Tech Support Gripes HERE!

Hi everyone


I thought i would start the Tech Support rant thread. Whatever daily frustration's you go through with an end user. Troubleshooting networks etc. Please post here I would like to hear your story

Originally Posted by TeamStrykerCore

Have you ever tried to walk a 50 year old lady into going to msconfig... WHAT? Mfcon what? MG? It won't load. The computer wont click it. The email was clicking fine yesterday and now it won't click anymore. I'm tired of your service nothing works blah blah blah. And the people don't understand it's not the service it's the user.

Thanks you /end rant.

Original Thread

My two favorite opening lines from callers:

"Can I talk to Level 2 Support?"

Well, first of all, there was no level 2. There were "supervisors" as we called them, aka escalation techs. Basically they were supposed to be the gurus (even though I was more experienced than 95% of them). This is the first indication that this person doesn't have a clue what they're doing.

Then there's the implied insult that I'm not smart enough to help them. Apparently they're important enough that I should ignore all protocol and just transfer them immediately to "Level 2".

How to deal with it:

1) "There is no Level 2. There's me, then there's God. Unless you feel like praying, you're stuck with me."

2) "Sure thing. It might take me some time to get hold of a Level 2 Tech; they're busy guys. Do you mind waiting a few minutes? No? Okay, I'll have someone as soon as I can." Put them on hold for six or eight minutes. Now is a good time for a bathroom break and a stop by the vending machine for another Dr. Pepper. When you come back, pinch your nose and adopt a faint Irish accent. "Level 2 Tech Support, this is Ian, how may I help you?" British-sounding accents always put them at ease.

"Hi, I'm the network administrator for __________."

And hello to you, I'm the lowly technician you're calling for help. I make $10 an hour and odds are I am going to tell you how to fix a problem you can't even diagnose.

There's no set way to respond to these Gods of Technology. Just revel in the fact that 85% of them are calling you to ask where the power button is.

I'll play. I'm actually AT work now...

It's easier now to enjoy my job since I got off frontline support and am now an escalation tech. This does, however, mean that I get calls that are either amazingly fucked up or are running way too long.

People that can't communicate shouldn't be calling tech support. If you're hard of hearing or have some sort of language barrier, find someone that can communicate effectively and have that person call.

If you're incapable of following directions, don't call us.

We don't care what kinds of credentials you have. Don't pull out your certification alphabet soup. You're calling me because you can't fix your problem. Shut up and accept that and we'll be done way faster.

Your next door neighbor usually only seems like a PC expert. The truth is he doesn't know shit and will only mess things up worse.

Keep your driver discs.

For the love of Jebus, STOP USING WINDOWS 98/ME.

Those are my main gripes. If this thread lasts, I'll probably be adding at least one story a day...

Here are my main gripes:

1. Windows ME and DUN
2. Computer Illiteracy
a. Computer won't click
b. My Internet
C. The box won't turn off
3. People that call Tech Support for stupid stuff
a. How do i forward an email
b. How do i get into internet explorer
c. Monitor not plugged in
d. CPE not plugged in
4. People that get mad at "service" when its their equipment
5. People that demand to talk to someone else right away that think they are
going to get somewhere's
6. People that deman truck rolls (especially when its something simple like their wireless waverider box not being plugged in)
7. People that forget their passwords (OMG WRITE IT DOWN)
8. People that can't figure out how to use webmail.
9. People that don't understand where Spam comes from

A. Threaten with lawsuits
B. You explain it to them that it comes from Virii, newsletters, and having your email address anywhere's on the web.
C. Filter it to their outbox or recommend a 3rd party software to filter through junkmail (and they want the company to provide it) where all we provide is the active connection to the internet.
10. You get someone on the phone and they sound old and are like I just got outta the shower havent had time to put on clothes and then they keep talking. Just the though makes me shudder
11. People that claim they know everything and at the start of the call you say M'am or Sir I am giong to tell you everything you need step by step if anything extra happens or pops up I dont need to know about it.

Example

Go to outlook express
Go to Tools --> accounts --> mail tab
Then click on add and mail

(Customers reply)
Accounts where... Like I said everything i'll tell you will be there. At the top of outlook express there's a tools option, then accounts, then mail.

I dont see any tools.
Where's this tools I dont have it.

It's right there on top
Like I said Everythin gyou need to know i'll tell you and I promise its there

ETC. It takes 20 minutes to walk someone through to setup an email account where it should take 2 minutes at the most.

TeamStrykerCore said:

ETC. It takes 20 minutes to walk someone through to setup an email account where it should take 2 minutes at the most.

