Trying to get Non-MS Tech Support (semi-funny)

[Sepero]

This is an old text conversation that I had while trying to purchase a 56k modem. I found it while deleting some old files. I thought it was mildly humorous, so I decided to share.

Chinwe is the tech support. Me is Stephen.
Chinwe:
Hi Stephen, how can I help you today?

Stephen:
ECS 56K CNR MODEM, 56K V90 CNR MODEM RISER, OEM, NO DRIVER.

Will this modem operate on FreeBSD?

Stephen:
May I have acknowledgement that you are searching for an answer to my question? :)

Chinwe:
one moment pls

Chinwe:
what do mean by freebsd

Stephen:
FreeBSD is an Operating System, like Linux, Unix, and Macintosh.

Chinwe:
have no idea

Stephen:
Ok, that's fair enough. Ummm, are you able to find out?

Also, do you have any links where I can find more information on this modem? I wasn't able to find this modem on the ECS website.

Chinwe:
no

Stephen:
Ok, who can I contact to find out this information?

Chinwe:
no idea, if you can't any information from ecs website, then I am afraid I don't who else you can contact

Stephen:
Wow, you have been very unhelpful. But, I appreciate your honesty. :)

Thank you for your time.
Suffice it to say, I didn't buy their modem...

[eskaypey]

Macintosh != OS

sorry for smart assness

[Alex Cavnar, aka alc6379]

Now now...

Let's give the tech the benefit of the doubt. A lot of times, the technician you work with is limited by what "the specs" say. The correct answer should have been, "we have tested the modem with Windows 9x/ME/2k/XP" . That's likely what the documentation says that they have. That's all they support, why should they know/care about anything else?

Besides, what were you doing contacting technical support, anyways? Was Google down, or something? :P

[endoalpha]

I work cust support/ tech support for a wireless carrier. There are millions of great stories.
1.:
Customer: My phone says 'system busy please try again later' ...What does that mean?
Me: <silent>...
2.
Customer: What is the pin for my phone?
<there are several kinds of pins for these phones>
Me: What pin are you asking for?
Customer: The one to my phone.
me: Where it it asking you for a PIN?
Customer: My phone isn't asking for it.
Me: What is?
Customer: The Internet.
Me: What are you doing on the internet that would ask you for your pin to the phone?
Customer: Downloading a ringtone.
<I realize the pin is sent from the website to the phone and must be put in the website to actually purchase the ringtone, but the phone is not set up to get alerts or download ringtones>
me: You phone is not set up to download ringtones or get net alerts. I can set that up, but your account is passcode protected. I need the passcode before I make any changes.
Customer: What is a passcode?
me : It is a PIN.
Customer: <click..hangup>

[Lucas_Maximus]

Some people just shouldn't be exposed to technology.

[Parcival]

Some people just shouldn't be exposed to technology.

A bad excuse for bad system design.

[cybertron]

I'm so happy that my phone can simply download MIDI's and use them as a ringtone. It's so much simpler than my parents' phones where they have to use the special program. Plus I can use any MIDI I find, even free ones. No more paying for ringtones for me.:D

Just thought I'd share my good fortune with y'all.;)

[Parcival]

He he, when anybody calls me, my phone does the Monkey Island Scummbar theme. :D

[Lucas_Maximus]

A bad excuse for bad system design.

A girl asked me how to log onto the computer at the unversity yesterday (windows XP Machine), I said press ctrl+alt+delete, she did, then she asked me what she needed to do next. I said well enter your username and password.

She looked blankly at the screen for about a minute, and then I suggested she see the computer help desk for some IT training.

Some people just cant use technology and never will be able to. I have to tell my mother how to play a CD in windows media player pretty much once a week.

[Parcival]

A girl asked me how to log onto the computer at the unversity yesterday (windows XP Machine), I said press ctrl+alt+delete, she did, then she asked me what she needed to do next.

From a usability expert's point of view, that's not the problem of the user being too stupid, but the problem of the system that doesn't match a human beings natural way of interacting with the world. If you want to have a look at a truly userfriendly conept of computing I suggest you have a look at Bruce Tognazzini's website (http://www.asktog.com/starfire/starfireHome.html) and try to get a hold of the Starfire video, it's really worth watching it.

