Posted on 06/26/2002 4:55:30 AM PDT by 2Trievers
APPLETON — Gary Wilke didn’t set out to become a symbol of people’s frustrations when he used a sledgehammer to vent rage over his daughter’s dysfunctional computer. But after he trashed the machine April 1 in the lobby of the Gateway Country store in Grand Chute, he got calls and e-mails from around the world. Wilke’s attorney, Lorn Dilley of Appleton, said his client’s actions struck a chord with people. “People are pretty much powerless. What can they do?” he said. People’s day-to-day frustrations, especially with service-related issues, are as numerous as they’ve ever been, said Gerald Metalsky, a clinical psychologist for more than 20 years. “People are frustrated and feel a sense of helplessness in a lot of different areas of their life when it comes to things like service,” said Metalsky, who practices in Appleton. Wilke’s temper boiled over after months of attempting to get the computer repaired, including in-home visits from technicians as well as trips to the store. He was arrested, and on Friday was charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor. He also is suing the company, partially for what he claims was negligence in handling his requests for service. Computers are just one on a list of frustrations Metalsky said he and his patients experience every day. There is traffic, work and standing in line. There is fine print in contracts, and electronic voices to guide callers through telephone menus void of an actual human being. Business dealings seem sterile, Metalsky said, like renewing a prescription through an electronic phone system. What puts a person over the edge is the perception “there is someone on the other end messing with you,” Metalsky said. “If you start seeing intent, that’s when you get the sledgehammer out.” Unwilling hero Wilke does not see himself as an American hero, as some readers called him. E-mails of support came from points as distant as Florida, California, Hawaii, Indonesia and Australia after his story was posted on The P-C’s Web site, postcrescent.com “I didn’t do it for the spotlight or anything,” the factory worker said. Dilley said Wilke has even received donations for defense fees from friends and strangers. “He’s kind of an unwilling hero to some of these people,” Dilley said. “It’s not a position he wanted to be in, but he finds himself in. He’s having a hard time.” Dilley categorized his client’s in-store computer-smashing as “passive resistance.” “He didn’t hurt anybody.” However, said Ashley Wood, manager of corporate communications for Gateway, police were called because a woman and her children who were in the store were “terrified.” “He entered the store with a weapon. It would not be so funny if he had walked in with a gun,” Wood said. Wilke, who has yet to buy another computer, hopes the spotlight gets turned off. “I just hope it’s over pretty soon and I can be done with it.” More stress Metalsky said Sept. 11 has heightened people’s frustrations. It takes longer when traveling because of security checks, and people fear more terrorist attacks. “The stress level is so much higher than it was 15 years ago,” he said. “It amazes me what we’ve done to ourselves and what we expect of ourselves compared with the 1970s.” “It’s a new world. We’re not used to dealing with so many frustrating situations.” Sheila Purello of Gastonia, N.C., can relate to Wilke’s situation. She read his story on the Internet. She told The Post-Crescent she’s had similar experiences with a Gateway system she got as a gift, and had to agree to pay to extend her warranty before the company would send her replacement parts. In frustration, she wrote complaints to Gateway CEO Ted Waitt and each member of the company’s board of directors. “It’s just remarkable to me — the warranty really doesn’t do you a lot of good if they can’t fix it,” Purello said. Wood said an independent research firm ranks Gateway customer service quarterly for the company, and said Gateway comes out better than its competitors. “Over the past year we’ve seen our numbers (of satisfied customers) rise while others slipped,” she said. “With our internal measures, we are one of the top in customer service and support. Actually, we are the top.” Indeed, Gateway’s Web site, www.gateway.com, reports several accolades for the company from independent sources. The site reported the July issue of PC World Magazine ranked Gateway as No. 1 among high-end performance systems for office PCs. The magazine also ranked Gateway’s 500XL model as No. 1 in value among home PCs. Gateway also reported that it received two Editor’s Choice awards this year. PC Magazine in April cited Gateway’s computers targeted for use by small businesses, while CNet, a popular computer Web site, gave a nod to its 600XL computer for “its features, size and blazing performance.” And, Wood said, the company often works with customers to train them, since not all problems are caused by Gateway defects. “It could be hardware related, software related or customer related,” she said. Metalsky can sympathize with companies and consumers. “They’re (companies) not trying to frustrate people,” he said. Metalsky said there’s a twist with Wilke’s frustration, and that suffered by many people who have identified with his actions. “The irony is the computer was supposed to make life so much easier.” An initial appearance on the disorderly conduct charge is scheduled for Aug. 6. Dilley, Wilke’s attorney, said his client will plead innocent to the charge. He said the company should also be facing charges because they provoked Wilke’s actions. “Our position is if they charged Mr. Wilke with disorderly conduct, why aren’t they filing a charge against Gateway,” Dilley said. “They did nothing to investigate what provoked a man to destroy his own property. “Unless you charge both parties, why not leave it as a civil matter.” Judge Joseph Troy will hear Gateway’s motion to dismiss the civil case at 11 a.m. July 1.
Couldn't we do without the pejorative? Geesh! &;-)
Ooh! Ooh! Icky scary guns! Let's all hide!
Gee, I'm getting sick of wusses who are scared of guns. It's like being scared of any other power tool. The word "gun" is now considered an equivalent to the phrase "certain death to anyone around." And anyone who owns a gun must necessarily be a psycho.
If he had destroyed it in his own yard, there wouldn't be a problem.
No, people are pretty much idiots. They can educate themselves or do without.
They didn't have time to talk to me; that told me all I needed to know about them as a company.
To this day, I would not own one if they gave it to me.
Sorry but I like to actually get work done. Also, I'd rather any computer/operating system on the planet before giving Steve 'I Love Myself' Jobs a nickle.
By itself, a computer is an inanimate object and can do nothing on its own. By default, it can interpret electrical impulses which it translates into 1 (on) or 0 (off) and that's it. The user can automate or simplify some tasks in the course of his/her day by utilizing the potential of the machine, but too many people purchase these machines thinking that by itself, a computer will make life wonderful.
This is what happens when stupid people buy computers.
Not so much stupid as lacking the initiative/ability to do something for themselves. I'm willing to bet this guy's computer "problem" was nothing more than a printing issue, some line interruptions using an ISP, or some app that was incompatible with the OS. My ex is the same way. AOL doesn't connect, it's the computer; some POS software she got from a friend doesn't load right, it's the computer; she downloads a virus and whacks the OS, it's the computer. It's NEVER that you don't have the slightest f***ing idea what you're doing and refuse to learn or be taught, it's all some machine's fault.
Somebody should have whacked this guy with the sledgehammer.
People are stupid.
Buy crap from companies like Gateway, Packard Bell, HP, eMachines etc., do nothing to learn about what they just bought, and get pissed when the company dosen't want to come over and hold their hand whenever their 12 year-old downloads applications that cause their machine to crash.
I am the network admin in an IT dept of one (not to be confused with an Army of Juan) and not a day goes by that some user who has had the same hardware/software on their desk for years doesn't just brain fart their way to dementia. They sit with glazed eyes and act like it's the first time they have ever seen a PC.
Aiyeeehh!!
O.K., try this one instead
http://asf.allwavs.com/wav01/tech_calls/gabn.wav
and if that doesn't work either, sentence me to a week working in Tech Support!
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