Click to expand...

That's why, if a customer has a connection, we use remote access software to set things up ourselves.

My biggest gripe is when users don't do what I tell them. I do tech support for the point of sale software we sell, and in buisness there are certain ways to do things, or else you get fined. As with food stamps, you need a way to show proof people bought food items with them, and you need to be able to show why you charged things as non-tax. We are currently having an issue with a recent update to the software, and there is sort of a clunky work-around. And this end user just wouldn't do what I told him. Do give you an idea, normally you would just tender the item under say food stamps, and all would be good. But this work-around requires you to have 2 tender types, and you only end up using 1 of them. He wanted to ring things up just under the nontax tender type. I told him he couldn't do that because he wouldn't be able to prove to the state that the items were paid for with food stamps. He just completely refused. I finally told him that basically he could do it the way I told him how, or he would get fined if the state audited him.

Unfortunately. Our network is on the lockdown.
Here's my thought on that. Remote desktop is great, but
users should be able to setup their own email.
Also I think remote desktop is kind of a grey area for helping customers
because then your on "their property" and sure they might let you get in,

but i dont know dont get me wrong. Im definately all for remote desktop and realvnc

its the only way i take care of issues with the people that work here. I RealVNC into their equipment and fix it myself rather than talk for 30 mins

Computer Tech for a high school

1) Teachers who think the server just died because one student can not log into the network. Never mind the other 24 students who had NO problems.

2) Teachers who can not learn to leave workstation only UNCHECKED in novell

3) Teachers and absolutely anything that involves email other than forward. (oh yeah they can do that for some reason)

4) Teachers who think wireless network means they will never ever have to worry about power cables for a notebook.

5) Teachers who do not understand I am not a software programmer. Next time ask me if the program will do what you want BEFORE you spend your school money.

6) Teachers who honestly think that smartboards are needed for the use of a projector. No interaction in what they plan to do, but for some reason they demand a smartboard.

7) Teachers who blame the lack of full admin rights as to the cause of their computer problems. Uhm... how does not being able to change your IP have anything to do with your ability to use ms office?

8) Teachers who want to discuss the problem. Tell me what the problem is, what caused it, what should be done to fix it. How computers are stupid. How computers are a waste of time. How things were better before computers. How they should not have to wait to get computers fixed. Why they need new computers because these are obviously broken.

Why not just let me fix the "computer?" I will ask you anything I need to know. What a surprise nothing wrong with the computer. Here you go I UNCHECKED novell workstation only.

Sui said:

Computer Tech for a high school

1) Teachers who think the server just died because one student can not log into the network. Never mind the other 24 students who had NO problems.

2) Teachers who can not learn to leave workstation only UNCHECKED in novell

3) Teachers and absolutely anything that involves email other than forward. (oh yeah they can do that for some reason)

4) Teachers who think wireless network means they will never ever have to worry about power cables for a notebook.

5) Teachers who do not understand I am not a software programmer. Next time ask me if the program will do what you want BEFORE you spend your school money.

6) Teachers who honestly think that smartboards are needed for the use of a projector. No interaction in what they plan to do, but for some reason they demand a smartboard.

7) Teachers who blame the lack of full admin rights as to the cause of their computer problems. Uhm... how does not being able to change your IP have anything to do with your ability to use ms office?

8) Teachers who want to discuss the problem. Tell me what the problem is, what caused it, what should be done to fix it. How computers are stupid. How computers are a waste of time. How things were better before computers. How they should not have to wait to get computers fixed. Why they need new computers because these are obviously broken.

Why not just let me fix the "computer?" I will ask you anything I need to know. What a surprise nothing wrong with the computer. Here you go I UNCHECKED novell workstation only.

Click to expand...

Sounds like the job I had as a work study in college, I know how you feel. We had profs too that thought they were so much smarter and would quote stuff out of books like "how to use office" but they wouldn't do what it said....

Oh that is soo true. Public school systems have to be the worst for that. And also a lot of times the network admins are underpaid.

Them: Yeah, the computer did a really weird thing...first I <blah'd>, then I <blah'd> and I even tried <blah-ing>, but I just keep getting this stupid error message, with an error code.

Me: What's the code?

Them: What? You want me to remember a number that popped up on my screen?

Me: You could write it down. What was the message?

Them: Listen, I'm waay too important to be writing down little messages and codes...I just want this thing fixed!

Me: The messages and codes would have helped me diagnose the problem. Now we have to do it the long way.

