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Tech support
Mysticales - May 20, 2002
  Mysticales May 20, 2002
I mean I just LOVE tech agents who dont know what is wrong and try to brush you off like some newbie. Its really annoying when you know more then them and they tell you things you KNOW isnt the issue or that they just dont know and say "It cant work then" etc. How do you like your tech agents. Any good stories?

 ExCyber May 20, 2002
Well, there was the sad story of a tech at my old ISP... (generally excellent service; only reason I switched was to get cable) who seemed to not know what a nameserver was. I had called up to report nameserver trouble - specifically, that their nameservers didn't seem to be responding at all. It sounded like he was trying to look for it in the standard troubleshooting checklist (which undoubtedly starts with "Is the PC turned on?"). I really can't blame the support guys for going through that crap (it's probably policy in most places that low-level tech have to do it even if they know better), but they should at least be able to respond with a proper question or two if they're presented with a situation that's not there.

 jim993 May 20, 2002
i always like those people that are pricks that think they know everything yet they still read exactly from the book that they have sitting by their computer. i've only had two people who were ever really nice to me with tech support

 Mysticales May 20, 2002
I didnt goto school to learn what I know....I just DO IT.

I mean you CANT learn how to fix a PC or network by the book....something you have to put LITERALLY blood and sweat into for HOURS! (I cut myself FEW times when working inside with the chips) But always seem to get the error fixed. My IPC tech people. GREAT AND FAST SUPPORT! However he is nice and all. But now he is asking ME for help LOL =P

 Xavier May 20, 2002
Ive never gotten good tech help , Ive gotten to the point where I wont call for tech supposrt anymore , except for them to verify that its broken so I can send it in for warranty repairs .

Whats the funniest is that they always tell you to reformat your hardrive...thats thier answer for everything .

 Mysticales May 20, 2002
It IS the easiest way...but I made few customers happy when I SOLVE the problem and not just do a format.

 antime May 21, 2002
The support staff have to go through the basic questions, because even if you know, they can't know you know and even if you tell them they can't trust you. They have to deal with so many clueless "experts" I really have respect for those who stay on the job. That's not to say there's not lots of totally useless "support", but what can you expect when the companies contract their support from some minimum-wage company?

Places I've gotten good support from include Matrox, Hummingbird and Winzip. Bad experiences were Agfa and HP.

 maidtina May 21, 2002
The thing is, tech support is a mind numbing soul crushing job and when someone rings a tech up and tells them they are also a tech, they dont believe them. This is because many people tell them they are technically minded and keep telling the tech they have a virus for example. The tech then asks for the serial number on the back of the case and they get "i cant see, we are having a brownout"

Yes users -are- that stupid

so i dont blame them for not believing i know what i'm doing

edit- oh yes, check out www.techcomedy.com... to explain this a little more. It includes things like a tech trying to explain to an EU what a paperclip is

 Myname May 21, 2002
Yeah, it's a job I would really hate to do. It's like slating someone on a checkout for not being cheerful.. If I was doing that all day I'd be a whole lot more pissed off than that. My problem is more with the businesses themselves.. My home PC has clearly been broken ever since it had a 'service' and new memory put in, under warranty. It's been playing up for six months and in the last month we've had EIGHT engineers out and spent god knows how much money on the phone with nothing fixed. Now they've buggered off with it and MIGHT give us a replacement IF they find it to be faulty, which they obviously have a hard time believing. Even then, I won't get back what I payed, just the equivalent amount for what a similar spec is worth today, ie about half the money I paid.

Death to PC World

 IceDigger May 21, 2002
I called up my local cable company since our cable modem goes down often and got on the phone with tech support after 1/2 an hour of waiting. I tell the guy whats up and I KNOW that the problem is with the cable at his end and then he asks me what OS I am using, I say Linux and then he says "well thats you problem right there, cable modems dont support Linux". I get VERY pissed at those guys. Takes a couple calls into them to get a person who knows what he is saying.

 Mysticales May 21, 2002

  
	
	

		
		

			Originally posted by soldermonkey@May 20 2002,23:51



The thing is, tech support is a mind numbing soul crushing job and when someone rings a tech up and tells them they are also a tech, they dont believe them. This is because many people tell them they are technically minded and keep telling the tech they have a virus for example. The tech then asks for the serial number on the back of the case and they get "i cant see, we are having a brownout"



Yes users -are- that stupid



so i dont blame them for not believing i know what i'm doing



edit- oh yes, check out www.techcomedy.com... to explain this a little more. It includes things like a tech trying to explain to an EU what a paperclip is


I agree. I had that many a times when I started, people called up saying they had POOR tech support with the company and that this is the "last try" they would make otherwise they would return PC. Anyways after they say me work, they loved me =))) Unlike most techs, I like to SOLVE the problem and not brush it off or so. They are happy and will keep remembering you. Jobwise. Not only are you good for customers but a value to the company as well. I was working for 2 cities. OH btw. www.rainbowrentals.com... was the place I was working for. They seem to be all over USA. =)

 Hollywood Hasney May 21, 2002
Well, at CEX, I just ordered a bunch of stuff.... I ordered Resi 2 and 3 mainly though.... the 1st time, they sent out 2 copies of RE:2, so I sent one back.... They send me RE:CV, which i already own... I send it back, and they say it's "Not in good enough quality" so after 15 phone calls, they are FINALLY sending me RE:3

Oh, and my new PC... the company kept shafting me

I ring them up, they've sent out the wrong GFX card, the processor was 500MHz too slow, and they wouldn't send out a technician to change my processor, THEY wanted me to send it in because they thought it was just being recognised as a 1.1GHz... I had to take a photo of it and show them it was a 1.1 athlon and not the 1900+ XP I had ordered....

 maidtina May 21, 2002
Well i was about to post how good my ADSL customer support was but then their authentication server died and their phone system got flooded with ppl asking wht they couldnt get their internet. They are usually pretty good...

 Mysticales May 21, 2002
OH man! I had that once. This ISP (56k only) was great price and all. Then one day BOOM! Died! Try calling, just a voice mailbox! (Full) NEVER answered. Its like we got suckered or something. 3 weeks later they post on webpage, They merged. Then we finally got back on and so on.

 Subura May 23, 2002
Compaq Computers :shudder:

The computer acted strangely, I kept trying the usuals and finally i get pissed and what else am i gonna do, so i call support. I get the run through as usual, reinstall all drivers, reformat hardrive, all the while i know its not a software problem do to the fact that half of my computer no longer responds,(sound card, expansion ports) finally after the warrenty had voided i decided to do a through interior check, low and behold the motherboard had shorted. I've never trusted compaq since.

 Xavier May 23, 2002
Well you could have just used you case number and proved it was a prexciting problem and gotten it fixed .

 Mysticales May 23, 2002
Dont get me started on them!

(I have a compaq laptop) Support was a PAIN to get! I mean it takes 3-4 times BEFORE I get someone who knows what to tell me! Like GEEZ! Oh better yet! They STILL cant give network support over email! (I had them take down the drivers for the modem and network card as they dont work, never did they post a new one)

Next my network card has issues on a home LAN for some odd reason.... DSL and router work....just not Hub LAN.

 Mysticales May 26, 2002
THIS is what happended to me on that 56k isp!

http://www.reallifecomics.com/d/20000628.html...