Equipment Superior to Operator

What Does Equipment Superior to Operator Mean?

Equipment superior to operator (ESO) is a satirical or derogatory term used by technicians and servicemen to mean "user error." Essentially, it means that the equipment is too advanced for the user to use it properly. An alternative term is equipment smarter than operator.

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Techopedia Explains Equipment Superior to Operator

Technicians and repairmen are often confronted by clueless customers who claim that the products they have bought are not working properly or not as advertised when, in fact, there is nothing wrong with the products and, therefore, the problem is with the user. In such cases, there is often no choice but to take the customer’s word for it.

As this can be somewhat annoying, technicians coined a derogatory term for it: equipment superior to operator. It means that the device or equipment is too advanced for the user to operate it correctly.

In simple terms, it means "user error."

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Margaret Rouse

Margaret Rouse is an award-winning technical writer and teacher known for her ability to explain complex technical subjects to a non-technical, business audience. Over the past twenty years her explanations have appeared on TechTarget websites and she's been cited as an authority in articles by the New York Times, Time Magazine, USA Today, ZDNet, PC Magazine and Discovery Magazine.Margaret's idea of a fun day is helping IT and business professionals learn to speak each other’s highly specialized languages. If you have a suggestion for a new definition or how to improve a technical explanation, please email Margaret or contact her…