Them: <incomprehensible> (something along the lines of "well, you're supposed to fix these, not me!)

This one happened to my sister:

VP: I'm having problems with my laptop.

(after diagnosing it)

She: We have to reformat the hard drive. Is there anything on this machine that you need?

VP: No, just go ahead and fix it; I need it as soon as possible!

She: Ok, so you're sure? There's nothing on here that you need? No e-mails, pictures...whatever?

VP: (getting angry) I told you, no! There's nothing on there I need! Do I have to say it again?

She: No, we'll get right on it...

(laptop is formatted, ghost image installed, and delivered)

Frantic phone call: VP: Where are all my files?

She: What files?

VP: (screaming) THE ONES THAT WERE ON MY DESKTIOP! THEY'RE GONE! IF YOU LOST THOSE I'M GOING TO HAVE YOU FIRED! THOSE WERE CRITICAL TO A QUARTER-MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT WE'RE BIDDING ON!!!

She: I asked you if you had any files on there that you needed and you said no!

VP: I NEVER SAID THAT, YOU'RE LYING TO SAVE YOUR ASS! JUST WAIT UNTIL I TALK TO YOUR BOSS; YOU'RE AS GOOD AS OUT OF HERE!

Fortunately, my sister records all her calls at work! When the VP called her Boss, she played him the recording. When they confronted the VP he said things like "well, I didn't think you meant files!" So her boss asked him "What did you think "anything" meant? Then they sent the hard drive out to see if the files could be recovered, and charged it to the moron (who found another job soon after)

TeamStrykerCore said:

Oh that is soo true. Public school systems have to be the worst for that. And also a lot of times the network admins are underpaid.

Click to expand...

You're goddamn right we are underpaid

My favorite work order of all time simply read:

"My computer smells like burning."

Is this a thread for tech support guys to gripe about users, or users to gripe about tech support guys?
[EDIT: Doh. I missed the line that answered this question in the OP's first post. Sorry]

I'm going to gripe about tech support, then I'll gripe about users...because I deal with both.

Unfortunately, you level 1 tech guys who actually know your stuff tend to get grouped into the category with the idiots. When I call tech support for the first time, I'll play the game with the level 1 guy and give him the benefit of the doubt. If it's a recurring problem (as has been the case so many times with SBC), I'll ask for a supervisor immediately. Why? I dont have time to play the "are you sure its not your equipment" game. I'm a paying customer, who has a problem you haven't seemed to have fixed, and I'm mad. I've had WAY too many Level 1 tech's screw up my service request, especially at Dell and SBC.

Just some examples, the most outrageous first:
1) Called SBC in response to a 6-month "chronic" issue with a circuit in south Texas, several hundred miles south of Houston. We have quite a few circuits with SBC, several of them are in Houston, TX. I verified the address of the problem with the tech, even gave him old ticket numbers. The tech said he'd order PM stats pulled and the line tested. The tech ordered a comprehensive invasive test for an entire OC-3 circuit in Houston, which was intercepted by a supervisor. I got a rather interesting phone call asking why I had asked them to test one of their OC-3's. I hope that guy doesn't work the help desk anymore.
2) One of our T1 circuits had been down for several hours. I had called SBC about 5 times. I got a different story from each tech I talked to. I actually talked to one tech twice who gave me two completely different stories. They ranged from: "one of our SONET rings is down"; "a backhoe dug up the fiber right in front of your building" (no backhoe in sight, buddy); "we had a big failure at our DSLAM, a lot of customers are out"; "this was scheduled maintenance, we sent out an email three days ago."
3) In reference to the chronic issue in #1, I called SBC to report that the circuit was still taking lots of errors. The tech wanted in the router....we own the router, and have pretty strict guidelines who can access it. I told him he couldn't have access to it. He said it was SBC property and actually argued with me about it, I just told him to go look at the contract; we provided the router ourselves. He hung up on me when I asked to speak to his supervisor.
4) We had a memory stick go bad in a Dell server. We had a backup, put it in, and it worked fine. We arranged with Dell to have the bad memory replaced. A week later, the new stick of memory went bad. We called Dell and a level 1 tech argued with us for *30* minutes telling us that we were inserting the memory incorrectly. We hung up on this idiot, called back, got a supervisor, who helped us to diagnose that there was a fault in the motherboard. The overnighted a new board to us and the problem went away.

That's my reasoning for usually asking for supervisors. There are some companies who have horrible Level 1 techs, and some who have really good ones. SBC is moving into the list of companies with really good ones. 2 years ago, they sucked...now they're good. Dell's level 1 server techs aren't so good though, at least in my experience...maybe we just get all the dumb ones.

