I've
worked in development and implementation for almost 15 years now and because of
that I am always critiquing products. I
can do that because I have been both a QAT and a QAC so I have the background
and knowledge to know what I'm talking about when venting about something that
makes no sense. With my job, sometimes
the push back works in my favor and other times it doesn't work in my
favor.
Today
was one of those days. I have been leasing vehicles from one of the
big three automobile manufacturers for about 5 years now and have told them on
more than one occasion that one of these days I will be working in their QA
department.
One
of the main reasons I lease is because I want a new car every 2 years. Yes, I will always have a car payment but
that's the price you pay when you want a new vehicle every 2 years and I've
accepted that fact. Anyway, the vehicle
I have now is only 1 1/2 years old and has less than 25k miles on it.
Today,
when taking one of the twins to work a light came on and the following
conversation commenced.
Me: "What in the world is that supposed to mean"? (Image with no words)
His
smart little self: "Mom, it's the
check engine light".
Me: "I know what it is but what part of the engine am I
supposed to check? "
He
just shook his head after that and then my rant started.
Me:
"This is the 21st century ya know
and I'm not driving a 20 year old vehicle.
My vehicle is smart enough to have features that tell me when I need an
oil change, when my coolant is low, when I need washer fluid, can read my text
messages to me, tell me when a door is open, blah blah blah. Yet,
when it wants to tell me that something is wrong with the engine all it can say
is "Check Engine". Ummm, really?
What part of the engine would you like me to check? There are many parts to an engine so if you
(my car) are smart enough to detect that something is wrong with the engine you
should also be smart enough to tell me WHY you feel I need to check the
engine. Because all I am going to do is
open the hood, check the engine out and close the hood. At that point I did exactly what you told me
to do. I checked the engine. "
I
have dealt with the same sales rep for as long as I have been leasing vehicles
and every time I go for a new one I always tell him things that they could have
done better, features that don't really make sense or don't work the way I (as
the end user) feel they should and the features that should replace some of the
useless ones. He is such a cool guy and
knows me well so we always joke about it but in the end his response when I say
"One of these days I am going to be working in the QA department
here" that it's probably going to happen.
For
now, I just really wish they would get some 'real' end users in these vehicles
when they are testing them.
The
End.
