The Google Challenges

When I lived in Virginia I had five managers in five years. People kept getting moved around on me, and such. I had three managers while I was there that were -- weird to me. I always had the approach that you should try on your own to figure something out and then if you can't you go to them for help.

Well, um, technology was an issue early on for them. But instead of trying to figure it out on their own, they'd come to me for help. And I didn't mind the first few times, but it got to be a repetitive situation. Like walking into my work area to ask me to find a number... and I'm thinking, "You have google too, it's not like the movie 9 to 5 where I am keeper of your mega rolodex."

But I'd google them, and e-mail it to them and four minutes later, they'd call me on the phone. "Don't you have that number yet?"

"Check your e-mail."

So when I got an e-mail from MacTroll yesterday asking for help finding the dentist's phone number because -- shocker -- they don't have a website. I furrowed my brow. I put in "Dr. Nicholas Sabbia, Savoy, IL" into Google and pushed search. Sure they don't have a website, but there are like 12 dental listings with a number.

I could have been a nice person and cut and paste the info into an e-mail. But I thought of those bosses and what I always wanted to tell them: 

"You know, you have Google, too. Spend more than 5 seconds on it, and you'll have saved us both a bunch of time. Better yet, I won't resent you for eternity and blog about it almost a decade later."

So I told my spouse to try it again.

The big problem for Joel... He doesn't know our dentist's first name, even though he's seen the same one every six months for the past five years.

And that's a whole different problem.