Now onto the users. What I really hate is users who think they know why something is wrong. What else I hate is users who think that just because they're semi-powerful in an organization, means they can do whatever they want. Examples:

1) Users who blame me (the network guy) because they cant print. Nevermind they get off their big ass and walk to the printer at the end of the hall and notice the flashing red light that says "add Letter - Tray 1".
2) Users who ask me why they cant log onto Kazaa, or go to Shoutcast.com.
3) Users who ask me when we're going to stop blocking the above so they can get to it.
4) Users who dont understand it when you tell them "Make sure everything you need saved is in My Documents. When I re-image your machine, everything not in My Documents will be gone forever. We cant get it back."
5) Users who dont understand that when you tell them they can log into their computer from home, you are not giving them permission to not come into work the next day and work from home. God, that happened a lot. Idiots.
6) Users who dont understand that when a notice is sent out that says "The network and all computer systems will be unavailable tonight from 10pm-midnight. If you need access to anything during that time, please inform me before 10pm" that I'm actually serious. Nevermind the notice they get 10min before the outage starts.
User calling me: "Why did I just get kicked off the server?"
Me: "It's 10pm, I've started the [whatever]"
User: "Well I need back on."
Me: "Sorry, you cant get back on for another hour."
User: "Please tell me next time."
Me: "I sent out two notices, including one ten minutes ago."
User: "I dont read those, IT always sends out notices."
Me: "Thats your fault then, not mine. I have work to do. See you tomorrow." <click>
7) Users who dont understand the notice that pops up when they login that says "All traffic on the network is subject to monitoring, retention, and filtering. This includes all web browsing traffic, and all emails." Man, I see some really juicy stuff on those email filters. People are so stupid. I could have ruined peoples lives if I was an ass.
8) Users who dont understand that they can't recieve porn attachments in email. Then they come ask "I was supposed to get an email with an attachment. The guy has sent it three times. Do you know where it is?"
Me: "Oh, you mean the movie where the girl is blah-blah with her ha-ha, that I've recieved 3 times in the last 20 minutes? Is that the one?"
9) Users who dont understand the signs above the printers that say: "NO GLOSSY PAPER!"

O[H]-Zone said:

.......

Fortunately, my sister records all her calls at work! When the VP called her Boss, she played him the recording. When they confronted the VP he said things like "well, I didn't think you meant files!" So her boss asked him "What did you think "anything" meant? Then they sent the hard drive out to see if the files could be recovered, and charged it to the moron (who found another job soon after)

Click to expand...

I love to hear stories of self important and lying people getting thier ass handed to them.

Boscoh said:

That's my reasoning for usually asking for supervisors. There are some companies who have horrible Level 1 techs, and some who have really good ones. SBC is moving into the list of companies with really good ones. 2 years ago, they sucked...now they're good. Dell's level 1 server techs aren't so good though, at least in my experience...maybe we just get all the dumb ones.

Click to expand...

One major problem is that they're not actually employed by the company. It's all subcontracted. My employer is contracted by Ginormous DSL Corp (Inc) and they'll hire any fuck that walks through the door just to maintain headcount requirements. We've got a whole bunch of excellent Tier 2 agents (Tier 1 is dialup support...figure that one out), but we've got a whole lot more that suck nuts.

When you call us and you want a supervisor, what happens is this:

A floor supervisor takes your call if you're lucky. If one is not available, they take your number and will schedule a time to call you back. Once you get to speak to a supervisor, they will say "I'm sorry you're having this issue, let me transfer you to someone that can help fix your problem." At this point, you get to talk to me. You're already pissed off and have been passed off twice, so this makes my job even more fun. Our supervisors are fucking worthless.

We then get floor supervisors at other centers instructing customers to ask directly for Level 3 technicians when they call back, in violation of Ginormous DSL Corp. policy. When we tell the agents that we won't take over calls until they do something, the customer gets pissed and the cycle begins anew.

If you're a customer, and you're calling, don't bother with threats. You don't know where we are, but we have all of your personal information. Threatening to sue me because I won't help you hook your printer up makes you sound like a child. Swearing at me isn't going to get your problem fixed any faster. If you got your service disconnected for not paying your bill, that's not my problem. It takes a minimum of 2 full business days to get your service turned back on after paying. If you pay on a Friday, don't bitch at me because you're still out of service on Saturday. Saturday is not a business day anywhere on Earth.