There's no such thing like a dumb user, but there are systems that don't pick up a user on the level where they start off from. Computers have to adapt to human beings and not the other way round.

[Lucas_Maximus]

Well I dunno about there is no such thing as a dumb user, it doesn't take a genius to follow a certain train of logical thought,

"It says that I need to enter a username and password, the university gave me some paperwork about the IT services and one of them might contain something named username and password and maybe I should try looking through those first and if I find something like that I should enter them. If I don't maybe I should ask someone in the university how I would find out my University username & password."

If you are incapable of thinking like that too bad as far as I am concerned.

[hlrguy]

Set up a colleague on a Linux Laptop to make working on our equipment at site easier. (Solaris systems). Having native X is fantastic for remote display, ssh, etc. Anyway, part of the setup, ordered a docking station for their office, came with wireless keyboard and mouse. All set up, calls me with a problem. OK, I have the keyboard for when I am here at the office, but WHAT DO I DO when I am on the road, do I take this keyboard with me or should I go buy one. I need to know ASAP I am heading to site tommorrow. When I stopped laughing, and I tell ya, he was hot for me laughing, but I couldn't talk for about 30 seconds. I said, see that bunch of buttons on the laptop, where you type, use that when on the road. Well, he busted a gut too at that point. Sometimes we are too smart for our own good.

hlrguy

[XbaxeSysAdmin]

lol , hilarious ... I act as the class tech support .. At least people call up up every other day to ask how to burn cds , download stuff and all that . My funniest one :

Me : Wassup dude

Friend : Hey , dude , how do i burn a CD

Me : Your using XP right ?

Friend : Huh ? What are you talking about ?

Me : ( getting a little annoyed ) Ok ... When you boot up your computer , what boot screen you see ?

Friend : Err ... Oh yeah! Its XP ! Sorry .

Me : its ok , now just pop the Cd in the drive . You ll get a prompt up askign wheter you want to burn it .

Friend : Ok , i get it .. Thanks
( hangs up )
(short while later calls me back )


Friend : Dude its says i cant burn the CD ...

Me: Ok .. What is the exact error message ?

Friend : You do not have a CD Burner or something

Me : ( starts laughing )

Friend : What you laughing about ?

Me : you cant burn something without a drive that can actually burn cds ...

Friend : Err ...... ok thanks ( sheepishly hangs up his phone admist my chuckles )

***
Soem people really shouldnt be allowed to use computers ... :D .. seriously ...
Another was askign me about the same thing . BUT , he was trying to erase cd-roms and burn them ... :eek:

[Parcival]

"It says that I need to enter a username and password, the university gave me some paperwork about the IT services and one of them might contain something named username and password and maybe I should try looking through those first and if I find something like that I should enter them. If I don't maybe I should ask someone in the university how I would find out my University username & password."


True - but it doesn't solve the core problem. The problem is that computers don't match our natural work flow - or did you ever have to login with a username and password anywhere else except a computer? To make a computer fit the natural workflow of a human being you have to think outside the box like the creators of the Starfire video did. Forget a computer as a grey box where one needs to log in with a username and a password. Think of a computer e.g. as a screen at the wall you can wave at and say "hi", it answers with "hi Lucas", and you're logged in.

[Sepero]

Gee, thanks Parcival. That's another thread you've ruined!

This thread was about bashing dumb-techsupport, not about bashing dumb-programmers! :rolleyes:

[bwkaz]

or did you ever have to login with a username and password anywhere else except a computer? Not exactly username and password, but I have to log in with an object that I own, plus information that I know, fairly regularly.

The object is an ATM card, and the information is the corresponding PIN number. This matches extremely well to smartcard-login machines (which do exist, and not just for windows), and matches fairly well to username and password based machines. (The card is probably close to the username, and the PIN is probably close to the password, although the username (the information in the magnetic stripe) is not public knowledge. That's why the PIN is fairly short. But you do need to know both to get in.)

[Parcival]

This thread was about bashing dumb-techsupport, not about bashing dumb-programmers! :rolleyes:

Yes, I understand, but the two are closely related. Tech support is a high cost factor for a company and many make the mistake to rush out a product to stay within the devel budget just to regret it bitterly later when support costs skyrock.

You are welcome to go on bashing tech support, I won't say anything in this thread anymore.