I quickly found, on p. 3, under "Quick Reference Oven Operation," the instructions to:
• Press Bake or Conv BakeHmm, nothing about continuing to hold "Temp"....
• Press Temp
• Press Up or Down arrow to enter temperature
• Press Start/Stop to start oven
I took the book to my wife. "Where did you read that about holding Temp down while pressing an arrow?"
She took the book and said, "Right here, on. p. 6, under convection bake: 'Press the Temp button and the Up arrow to increase the temperature.'"
"At the same time?"
"Of course! It says, 'Press the Temp button and the Up arrow.'"
I showed her p. 3 and said, "I think they probably should have said to press the Temp button, then press the Up arrow."
"Okay," she allowed, "let's try it."
I unpacked everything and she plugged it in. Then she pressed Bake, then Temp, then the Up arrow a few times.
Voilà! The temperature read-out rose to 175, 200, 225, 250, 300, 325, 350.
I said, "I bet the times the temperature moved up before, we weren't holding Temp down at the same time."
Siegfried and I didn't have to drive to Costco!
Stories like this make my blood temperature rise to 350 degrees. No oven needed. No one cares about the clarity of language. It's not just makers of household appliances, electronic equipment, toys, and all sorts of gadgets; it's the guy on the street who says, "Ya say Smith's Funeral Parlor? Go a few blocks, turn right, go a few more blocks. Ya can't miss it." It's a small miracle every time knowledge successfully leaps from one brain to another.
ReplyDeleteLOL the biggest barrier to communication is the assumption that it has taken place! I forget who said that, but it is SO true. And I can only imagine how annoyed mom was getting that you were not "doing it right".
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of Matt buying a paper towel holder at costco for Polly. It came disasemled with three parts and some screws. Matt and Mark attempted to assemble it per the instructions for about 20 mins before giving up and putting it back in the box to return. They came back into the kitchen later and there it was on the counter assembled. They were stumped that Polly was able to understand the instructions and she said she hadn't even noticed there WERE instructions! She just looked at the pieces and figured out how they must go together!
Ken, while the cited sentence did need work, the prominent bulleted list (three pages earlier) seemed clear.
ReplyDeleteI regret only that I didn't consult the book before blithely assuming that my wife had it competently covered. After all, the way it happened, I packed the appliance for return prematurely and had to unpack it a second time (after coming to my senses).
Pineapple Girl, good on Polly!
ReplyDeleteYour mother and I might have been served as well to ignore the book ourselves, but there are so many damn buttons on this Cuisinart, I don't think we'd ever have accumulated the confidence required to go it alone.