LJ Idol Week 9: Marching Orders
I'm writing this on another computer because my laptop's battery is dead. Its charger decided to stop working without warning yesterday. No problem, right? I just need to pick up the phone, call the company, and buy a new charger. Right? Right. Except . . .
I really don't like phones. I never have. I wasn’t one of those teenagers who spent hours on the phone. Within the last five years or so, that has changed somewhat, and I have begun to talk to my friends quite a bit more, although they are still often the ones to make the initial call.
So I guess saying that I don’t like phones is not entirely accurate. I don’t like having to call people I don’t know. And now, with e-mail and FAQs and online stores, It’s even easier for me to avoid the phone, which I do realize is not a step in the right direction.
But there are times when, even with e-mail and FAQs and online stores, there is no way around picking up a phone. With some exceptions, tech support is just one of those times.
I use a lot of technology. My laptop alone runs a handful of assistive technology programs, almost all of which come from different companies. Then there’s the Braille notetaker, the embosser, the scanner, and the Victor Reader Stream. That’s a lot of technology that could, and does, act up from time to time. Today it’s the laptop.
Sometimes I get lucky. Sometimes, if I’m resourceful enough and patient enough (and if it means avoiding the phone, I can be both endlessly resourceful and endlessly patient), I can spend an hour or so looking around a company’s Web site and find what I’m looking for. But some days, like today, all of my endless patience just won’t make the part number for my laptop charger magically exist in the company’s online database.
That’s when I have to pick up the phone.
My aversion to phones probably has something to do with the less than great customer service I've gotten from some companies once I've finally, *finally* gotten up the nerve to call them at all. A few years ago, I actually ended up agreeing to purchase some sort of computer manual to go along with whatever I had actually called to purchase because the salesperson was so persistent. (Of course, I'm a bit older now and realize that no matter how persistent they are, I am never obligated to buy anything from salespeople.)
These days, when I call a company for tech support, I usually end up getting someone with an accent. We have three landline phones in the house. All of them have absolutely horrible volume. I have no idea why. The one with the best volume runs out of charge after it's been off the hook for about ten minutes. So usually this leaves me pressing one of the other two phones into my ear trying not only to hear, but also to understand. Since I don’t want to be on the phone in the first place, I have been known to accept the first answer the person gives me and just hang up, even if that answer doesn’t solve my problem. “The part I want is out of stock? Okay. Thanks.” *click* It is only after I hang up that I realize that I truly do need this part or I will be without a computer, and that what I should have done is asked if there is any other part that could work in place of the one they don’t have. But asking that question would mean calling them again . . .
My mom and I have gone back and forth about this for years. “It's so easy,” she’ll tell me. Just this morning she said, “You never even see the person. They can't punch you in the face if you say something wrong. If they're rude to you, just hang up."
She’s right.
My friends have tried to understand, too. I was on instant messenger last night with one of them talking about the laptop situation. At one point, she wrote, "Ok... Jaws [my screen reader] is going to make this sound really mean, but why don't you just call them, pay for it, and get it over with?"
She’s right, too.
So, I need a new laptop charger. I don't have enough charge in the laptop to use it to order the part online. I. Need. To. Make. A. Phone call. I need to get it done. Over with. It's not that hard. So just do it. Now.
Or . . .
I think I’ll go mess with the laptop charger one more time to see if maybe, possibly . . . hopefully? I can get it to work again.
I really don't like phones. I never have. I wasn’t one of those teenagers who spent hours on the phone. Within the last five years or so, that has changed somewhat, and I have begun to talk to my friends quite a bit more, although they are still often the ones to make the initial call.
So I guess saying that I don’t like phones is not entirely accurate. I don’t like having to call people I don’t know. And now, with e-mail and FAQs and online stores, It’s even easier for me to avoid the phone, which I do realize is not a step in the right direction.
But there are times when, even with e-mail and FAQs and online stores, there is no way around picking up a phone. With some exceptions, tech support is just one of those times.
I use a lot of technology. My laptop alone runs a handful of assistive technology programs, almost all of which come from different companies. Then there’s the Braille notetaker, the embosser, the scanner, and the Victor Reader Stream. That’s a lot of technology that could, and does, act up from time to time. Today it’s the laptop.
Sometimes I get lucky. Sometimes, if I’m resourceful enough and patient enough (and if it means avoiding the phone, I can be both endlessly resourceful and endlessly patient), I can spend an hour or so looking around a company’s Web site and find what I’m looking for. But some days, like today, all of my endless patience just won’t make the part number for my laptop charger magically exist in the company’s online database.
That’s when I have to pick up the phone.
My aversion to phones probably has something to do with the less than great customer service I've gotten from some companies once I've finally, *finally* gotten up the nerve to call them at all. A few years ago, I actually ended up agreeing to purchase some sort of computer manual to go along with whatever I had actually called to purchase because the salesperson was so persistent. (Of course, I'm a bit older now and realize that no matter how persistent they are, I am never obligated to buy anything from salespeople.)
These days, when I call a company for tech support, I usually end up getting someone with an accent. We have three landline phones in the house. All of them have absolutely horrible volume. I have no idea why. The one with the best volume runs out of charge after it's been off the hook for about ten minutes. So usually this leaves me pressing one of the other two phones into my ear trying not only to hear, but also to understand. Since I don’t want to be on the phone in the first place, I have been known to accept the first answer the person gives me and just hang up, even if that answer doesn’t solve my problem. “The part I want is out of stock? Okay. Thanks.” *click* It is only after I hang up that I realize that I truly do need this part or I will be without a computer, and that what I should have done is asked if there is any other part that could work in place of the one they don’t have. But asking that question would mean calling them again . . .
My mom and I have gone back and forth about this for years. “It's so easy,” she’ll tell me. Just this morning she said, “You never even see the person. They can't punch you in the face if you say something wrong. If they're rude to you, just hang up."
She’s right.
My friends have tried to understand, too. I was on instant messenger last night with one of them talking about the laptop situation. At one point, she wrote, "Ok... Jaws [my screen reader] is going to make this sound really mean, but why don't you just call them, pay for it, and get it over with?"
She’s right, too.
So, I need a new laptop charger. I don't have enough charge in the laptop to use it to order the part online. I. Need. To. Make. A. Phone call. I need to get it done. Over with. It's not that hard. So just do it. Now.
Or . . .
I think I’ll go mess with the laptop charger one more time to see if maybe, possibly . . . hopefully? I can get it to work again.