Real-Life Communication
A customer, dressed in a Hawaiian T-shirt and shorts, strolls into
your camera shop and plunks a camera down on the counter. He wants to know
what is wrong with it. First you have to listen to his story about how the
camera is functioning and what may have caused the problem.
"We have
to listen and figure out what has to be fixed on a camera," says Jennifer
Elder, a camera repairer. "Then we type in an invoice listing everything we
think is wrong and how it can be fixed. You also have to be able to read and
understand what is on the repair forms."
Listen to what your customer
has to say:
Oh, we had a wonderful trip to Hawaii. We
went deep-sea fishing, snorkeling, and surfing and played beach volleyball
day after day. Fortunately, we had this wonderful camera that you sold us
to document the entire trip.
I stored the camera in the car trunk while
we were at the beach all day. Whew, was it hot that day! When we got back
to the car, it was like a furnace. I thought the heat might be bad for the
camera, so after the bumpy ride home on a dirt road, I threw the camera in
the fridge for a while. Good thinking, eh?
The next day we went deep-sea
fishing. I put the camera in a waterproof bag. The boat owner slung the bag,
which clunked onto the floor of the boat. I took the camera out of its waterproof
bag to have it ready. I had it sitting near the edge of the boat, where the
water was spraying into the air. The camera slipped once into the water, but
I fished it out quickly and completely dried it off.
It seemed a bit
difficult to operate the next day during beach volleyball. I left it sitting
on the beach, and the lens got covered in sand. To clean it off, I used some
alcohol and an old rag.
Now, the camera has completely seized up. What
could be wrong with it?
Things to avoid doing to a camera:
- Do not drop or bang a camera.
- Do not place a camera in water. Saltwater is especially hazardous. Protect
it from rain and any saltwater or salt spray.
- Avoid getting dirt and sand into the camera. You can remove dust by using
lens-cleaning fluid, lens-cleaning tissues, a small syringe, and a camel hair
brush. Never use solvents such as paint thinner or alcohol.
- Avoid humidity and extreme temperatures. Extreme heat can be damaging,
and extreme cold can stop batteries from functioning. Sudden changes in temperature
can cause rust internally and externally.
- Avoid excessive vibration, such as in a car. This will cause screws to
loosen.
- Avoid mounting a camera on a tripod if the tripod screw is more than 5.5
mm long. A longer screw could puncture the tripod socket and damage the camera.
List each situation that may have caused the customer's
camera to stop working.