need an analogy - one for the smarties

[Cornerstone Technologies]

I get the "why dont they ever tell you any of this??" Responses... ALL the time.

Its going to depend on which segment of the population you are working with for this response. Younger people tend to have a more disposable attitude, where as older folks tend to hang on to things because they work and are durable.

My grandmother still has an old wringer washer in the basement because it works and is useful for things she doesn't want to put in her good washer. The thing is at least 40 years old, but is solid as a tank. My wife and I got a new washer dryer set because the old set wasnt the right color.

 

[nlinecomputers]

I hear that from middle-aged customers quite often; the younger crowd seems to have picked it up, that their hardware is going to fail one day. However, they're probably planning on having a new system in the near future, so they continue to load their drives with music, movies, etc. until it's full. THEN they cry when it fails.

And I don't buy that level of ignorance any more. Almost everyone knows of someone that has lost data. They just think "it will not happen to me." Most people would skip buying auto or home owners insurance if the law and/or mortgage holders didn't force them to do so. People live in denial.

 

[lsi]

I would say that running without backups is like not locking your car or home. Sure - chances are you will leave your door unlocked day in and day out and have no problems whatsoever. Maybe you've never been robbed. But you know it can happen. It happens to other people and you hear about it all the time on the news. But for some reason you don't believe or worry that it will happen to you. And then it does. Because it turns out it's a common occurrence and it's not surprising that it eventually happened to you. So from then on you take precautions but you likely will never get your stuff back. there is a slim chance you *might* get it back. Some of it can eventually be replaced. But you'll be a lot happier if you take precautions in the first place.

 

[glricht]

When I get the inevitable "how come my hard drive died when it was only XX years old?", I translate it from a PC-type answer (which could get technical) to something most people can relate to: their car. I'll answer, "I don't know. It's kind of like asking how come the fan belt on your car broke? Some fan belts last the life of your car; others you end up replacing quite often. And of course, when it breaks, it's usually 11pm at night, on a road in the middle of nowhere, and it's raining!"

The customer usually ends up understanding that there's just no telling when a bad thing could happen, so they need to be backing up their data. Which ends up in an opportunity to provide a backup solution.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

I usually tell them:

Its not if it will fail but when will it fail? Its not if I will lose my data but when I will lose my data.

Then I follow that up with "at todays rush to the bottom of price/quality its a miracle this stuff ever works new let alone after a few years."

So I just had one of *those* conversations about data loss with a customer

You know, shock, surprise, dispair, and tears, that her hard drive, which, "is only four years old" had died and that there was a big ugly great question mark on whether she would get her precious photos back.

I am really. tired. of these conversations.

I am really. tired. of people in tears when I tell them its not going to be likely, or when the price is way more than they can afford to pay.

So Im thinking, what would be really useful, would be an analogy to communicate to end users that vividly illustrates to them, in a few words, just how phenomenally risky, and stupid, it is, to store important data on a single hard disk.

Something like "dont put all your eggs in one basket" ... but Im sure the TN community could think of something much cleverer

So, if you would care to have a stab:

"Putting all your data on a hard disk is like......"

 

[PC Ops]

"Putting all your data on a hard disk is like......"

...running a marathon on bare feet. Expect blood.

 

[JAG Computers]

...running a marathon on bare feet. Expect blood.

My feet! Wait, I have no feet now.

 

[16k_zx81]

...running a marathon on bare feet. Expect blood.

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Markverhyden]

I tell customers that failures are statistical in nature. Sometimes you can predict when a failure might occur, such as dropping the laptop while it is running. But most the time you cannot. It's a matter of when and you need to be prepared when it happens.

The thread reminds me of something I was involved in many years ago '99 or so. This guy brought in his wife's computer to be repaired. Needed a nuke and pave so they called up the customer, spoke to hubby, advised that all data would be gone and the computer would be in the condition it was in when it was pulled out of the box. Do you need any data backed up - nope. So they pickup the computer and we get a call later in the day. Hubby and wife on the line and she is fuming - WHERE IS MY STUFF?

We explained what had happened - nuke and pave approved by hubby, just like it came out of the box. HOW COME MY BOOK IS NOT THERE? Uhmm.... Ma'am your book was not on the computer when you pulled it out of the box.

Turns out she had been working on a book for 5 years and had never made a copy to a floppy or even printed it out. I'm sure hubby was sleeping on the couch in the basement for few weeks.

 

[PCmechanic]

I get the "why dont they ever tell you any of this??" Responses... ALL the time.

I nag everyone from day one asking WHERE IS YOUR BACKUP. If they lose data it's an academic I told you so lol

 

[Wheelie]

How about ..... "Would you skydive with just one parachute? ....And that one is 4 years old ? ...

This one is my favorite

.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

If they lose data it's an academic I told you so lol

This one will make you alot of friends.

 

[16k_zx81]

This one will make you alot of friends.

I prefer a straight out "Ha Ha ... I told you so"

Doesnt bring any return clients but I amuse the hell out of myself every time

 

[YOCS]

I usually tell them:

Its not if it will fail but when will it fail?

Tony this is what I tell my customers also. I just think people have the mentality that it will never happen to them.

 

[Tony_Scarpelli]

I prefer a straight out "Ha Ha ... I told you so"

Doesnt bring any return clients but I amuse the hell out of myself every time

Roger that. But I take more pleasure telling them that the minimum charge just to data recover diag fee is $250 and $1000 if I can get anything.