{SIGH}. Sorry, I suddenly feel like a thread hog. Don't mean to...dunno.
You gents and ladies probably recall that I had reached some new heights of frustration, with this particular client, a man whom I thought might be elderly (elderlier than WE are, DM!). And perhaps, maybe, even a bit demented. I'm not saying that to be mean, I'm truly not. it just seemed that his answers to my questions had no relationship to the question asked, and one of my Crew and I (both having had demented/alzheimer's parents or grandparents) thought he might be sundowning, at one point. He simply could. not. follow. instructions, no matter how clearly laid out, no matter with screenshots, nothing.
However, after
wasting spending a few hours working up a video or two for him, etc., he was finally able to view his ePUB in ADE. Hooray! Right? Right, wouldn't YOU think that? He wasn't able to get KP to work--somehow, he'd associated .mobi files with Windows Media Player (???). Fine. He sends us a proof form, and we make the edits.
Round Two.
I send him the eBooks for V2, and (yes, I know you see this coming),
he can't open them. Again.
Meanwhile, my assistant-cum-customer-service-queen, leaves for a new job. (We're happy for her, really. It pays AMAZINGLY well, and she would have been dim to stay here.) No replacement has yet been beamed down to the planet Booknook, so...
I'm pretty beside myself with frustration and endless hours in the office and almost no sleep. I decide to bite the bullet, and TeamViewer him. I explain
everything to him. (Yeah, that was probably my first mistake.)
I ask him to install TV (holding my breath...) but somehow, THAT actually goes fine. I ask him for his phone number, in Athens, so that I can speak to him while I'm working, so that he doesn't freak out, seeing his computer "do stuff," right?
The time arrives and I dial his #. No answer. This happens 3x. (Later on in the convo, I figure out that he gave me his CITY CODE as part of the number. Not sep, so I was dialing "Greece-->Athens-->Athens+phone number." I finally figure it out, and get through.
After several unsuccessful attempts, I get through on TV, where, of course, he had given me the wrong passcode. Houston, we have liftoff.
Round Three
He's BLASTING Beethoven, and it's so loud (this is through TeamViewer, mind you) that I can hardly hear myself think. Then he tells me that he's having trouble HEARING ME, there must be something wrong with my phone. (grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... )
But wait, the best is yet to come. Remember how I said, I explained everything to him???? How I needed to do x and y and all that? (Keep waiting..)
I do find that the files that "wouldn't download" are in his DOWNLOADS folder, each dl'ed 38+ times. (Literally, no exaggeration).
I'd asked him half a dozen times what email "program" he used, to which he CONSTANTLY replied, "att.net." What to our wondering eyes did appear? He's running att.net through YAHOO mail.
Vis the rest of the discussion--no matter what I did, no matter what I saw, on the screen, if I asked him something, like "do you see the Table of Contents, there on the left-hand side of Adobe Digital Editions," he'd say no--he
couldn't see what I was talking about. I mean...I'm seeing what's happening, after he sees it. The delay, if any,
isn't in the other direction.
I finally get the files downloading, yadda, and I put the email program down on the taskbar (which instantly elicited near-hysteria). I decide to head over to the file browser/explorer, and find the Downloads folder, 'cuz, even though we have numerous handouts and FAQs and all that, saying "if you don't know where your downloads are, go to the DOWNLOADS folder on your computer"
I know damned well that this guy didn't pay attention. Yes?
The Knockout Round...
So, I put the email browser away, get ready to browse the files and.....
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Marvin. The person f/k/a Hitch