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geek squad

www.onepoll.com

26 February 2011


PRESS RELEASE: Geek Squad
Written: Monday 20th December, 2010

Brits will spend more than four hours trying to figure out their new presents on Christmas Day, a study revealed yesterday (Sun).

Setting up new gadgets, reading instructions and removing complicated packaging will see the average Brit struggling for four hours and 12 minutes.

The largest chunk of that time - an hour and 45 minutes - is spent simply trying to figure out how to get their new gift working and ready to use.

Another 56 minutes goes on getting new gadgets set up and ready to go while more than 47 minutes is spent trying to master toys and other gifts.

Almost 45 minutes is even taken up just trying to get the new gifts and toys out of excessive packaging, according to the research by technology advice experts Geek Squad.

Geek Squad Agent Fran Sorci (corr) said: ''Gadget rage is a common Christmas condition.

''The expectation for a new sought after gadget is high but the disappointment greater when it doesn't work correctly.

''The last thing you want to be doing on Christmas Day is to spend hours setting everything up and then having to work out how to get it all running correctly.

''If you are planning to give your partner or children a gadget this Christmas, it might be worth doing some research and making sure you have everything you need to get it working, to save any last-minute problems on the day.''

The study of 3,000 Brits also revealed children's toys are most likely to leave parents puzzled closely followed by games consoles and mobile phones.

Laptops, MP3 players and TVs will also leave many scratching their heads.

But more than half of those polled said Christmas Day is ruined if they can't figure out how to get a new gift working.

One in three even admitted they often underestimate how complicated some tech presents can be that they resort to unwrapping a present and reading the instructions to avoid disappointment on Christmas Day.

And 30 per cent of people have taken gifts out of the packaging before wrapping them up, to save time when they are opened on December 25th.

But researchers found that while 23 per cent look at the instructions, 28 per cent would prefer to try and get their head around it themselves, with more than 40 per cent of those saying they like the challenge.

Another 32 per cent didn't realise it was going to be so complicated while 28 per cent simply said they can't ever be bothered to read the instructions.

The present problems end up causing rows though with one in five couples admitting to leaving the room and not speaking to their partner following an argument over a gadget not working.

And a red-faced 24 per cent of parents said their children have ended up telling them how a gadget or toy works on Christmas Day because they couldn't figure it out themselves.

The study also revealed that the stress doesn't always end once a gadget is figured out though as 17 per cent of parents have still had problems because they forgot to buy batteries before Christmas Day.

Breakdown of time spent figuring out presents on Christmas Day: