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Subject:Re: Is the Customer Always Right? From:Mean Green Dancing Machine <aahz -at- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 8 Feb 1995 16:05:49 GMT
In article <m0rZ0TM-0008xUC -at- pacifier -dot- com>,
John M. Gear <catalyst -at- pacifier -dot- com> wrote:
>At 11:20 PM 1/30/95 +1100, Geoffrey Marnell wrote:
>>
>Or is this an abandonment of the
>>professionalism that technical writers rightfully assume?
> ^^^^^^^^^^
> Yes, precisely. I underscored your "rightfully" to suggest that
>this is a conditional right, predicated on acting like a professional rather
>than a hired pair of hands. With hired hands, the customer is always right.
>With a professional, the customer pays for the expertise and results, not
>the method. The customer may *not* specify choices counter to the
>professional's judgement (which may or may not be codified). The
>homebuilder may *not* tell the professional electrician which gauge wiring
>to use.
Sure I can. I can tell the electrician to use a heavier gauge (and zie
damn well better, considering the loads I'm likely to use).
> Every profession wrestles with this issue as it becomes a recognized
>profession. As the laypersons are left behind, often without their
>knowledge, the professional practitioners have a harder and harder time (or
>it takes longer and longer) explaining the reasons for the professionals'
>choices.
This is true only to the extent that you fail to have educated lay
customers. If I'm a technical writer, and the DSP programmer used to
edit professionally (but not in a technical field), I'd be horribly
remiss in *my* professionalism to dismiss zir comments.
--
--- Aahz (@netcom.com)
Hugs and backrubs -- I break Rule 6
Androgynous kinky vanilla queer het
"First one back from the bathroom gets to be the bottom."
