Instructions...
A couple of weeks ago, I got a pair of Bluetooth earphones. This is my fourth pair in about 2 months, as I’m still trying to find a balance between what stays in my ears and functions well and doesn’t break easily. I had started using them straight away, and it was only a couple of days ago I got around to reading “the instructions”.
The Instructions are made in several different languages, which have to be printed in very small font so that they all fit into the same tiny booklet. That saves the company the hassle of printing separate booklets in each language and putting them in the right boxes for each country they sell the headphones in, but it makes it more difficult for the user to read, regardless of the language they use.
As an English speaker, I don’t have to scan through the booklet to find my language, I’m fortunate enough to have it as the first one on the list. The first piece of friendly advice they give me is:
“Do not install this equipment in an enclosed space such as a cabinet or bookshelf”.
It’s a set of earphones. It installs in my ears, on the side of my head. Maybe they mean I shouldn’t put the earphones in my ears while I have my head in a cabinet.
I once bought a waterproof camera with instructions not to change the lenses or load the film (that’s how old it was) underwater.
So my question is, who are the people that need to be told these kind of things, and do they read instructions?