Tech Support Rant
Sorry for such a generic bloggy thing to do, but whatever, I can see why so many people do this.
I work as a Computer/Network technician, and do some helpdesk type work when I'm in the office.
There are many types of customers, all of which I'm very tolerable and patient with. There are those that can't answer the question "what does the error say on your screen" because they "don't know anything about computers", as if that has anything to do with reading English. I'm cool with that. There are those that you have to break down simple steps into even more specific steps ("Click the Start Button" = "Single Left-click the tiny box at the bottom left of your computer that says "Start"). I'm cool with that. I'm here to help those with computer problems who couldn't solve them as easily on their own. When my toilet is broken, my car breaks down, or some dry-wall needs to be put up, there is very little I know to do before I need someone's help, and I like to not feel embarrassed as to how little I know. I make my customers feel as if they don't even need to know how to turn on the computer, and if they can do that much, they know more about computers than I expected them to know.
There's only ONE type of customer that really gets under my skin - the self-proclaimed computer guy who thinks he can do my job better than I can that, for whatever reason, feels the need to call for my assistance and let me know as much as he can that I've helped him as little as possible. He/she feels extremely embarrassed to have to seek assistance from someone else, and they are secretly hoping that no one is able to fix it if they can't, and that every person he/she comes in contact isn't as competent as him/her. For every little thing they have to repeat, their attitude gets shittier and shittier, and what little patience they have gets thinner and thinner with each second. I had the worst of the worst today, and it took every urge to not tell him to deal with it himself, because obviously I'm not as smart and logical as he is, and if he can't he can take his startup error and shove it up his ass.
But, since he was the VP of some Insurance Company, I couldn't exactly do that.
So I reassigned it to the mean lady at work : )
So, all of my computer dudes and ladies out there, when you have to call tech support, please, for the sake of fairness, swallow your pride and give the poor sap a chance to help you. You don't have to show him how technically inclined you are, as he doesn't really care. If he says something in a way that makes you feel like he's treating you like a child who never used a computer before, it isn't because he thinks you're dumb. In the business, you can't really assume the user knows anything about a computer, because when you do assume, the person feels like they SHOULD know certain things, even when they're asking for help. Just follow his directions and make pretend that you're a 50 year old soccer mom who only knows how to play solitaire.
I work as a Computer/Network technician, and do some helpdesk type work when I'm in the office.
There are many types of customers, all of which I'm very tolerable and patient with. There are those that can't answer the question "what does the error say on your screen" because they "don't know anything about computers", as if that has anything to do with reading English. I'm cool with that. There are those that you have to break down simple steps into even more specific steps ("Click the Start Button" = "Single Left-click the tiny box at the bottom left of your computer that says "Start"). I'm cool with that. I'm here to help those with computer problems who couldn't solve them as easily on their own. When my toilet is broken, my car breaks down, or some dry-wall needs to be put up, there is very little I know to do before I need someone's help, and I like to not feel embarrassed as to how little I know. I make my customers feel as if they don't even need to know how to turn on the computer, and if they can do that much, they know more about computers than I expected them to know.
There's only ONE type of customer that really gets under my skin - the self-proclaimed computer guy who thinks he can do my job better than I can that, for whatever reason, feels the need to call for my assistance and let me know as much as he can that I've helped him as little as possible. He/she feels extremely embarrassed to have to seek assistance from someone else, and they are secretly hoping that no one is able to fix it if they can't, and that every person he/she comes in contact isn't as competent as him/her. For every little thing they have to repeat, their attitude gets shittier and shittier, and what little patience they have gets thinner and thinner with each second. I had the worst of the worst today, and it took every urge to not tell him to deal with it himself, because obviously I'm not as smart and logical as he is, and if he can't he can take his startup error and shove it up his ass.
But, since he was the VP of some Insurance Company, I couldn't exactly do that.
So I reassigned it to the mean lady at work : )
So, all of my computer dudes and ladies out there, when you have to call tech support, please, for the sake of fairness, swallow your pride and give the poor sap a chance to help you. You don't have to show him how technically inclined you are, as he doesn't really care. If he says something in a way that makes you feel like he's treating you like a child who never used a computer before, it isn't because he thinks you're dumb. In the business, you can't really assume the user knows anything about a computer, because when you do assume, the person feels like they SHOULD know certain things, even when they're asking for help. Just follow his directions and make pretend that you're a 50 year old soccer mom who only knows how to play solitaire.