The
in-store session was phenomenal. Not only does Microsoft have a
designated open space with seating dedicated to helping their clients,
but they have well-trained
customer service associates. Mara, from the San Diego Fashion Valley
Microsoft Store, was our assigned representative. She was nice and very
patient.
It
all started as a session to teach my Mom the basics of her new device,
like how to turn the computer on/off and how to search for files;
however, I also
learned a couple of new things that I did not know about the device and
about myself.
Three Things I Learned from The Microsoft Free In-Store Classes
1. Los
Tres Amigos (The Three Friends)- Mara used very easy to remember
vocabulary and provided tactics to help my mom remember where to go and
where to click.
Los Tres Amigos are three dots located at the top of the Edge browser.
With Los Tres Amigos you can save whatever page you like on the start
menu so that it is easier to access. This feature is great for everyone,
but in particular for people who are starting
to familiarize themselves with technology because they do not have to
spend hours searching for a website that they had previously found.
2. Change
a crowded webpage into an easy to read page- Mara taught my Mom a
feature that even I didn't know existed. You can remove ads from any
site and change
it into a "book" form that allows you to take notes, highlight, and
make comments.
3. Let
Go- During the session, I was able to observe that Mara did something
that I had never done in the time that I had tried to teach my Mom how
to use her
laptop, and it was to let her fail. I tend to take control of the
situation when I see that my Mom did not understand a command or forgot
how to do one of the steps I thought her; however, Mara was patient and
after teaching her something she let my Mom do
it all by herself. She allowed her to fail and when she could not
figure something out, she would then take over and teach her again. I
feel that many of us tend to get frustrated when we are teaching someone
something new and we tend to take control of the
situation and do not allow them to explore, fail, and learn. Towards
the end of the session, I decided to let Mara, the expert, do her job
and I tried to move away for lapses of time; however, I also tried to
stay close because I too wanted to learn about
some of the features that the Dell Inspiron 15 has.
Overall,
I recommend that you take advantage of these free classes that
Microsoft offers to their customers. Being in a different setting with
someone that
is patient, that speaks your same language, and that won't get
frustrated when you fail, is imperative to the learning process. After
our store visit, my Mom felt more confident when using her device and
she is excited about returning for another session.
She said she was happy that they offered classes in Spanish because she
only had to worry about learning how to use the device and not about
the language barrier or about me getting frustrated. Mara also helped us
set up the device to be completely in Spanish
so that my Mom could navigate through the setting more freely.
Mara
is an excellent associate. She was patient, offered us something to
drink, gave my mom a break, and was 100% patient, something I sometimes
lack lol. She
mentioned that they try to offer classes in other languages too and she
made us feel welcomed to come back at any time for assistance. My Mom
is already planning to schedule her second visit. For now, she knows the
essentials, but with my help and that of
the Microsoft Pro's she will be doing everything by herself in no time.
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