March 16, 2023

When Perceptions And Expectations Collide

By Barry Rudesill
(a.k.a. Why My Perceptions Are (Mostly) Right)
 
A few years ago, I needed some higher-end audio engineering software for a project I was working on. I did my research, read the reviews, and settled on a particular product. I contacted the company, got a discount, and paid a rather large sum – to me at least – to purchase the program.
 
From the start, it was fantastic! With the exception of the video-editing software I use, I don’t think I’ve run into a more powerful, more complete program. (Get the feeling I liked it?)
 
Then, I ran into a situation with an audio file that required a little bit more in the way of correction. I needed to do a voiceover to correct some misspoken words. In the grand scheme of things, this is a fairly simple thing to do.
 
The problems were: I couldn’t record in the original room, I wouldn’t have the original acoustics, and people’s voices can change over time. In other words, no matter how careful I was, the voice from the voiceover would not be a match for the original, and it would be noticeable.
 
Enter the company that I bought the audio software from. They feature a tool that is designed to match the dialogue from one video with the dialogue from another. It’s not perfect, but the software is smart enough to “fake it” so that most people will never notice. (A true “audiophile” might, but that’s their problem.)
 
So I paid them a LOT more money to upgrade to this audio suite. Along with the new program, the suite included an upgrade to the original program I was already using; I went from Version 9 – Professional to Version 10 – Standard! Pretty good deal, right?
 
Except that it wasn’t! I installed it all..and it didn’t work. My computer showed that the dialogue program was there; I just couldn’t run it. I tried everything I could think of, but nothing worked. And so, I reached out to “tech support”.
 
For this company, basic tech support involves sending an email, waiting a week, reading the response, sending a follow-up email, waiting a week, reading the response, etc. (They have a better tier of support, but I can’t afford it.) And so I sent my email…
 
Their response? “I see you have purchased and installed it. You should be all set!” I waited one whole week for that?
 
So I responded again, explaining that I wasn’t “all set” and that I couldn’t run their software.
 
One week later, I got, “Just open the main software and look under plugins. It’ll be sitting right there!”
 
Now, I was getting frustrated. I DID do that! I HAD checked everywhere! I had even reinstalled everything, just in case there was a glitch there. I used to be a computer tech, so I did EVERYTHING that I could think of! Guess what? It wasn’t “sitting right there”! And this time, I explained the problem again in a more...direct...tone. I wasn’t rude, but I was done being polite. I’m a customer; your program cost me a lot of money; it doesn’t work; fix it!
 
One week later the email said, “So, I see the software has successfully installed. Have we resolved your problem?”
 
Now I WAS angry! I had the expectation that the software I paid a lot of money for SHOULD work. (Reasonable expectation, right?) I had the expectation that “tech support” would actually “support” the tech I was working with. (Again, a reasonable expectation.) My perception of the company went from loving them to being extremely annoyed by them! Their answers didn’t even make sense! Why was this such a hard thing to grasp?
 
Because of the distance between my expectations and reality, I was angry. Because I was angry, my perceptions changed. And STILL, a month later, I didn’t have a working piece of software!
 
So I researched their site and found something...curious. Remember when I mentioned they upgraded the original program? Well, it turns out that only the “Professional” editions of that software could run the dialogue system. Even though they gave me this “free upgrade”, because it was only a “Standard” edition, it actually prevented the program from doing what I wanted it to! When I reinstalled Version 9 – Professional, everything worked!
 
And that’s when I realized that their tech and I were dealing with two very different perceptions of this situation. I assumed that they gave me Version 10 – Standard because it could run the software I wanted. They assumed that I knew that only “Professional” editions could run that plug-in. When we were trying to communicate, we were in conflict because we couldn’t understand the other person’s viewpoint; our assumptions – our expectations and perceptions – got in the way! When we took the time and looked closer at the problem, we were able to communicate effectively and the problem was solved.
 
In your world, in the conflicts and stresses you face, look for the perceptions and expectations that are under the surface. You may need to “Reality Check” what you think is happening so that you can get on the same page and move forward.
 
As for me, I need to move forward on my audio project!
 
We hope you enjoy your journey!
 
- The Trek

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