Reality Check

Tech Support Calls Part 1

Our world is becoming more and more dependent on technology, but many of us that have not grown up with computers have trouble adjusting to their use in everyday life. My seven-year-old sister could turn the computer on, boot up her Winnie-the-Pooh game and play it without any help, but my mom is still afraid to touch the computer for fear of breaking it. No matter how many times I tell her it doesn’t have a self-destruct key, it still intimidates her.

I used to work with a lady who was always on the phone with the tech support staff. Once, I could hear her complaining that no matter what she did, her computer would not turn on. The tech support guy came all the way out and asked if she had checked to make sure the computer was plugged in. She said, of course it was plugged into the wall. He then asked if she had checked to make sure the cord was also plugged into the computer. There was dead silence.

Another day she was shipping back a “defective” wireless mouse and keyboard. After installing and troubleshooting, they just wouldn’t work. I checked them and confirmed my suspicions. No batteries.

One of the most computer savvy people in the office called me in for my “technical expertise” to find out why the printer didn’t work. She had rebooted, cleared the cache, and gone through all imaginable steps to fix it. I took a glance at it, and said, “Well, I don’t know much about this model, but I think that green light should probably be on.” I pressed the power button and it started printing.

There are so many things that can go wrong with computers. Often times, it is simply a case of users who don't know how to use their equipment. These are a few transcripts of actual tech support calls made by people who don’t fully understand the computers they use. I will post more as I come across them.
 

Tech Support: "How much free space do you have on your hard drive?"
Customer: "Well, my wife likes to get up there on that Internet, and she down loaded ten hours of free space. Is that enough?"

A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer. The tech asked her if she was "running it under Windows."
The woman then responded, "No, my desk is next to the door. But that is a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window, and his is working fine."

Tech Support: "OK Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now type the letter 'P' to bring up the Program Manager."
Customer: "I don't have a 'P'."
Tech Support: "On your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "What do you mean?"
Tech Support: "'P' on your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "I'm not going to do that!"