Granny versus computers

This morning I took Jess to the Doctor.  While we were waiting I overheard a cell phone conversation.  A lady sitting not too far from us was talking to her Mom.

Lady:

“Mom, you click your mouse on the thingy in the top right hand corner, then you choose log out and then you log in with your details.”

Mom:

(I don’t know what she said cause I could not hear that part of the conversation but I can guess because I have a Mom) “Where dear there is nothing up here but a little square?”

Lady:

(I must say she was one of those people that I admire all tidy, hair done to perfection, nails manicured, if she was wearing socks they would match but she was wearing stockings that did not have a hint of a ladder, she also does not raise her voice, etc sure you get the picture.)

“MOM! HOW MUST I KNOW I AM SITTING IN THE DOCTOR'S WAITING ROOM I CAN’T SEE THE COMPUTER SCREEN”

Yip, she lost her cool her voice was no longer so perfectly monotone.

Many moons ago I worked for Satellite TV in the call centre.  It was a lot of fun trying to explain what to do to the old dears.  If I saw I lived close to them I would go to their homes to help them out.  On a particular day I was trying to help a lady in her 80’s. 

I was asking her to press buttons on her decoder.  She would say:

“Wait a moment dear I am going to check”

I would then wait for about 5 min then she would come back.

“Hello dear are you still there?”

Me:

“Yes Mrs Brown I am here, did you find the buttons I was talking about?”

Mrs Brown:

“Sorry dear I could not find them.”

Me:

“Mrs Brown, I want you to go back to your decoder, I want you to look what it is called.  I want the make and model number.”

Mrs Brown:

“Alright dear hang on.”

5 min later

Mrs Brown:

“Are you there dear?  It says Phillips VCR 6000.”

Times like those I actually had to pinch myself hard not to laugh.  I would sometimes pretend to have a coughing fit.

My Mom was given a laptop about 3 years ago.  I would get phone calls.

Mom:

“Viv, this bloody computer is driving me crazy, I am going to throw it out.”

Me:

“Mom what is wrong?”

Mom:

“The email won’t send.”

Me:

“What is on your screen”

Then I find out she is not on her email provider’s site.  I am trying to get out of the site.

Me:

“Mom, press the ‘x’ on the top right hand corner.”

Ten hours later we are in her email and her internet connection goes down....

My Mom paid the neighbour’s son to teach her, the boy must have been saintly because he managed to get her to a point where she is functional.  Sadly because he has gone off to university, I still get the phone calls.