I loaned a camera to someone who needed it for a project the other day. I made sure to include everything that they might possibly need and then some: flash, charger cords, SD card, the manuals for the camera AND the flash. There was nothing I left out. I even gave a nice tour of the package beforehand -- "See this? This is the lens cap. See this? This is a cord to show pictures on the television. You won't need this." And lastly, "See this? This is the manual. If you have any questions, Read. The. Manual."


When they brought it back, she said, "Thanks for the camera, but I couldn't use the flash. It must be broken."

Me: "What was wrong with it? Did it get dropped?"

Her: "No. It just never worked. We took it out of the bag and attached the flash, but it didn't flash."

M: "Did you try putting new batteries in it?"

H: *pause* "It has batteries?" I didn't know it had batteries. You didn't tell me the batteries were dead."

M: "Well they weren't dead when I gave it to you; I tested it myself. Did you use the manual to help you attach the flash to the camera?"

H: "Yes."

M: "You know on the page of that manual where it shows you how to attach the flash? See where it says battery compartment and shows you how to put the batteries in?"

H: "Yeah."

M: "That should have been a tip off."

Yeah, I'm kind of a bitch. But come on. I'm supposed to know the batteries are about to go dead? I'm just sayin'.