A Best Buy worker’s head-scratching encounter with a customer who couldn’t tell a computer from a hard drive is hitting home with tech workers on TikTok.
In a now-viral video that’s racked up over 454,000 views, TikToker Dallas Ponzo (@dallas_ponzo) shared how a customer came in asking for an HDMI splitter for her “hard drive”—except that’s not what she was actually looking for at all.
“I’ve never heard of a hard drive that connects to monitors,” the Best Buy worker said in his video, clearly baffled by the request. After some back-and-forth, it clicked: The customer was calling her entire desktop computer tower a “hard drive.” Oh, and that monitor on her desk? She thought that was “the computer,” Ponzo said.
The mix-up didn’t end there. When the worker finally figured out what she needed, it turned out she’d been trying to plug a USB 3.0 HDMI splitter into a regular USB port the entire time.
@dallas_ponzo She wasn’t wrong, or right
♬ original sound – Dallas
Commenters chime in on the Best Buy customer
The comments section blew up with IT workers sharing their own stories of confused tech customers.
“27 years in IT. heard it called a hard drive way too many times,” one user wrote.
Another added, “When I was in retail anyone over 50 would call the computer a hard drive and monitor the computer.”
“You’ll begin to translate what they want after a while. I work in IT and I don’t think I’ve heard any end user use the correct term for anything,” a third commenter wrote.
“It’s best to ignore people’s first statement and immediately start asking clarifying questions,” one more added.
Are older generations less technologically literate?
According to a 2020 study, “Compared to younger adults, older adults tend to have overall lower digital literacy and less success in efficiently achieving their goals and accurately addressing their needs as a result of internet usage.”
Millennials have managed to hold onto foundational tech skills from their days of IT classes. However, recent studies suggest that Gen Z—despite being “digitally native”—often struggles with general computer skills.
In fact, research cited in a recent Thred article points to a shift in tech use among younger people. Most rely on the internet for entertainment rather than the information-gathering habits of older generations.
The Daily Dot has reached out to @dallas_ponzo via TikTok comment and to Best Buy via press email.
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The post ‘I thought you were joking’: Best Buy worker says customer came in looking for HDMI splitter. Then he realized what she really needs appeared first on The Daily Dot.
