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Aren’t “improvements” supposed to make your life easier?

By
Real Estate Broker/Owner with Richard Weisser Realty

Aren’t “improvements” supposed to make your life easier?The more dependent we become on technology, the more we are forced to suffer through countless upgrades and “improvements.

In most cases, we like things just the way they are and then for some inexplicable reason our product or service is “upgraded” and we either lose some functionality or we have to waste a considerable amount of time adjusting to the changes.

And in the worst case scenario the upgrade simply causes our technology to NOT work at all … at least until a new “fix” is concocted.

I once paid a hundred dollars for a security system upgrade only to later discover that many of the features that I had come to depend on were NOT included in the product. So I actually paid good money to get an inferior product.

My guess is the IT developers must justify their positions by constantly coming up with “something.”

Whether or not that “something” is useful or beneficial doesn’t seem to matter.

Comments (13)

Debbie Laity
Cedaredge Land Company - Cedaredge, CO
Your Real Estate Resource for Delta County, CO

Sometimes I have to wonder who the "upgrade" is really for. I hate it when an improvement doesn't improve things for me.

Aug 29, 2011 01:55 AM
Diane Osowiecki
Diane O and Friends - Benchmark Realty - Franklin, TN
Greater Nashville Real Estate

If it were only technology.  We have new and improved everything from breakfast cereal to cars.  I guess it is that we just want the next new thing.  I like you have found the new and improved is usually neither.

Aug 29, 2011 01:55 AM
Richard Iarossi
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Crofton, MD
Crofton MD Real Estate, Annapolis MD Real Estate

Richard,

What would the adverting business be if we eliminated "new and improved," from their lexicon?

Rich

Aug 29, 2011 01:56 AM
Dr. Paula McDonald
Beam & Branch Realty - Granbury, TX
Granbury, TX 936-203-0279

When we don't have access to all of this technology, we realize how much we do depend on it.  It is maddening however, how quickly it changes.

Aug 29, 2011 02:04 AM
Al Raymondi
Ocean View Realty Group in Ormond By The Sea Florida - Ormond Beach, FL
Ormond By The Sea Florida - Home and Condo Sales

Even with all this technology we are still in a people business Richard, and the things that make us more efficient are secondary.

Aug 29, 2011 02:12 AM
Gary L. Waters Broker Associate, Bucci Realty
Bucci Realty, Inc. - Melbourne, FL
Eighteen Years Experience in Brevard County

I just upgraded my smart phone yesterday...4 years after getting a blackberry I got a new...Blackberry. It is an upgrade but I resisted change!

Aug 29, 2011 03:01 AM
Kristin Johnston - REALTOR®
RE/MAX Platinum - Waukesha, WI
Giving Back With Each Home Sold!

Ahhh technology....really is a double edged sword...we rely on it soo much and when there are issues it really is a mess!

Aug 29, 2011 03:33 AM
Ann Allen Hoover
RE/MAX Advantage South - Hoover, AL
CDPE SRES ASP e-PRO Realtor - Homes for Sale - AL

My dad's simple printer finally bit the dust last week and he has gotten one to replace it that is making him crazy.....and me too!  I'm having to try to make him understand how to operate it.

Aug 29, 2011 08:06 AM
Lisa Wetzel
RE/MAX Realty Affiliates - Carson City, NV
CDPE, SFR carsonvalleyland.com

I'm definitely not a techie person ... I appreciate that many of these improvements do make our life easier but the learning curve can make it difficult.  I rely on my assistant ... she can do this stuff in her sleep.

Aug 29, 2011 08:25 AM
William Feela
WHISPERING PINES REALTY - North Branch, MN
Realtor, Whispering Pines Realty 651-674-5999 No.

Richard...I find very few tech improvements that have made life easier.

Aug 29, 2011 12:20 PM
Michelle Gibson
Hansen Real Estate Group Inc. - Wellington, FL
REALTOR

Richard - My husband and I were just having a conversation about technology upgrades this evening and how some are completely useless.

Aug 29, 2011 03:07 PM
Marie Graham
Owner, The Refreshed Home White Plains NY - White Plains, NY
Westchester County Interior Decorator, Home Stager

Technology is no different from so many other things that are new and improved, but for me, technology is like science fiction-no boundries to what is possible, and therefore, harder to understand. We may like what we have, but new and imporved gives us a new reason to buy.

A local radio station does a daily mix of music and memories of a certain year. The other day they did one that included a commercial for a laundry detergent that included a towel in that box of detergent. Turns out the 'improvement' was the additon of the towel. Am I the only one who would choose more detergent over a cheap towel??

Aug 29, 2011 05:18 PM
Mike Saunders
Retired - Athens, GA

Richard - I have always contended that the tool is slave to man, but too many application developers seem to have the opposite opinion.

Aug 30, 2011 08:06 AM