Arizona. I need to get to the middle o' nowhere before I kill someone!

[Relaxo]

tree, I feel for ya. I'm amazed this douche would drive two hours each way WITHOUT DOUBLE CHECKING THE AD. I can't fathom that.
People really are just that F'ing stupid, it's that simple.

[Joe]

yet try to improve the gene pool by choking the life out of them and suddenly YOUR the bad guy...go figure!

[Relaxo]

I know! What is this world coming to?

[Omote]

tl;dr

QFT. And the ever infamous +1.

Wish I knew what the heck that means...

http://tinyurl.com/c8lrbb

I LOL'd to this link!

~O

[GameOgre]

I would rant for a while about your post and how I agree or disagree but I didn't read your post. Just kinda skimmed it for a meaning and got that you were Angry that you did not get a Egg Timer? WTF dude you expected the guy to bring you a Egg Timer? He drove two hours out of his way for you and you didnt pay him?



If the above doesnt get someone to either laugh or post saying how wrong I am, I will eat my hat. Though I own no hats so I will of cource not really eat my hat but only take a bit out of air.

[Joe]

Gameogre...dude dude dude...you are sooooooooooooooooooooooooo wrong!

If you only read the post you would know!

Stop teasing Treebore for ranting.

If it were not for insane rants I would go insane...wait a minute...

Treebore...I got some effing insight as to why people don't read.

Same reason why people don't listen, pay attention, or practice common courtesy.

We are so busy projecting and spinning what we think the world ought to be that we don't pay attention to what the world really is!
In discussion we when another is speaking we are busy thinking what we are gonna say we don't listen to what they are saying.

That bloke was too busy projecting what he thought the incubator was going to be that he never stopped to pay attention to what it really was.
It happens all the time.

I would use some current examples on tv today but then ironsides or someone would accuse me of political posts....then others will jump on the bandwagon...then I'd be banned...etc etc etc.

Yeah...for the same darn reason adults can't have a mature conversation on religion and politics is the same reason why idiots don't read an ad before they set out on a four hour drive.
Its NEVER our fault...its always the other person.

[gideon_thorne]

Treebore, if you solve this riddle let me know.

Course, reaching into the world of Conan for inspiration, there is only one real term that can be used for why people don't read the whole post.

It shall henceforth be known as "The Riddle of Spiel"

[Just Jeff]

Treebore, I feel your pain. I've been selling a lot of stuff on eBay lately, and all my (usually short) listings include a blurb (in large, friendly letters no less) about saving money by combining shipping. And every week I receive messages asking me if I combine shipping.

Reminds me of the first "Go Die" comic strip I read:
"The sign on the register said, 'Absolutely no checks.'"
"The guy in front of me asked, 'Can I write a check?'"
"The clerk said, 'Sure.'"
"I killed them both."

I was an instant fan.

[anglefish]

Irony, I found. Majority of people complain that "MTV" generation has limited attention span. Anecdotally, I've seen Baby Boomer V.P.s and CEOs can't read beyond their BB screen.

So, I must write in this fashion, with bullets to:

• State the problem
• Tell them I have a solution
• Provide bullets to show how my solution fixes the problem

Then provide a paragraph of "brown-nosing to convince the CEO that his too smart for me and knows this is the prefect solution already."

Any other item on the agenda? Forget about it. Start a new email.

[Falinor]

People don't think. They allow others including TV and politicians to do their thinking for them. Maybe it's watching to much TV...

The one thing I like about table top gaming is that it exercises my brain.

[Fiffergrund]

Say what you want about Rules Lawyers, at least you know they read.

[Frost]

Any other item on the agenda? Forget about it. Start a new email.

Indeed! A separate email for each topic is a must. They'll never get to issue #2 otherwise.