By Alan J Grainger
On the list of worst ever excuses it's surely up there with "the dog ate my homework", but the reality was that many workers were phoning their offices giving excuses for why they were late this morning after a glitch in the iPhone meant that alarms went off an hour late. It's forgivable, changing the clocks can baffle even the greatest of minds, but it's unlikely that those affected would have seen the funny side at 9.30 this morning.
Gadgets failing have led to many excuses, some of which were probably even true. It can lead to frustration and embarrassment in equal measure but given our reliance on the hi-tech gizmos in our lives, it is inevitable that they will let us down eventually.
So here are some of the top excuses that many of us will have had to use at some point when our trusted gadgets have let us down at the worst possible moment.
"The Computer Crashed"
This one is the preserve of students everywhere and at some point will have happened to everyone. Although today's computers are far more reliable than those of old, they still have a habit of freezing up at the worst possible moment. Whether you're half way through a big report or putting together an important essay, for those who aren't in the habit of frequently saving the computer crash can be catastrophic. That moment where you turn the computer back on to find your work is but a distant memory has led to some long nights and nostalgic memories of when pen and paper ruled the world, but it's a mistake that people don't usually make twice.
"My File Got Wiped"
This excuse was a preserve of the good old days of the floppy disc and caught out even those who would save their work regularly. Due to a wonderful design fault, if you exposed your floppy disc to a magnetic field it had a habit of wiping all of the files from the disc. That meant that if you happened to leave your floppy on a particularly large speaker, for example, you could well boot up the disc to find your files have evaporated. Cue the same response as above, and a rather embarrassing and scarcely believable tale to tell.
"My Battery Was Dead/I Had No Signal"
The ultimate excuse for not having called your girlfriend back. Sometimes it is true though and this excuse gets more bad press than it deserves, especially if you are in a particularly large building or forgot to charge your phone the night before. People should be careful when "crying wolf" with this excuse as it could come back to haunt them at the worst possible time.
Despite the temperamental nature of our beloved gadgets, we can't be mad at them for too long. After the initial shouting and yelling when they have done something wrong at the worst moment, we will forgive them eventually. Our love of all things electronic is what makes promotional gadgets such a successful way of marketing a company and promoting a brand, despite their occasional glitches. Hi-tech items are riding a wave of popularity at the moment and the office is becoming home to more gadgets than ever before. Businesses are increasingly capitalising on the popularity and increasing practicality of workplace technology and using promotional gadgets to successfully get their brand message across.
Don't let the previous hurt scar your memory of gadgets, move on, there will be other gadgets.
Alan writes articles on issues surrounding the promotional gadgets industry for The Business Gifts Company. They are aimed at professionals in the marketing, promotional and events industries, as well as those who are looking for effective ways of motivating and incentivising their workplace. You can find other helpful articles at The Business Gifts Blog.
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