A couple of days ago I got a phone call from a client. And by the sound of his light panicky voice, I knew something terrible must be up.

His scanner didn't work and he couldn't send his invoices to his clients.

This is something that would make me panic too (as a business owner) if I didn't know how to fix this.

So I offer to go there straight away. He accepts.

It's 19:45.

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Now I already changed into my chill outfit. Sneakers, shorts, T-shirt. And normally I would change back into more decent looking clothes for work but I guess my new found sense of freedom makes me think differently about these things now.

Why would he be upset about my chill outfit? I'm there to help him at 20:00 on a weekday. Fuck it, I'm going to try it. I grab my bag and leave.

I arrive and he opens the door. He doesn't even look at the way I'm dressed. He couldn't care less.

For 8 years I have worried about this for nothing.

The problem

Now you would probably think that the client in question makes handwritten bills and needs to scan those. But no.

He makes the invoices on his computer (Word). Prints them. Then uses his scanner to scan them to PDF and then emails the PDF's to his clients.

Now I could change his workflow by installing a PDF printer or offer a similar solution. But I know I'm dealing with an absolute beginner and sometimes in these situations, it's easier to keep HIS workflow intact than offer a better one.

So I look at the problem and quickly identify that the bottom lines of his invoices are not being picked up by the scanner because they are too close to the edge.

The solution is simple.

I turn the paper around in the scanner.

"But now It's going to be upside down in the computer", the man says.

I press scan and the invoice appears on the screen and it's indeed upside down. It is perfectly scanned.

"I can't send it upside down", he says.

"Just wait", I say.

I move the mouse to the clockwise arrow icon on the screen and say: "Watch this".

I click twice. The paper is upright again.

The man looks at me like I just performed a magic trick.

"LET ME DO IT"

The man clicks the rotating arrow button and is making cheering sounds. The paper is spinning around on the screen.

I'm sitting next to him. I'm having a blast. This is great.

We save the document to PDF and he is over the moon.

I spent about 15 minutes there and I tell the man I won't send him a bill. I can't do it for rotating a paper.

He shakes my hand and I leave.

I smile all the way home.

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