data entry girl: can you look this up for me?
sys admin: look it up at google.com
data entry girl: I don’t have time to
sys admin: so, instead, you waste my time and yours by walking in here, asking me too look it up, i have to stop what I’m doing, look it up, and you wait there while I give you the answer?
data entry girl: yes, because I don’t have time to look it up.
sys admin: think about it. It takes you 1 minute to walk in my office and ask me to look it up for you, and explain you don’t have the time to look it up. It takes me at least 30 seconds to come to a place where I can stop what I am doing. Another 5-10 seconds for me to look it up for you. Then, another minutes for me to read it and tell you the answer. Then, at least another 2 minutes for me to explain to you what the answer is. Then, if that isn’t the answer you are looking for, another 5-10 seconds for me to look it up again for you. Then, another 1-2 minutes for me to read it and tell you the answer. Then, at least another 2 minutes for me to explain to you what the answer is. Then another minute or two for you to comprehend the answer and another minute for you to walk back to your office, sit down and apply that to what you are doing. And you don’t have time to look it up?
data entry girl: Yes, that is correct.
sys admin: Why don’t you figure out how much time you would have saved to look it up for yourself.
data entry girl: I don’t have time to do that, I need the answer.
sys admin: And you just wasted my time and yours by coming in here, asking me to do it when you could have taken 30 seconds to do it yourself. Think of all that time you would have saved.
data entry girl: Don’t you understand? I don’t have 30 seconds to look it up!
sys admin: But, you have 5 minutes for this conversation?
data entry girl: no