A look into the mind of those who call tech support

[Tripredacus]

Have you ever had to take a tech support call from someone with absolutely no grasp on how computers work or the terminology? Have you ever heard those stories of a rep telling a caller to close a window and they go and close an actual window in their house?

 

The following image reminds me of talking to those types of people and how their strange world might work.

 

[Tommy]

I can't resist bringing this one back up. Oh lordy, the fun I have calling store support when I'm at work. So, basically I call level one support who knows probably less than I do and they tell you things to do that you've either already tried before calling or you know for a fact are a big waste of time. I had one of my user roles accidentally erased earlier this week and our work email is tied into those roles. So my email was taken down and it's actually a big part of my job. So I was able to regain access to my email address when I got my user role back, but all my email was gone, it was a clean mailbox. So here's where it got fun.

 

Any reputable company backs up their data on a regular basis. I work for a multi-billion dollar company so I figured they absolutely must do this. I call up store support and get the ITS department (ITS is a very big slap in your face type of term for them to use for most of their people). I tell the woman what happened and asked if my email could be restored from a backup. She tells me "Wellllll, probably not.....but I will forward it on to level 2 support." Probably not? Really? I mean....REALLY? So something finds a vulnerability in your system and either a good portion or even the entire exchange server gets taken down and wiped out, and you don't have a backup in place to restore it? Haha.

 

Anyway, later in the day I get a call from Level 2 support. This is a guy who knows what he's talking about. He said that it was actually no problem and in fact my "old" email account was still there so he was able to relink it back to my system login and bam, all was settled. How some people get into ITS in the first place is beyond me....

 

Then just yesterday, I had to laugh because well...my internet stopped working. I have the combination phone/internet modem through my cable company. I get on the phone and of course you get the machine to walk you through "steps" that people like us already have taken. And the one step was...please unplug your modem! So....I kind of laugh and I'm like, "Okay! :D" I unplug it and surprise surprise, the woman machine disappears! You mean they couldn't detect I had a phone/internet modem and doing something dumb like that would happen? Eh, I already tried rebooting both to begin with, I know the standard procedures. So to save me the headache, I just took my modem in and had them swap it for a new one. Although at first I had a bit of activation trouble, I got it activated and all is well.

 

Sometimes I always felt like the dumb one not to have all the answers...but I wonder...how do these people on the other end feel when the only things they probably know is that a computer mouse doesn't eat cheese because it's not alive.

[Tripredacus]

The people on level 1 of a call center are there typically because they wanted a job. The technical requirements are a lot lower for that position. Most call centers are promote from within, those who have the technical knowledge or ability get promoted to the higher levels. When I worked in call centers, level 1 or entry reps were like the "regular joe on the street" and the upper levels were the technies and computer nerds. With exception, of course, those who were technies but didn't have enough work experience so they started at level 1. And that is difficult position because a level 2 hire work requirement is experience in similar position in a call center, which means people who have real world technical experience will often get turned down for an entry level support job due to them being seen as over-qualified.

[Tommy]

And that is difficult position because a level 2 hire work requirement is experience in similar position in a call center, which means people who have real world technical experience will often get turned down for an entry level support job due to them being seen as over-qualified.

That's definitely no fun! I'd be seen as the over-qualified one of course, since I have many tech skills and several certifications.

[ROTS]

This belongs in the funny section.

It makes me think of that Gateway commercial with the hair blowing out from the little girl, parent, or etc.

Bottom line you have an IT department/ Tech support person there because

Health instructors ( gym/coach ), Models/actresses,construction, and historians do not know anything about computers...........

[Tripredacus]

Well sure, I was more likely to believe that in the 90s, where plenty of people were suddenly introduced by magic boxes without any previous experience with the things. Nowadays, things should have been different but strangely it isn't.