I’m sitting in the basement of the science building with a pocket protector starting at a dozen computer screens through Band-Aided glasses. I wreak of perspiration and my hair is glazed over from weeks of sitting in a room filled with beeping equipment. The only animate object I’ve interacted with during the past year was a spider who’s made home in one of my old beakers.
Fortunately for me, that’s not who I am. However, I’ve known many people who fit the mold of the classic nerd. I attended the Rochester Institute of Technology and majored in several things when I was there. I can attest there were dorm rooms and apartments with people exactly like this.
One of my very good friends is one of those guys. One spring break week we planned a trip to Daytona Beach but he couldn’t get the time off. His job was monitoring online chats for profanities then reporting the user names. He created a small program to monitor curse words and simultaneously scold the chatters. After three months of hooky, his employer purchased the software from him and promptly fired him.
There’s a funny psychological thing that happens when people gear up to come into one of my stores. First time customers expect a bunch of pale-faced timid geeks and believe they have to be the ones initiating conversation. Once customers are greeted by one of my technicians they are immediately taken aback because we’re not the norm. I simply don’t hire people who take a back seat.
I paid particular attention to that psyche thing this week when a woman came into one of my stores and physically threatened a technician. You heard me right. As I understand, the technician cowered. Luckily for me, my brother was working side-by-side with the guy and intervened. Unfortunately for me and the employee, he lost his job that afternoon for other reasons.
Business, not technology, is full of trends. Having a frontline employee who can interface with customers is vitally important for every business. I know of computer stores that are made up of impersonal employees who can’t talk to people at their level. Most surviving business owners compensate by hiring people who have both skill sets.
I just took a break from writing this to grab a glass of water and flip my laundry to the dryer. I asked myself how I fit in. I have to say I’m somewhere in the middle. I consider myself a tech person, but also a social butterfly. I love dealing with people and at the same time become incredibly embarrassed if I screw up socially. I’m an odd duck.
A group of female friends called me this weekend asking if I would meet them out. Honestly, I was kind of bored so I pulled out my iPhone and started texting my daughter from the bar. Geeky me noticed an unfamiliar face to my right checking out my pictures so I used my phone as a conversation starter. One time a year I go to a bar, use my phone to start a conversation, and leave with a promising introduction. If that doesn’t wreak of geek I don’t know what does.
Googling “psychology of geeks” brings up very little except self written blogs and articles about the subject. I couldn’t find any worthwhile sources so I had to write this from a lifetime of experience. Apparently geek is chic so I’ll use it to my advantage whenever possible. Had someone told me to use my cell phone as a conversation starter years ago I would have picked up the title of King Geek.
(Jeromy Patriquin is the President of Laptop & Computer Repair, Inc. located at 509 Main St. in Gardner. You can text him directly at (978) 413-2840 or visit www.LocalComputerWiz.com.)