Also, don't believe ANYTHING the billing department tells you. They're all borderline retarded. Today, I had to fix 4 mistakes they had made. One of them sent a guy a new modem instead of placing a new provisioning order for him. Another customer was called by the MCO and told he needed to reorder service because provisioning was messed up. Billing looks at his account and says "there's nothing wrong in the accounting system, tech support can fix this". Dumb fucking billing department.

Sui said:

Computer Tech for a high school

1) Teachers who think the server just died because one student can not log into the network. Never mind the other 24 students who had NO problems.

2) Teachers who can not learn to leave workstation only UNCHECKED in novell

3) Teachers and absolutely anything that involves email other than forward. (oh yeah they can do that for some reason)

4) Teachers who think wireless network means they will never ever have to worry about power cables for a notebook.

5) Teachers who do not understand I am not a software programmer. Next time ask me if the program will do what you want BEFORE you spend your school money.

6) Teachers who honestly think that smartboards are needed for the use of a projector. No interaction in what they plan to do, but for some reason they demand a smartboard.

7) Teachers who blame the lack of full admin rights as to the cause of their computer problems. Uhm... how does not being able to change your IP have anything to do with your ability to use ms office?

8) Teachers who want to discuss the problem. Tell me what the problem is, what caused it, what should be done to fix it. How computers are stupid. How computers are a waste of time. How things were better before computers. How they should not have to wait to get computers fixed. Why they need new computers because these are obviously broken.

Why not just let me fix the "computer?" I will ask you anything I need to know. What a surprise nothing wrong with the computer. Here you go I UNCHECKED novell workstation only.

Click to expand...

I worked for my school district for awhile and everything said here is TRUE.
An addition to #7 would be Teachers who assume that with Admin rights they can fix any and all problems.
Though here where I live, the number one thing I loved was:
Office isnt installed, icons are not on my desktop. Well duh their not there, click start all programs and BAM THERE THEY ARE. And second would be, internet doesn't work...we just moved our pc to a room without a lan hookup.

Boscoh said:

That's my reasoning for usually asking for supervisors. There are some companies who have horrible Level 1 techs, and some who have really good ones. SBC is moving into the list of companies with really good ones. 2 years ago, they sucked...now they're good. Dell's level 1 server techs aren't so good though, at least in my experience...maybe we just get all the dumb ones.

Click to expand...

I'm one of them guys


people will call up and complain about the tons of problems they've been having (i look in the db, and there's only 2 cases noted) and that they're threatening to cancel their service.
I've told them along the lines of "I don't care what you want to do with the service.. I can transfer you to billing right now to make it easier on you."


The absolute worst calls to take are the ones their computers are fucked up beyond belief, and they blame "DSL" on their problem. Like IE scripting errors or they can't log into their hotmail account or some bullshit that's NOT OUR FUCKING PROBLEM. we got something for you idiots that can't figure out your own shit.. it's called Support+ .. These guys will fix anything, and you won't get charged till they fix it. use it bitches!

customers with software firewalls suck ass. the 2wire modem has a builtin firewall that is pretty bad ass... yet customers still insist on using Norton Internet Security and blocking always every little shit that pops up and they wonder why they can't browse the internet.

Windows 98 people... time to upgrade
Windows Me people, jump off a bridge

I love it when I hear customer's say they're so and so in IT or MCSE, CCNP, blah blah blah. I'll ask them, ok, why are you calling us? I tell them hey, i dont have those credentials, and i just helped you setup windows file sharing.. or hey, look, you're router IP address and subnet masks don't match and your computer IP is way off as well, how did you get that CCNP again??

You'll never get a support call for somebody using *nix. If you do, it'll be just somethings wrong with the line, they need to know the router interface ip. lol

and i love mac airport/wireless calls. they last like 5 minutes tops. airport icon> select wireless network, enter $password, connected.. all set.

Also, to all you guys thinking you're wise asses here and that you can insult tech support and swear up and down... The WHOLE floor hears about abusive customers and you're flagged so when you're CID comes up on the phone, we got you. You will be put on hold right away and a supervisor will bitch you out.

Working for tech support for 2wire modems/routers, we are the most knowledgable of ALL the tech support/call centers SBC has. -no joke. we're not as bullshit people friendly, but tech wise, we dominate. And don't listen to anybody from billing, they're idiots. Also, guys from the line dept (ASI for SBC)... they're not computer guys. They know their stuff when it comes to the cabling and shit, but dont ask for them to fix your shit or install it for you if they come to your house.

I work for a telecommunications company that provides voice and data service via DSL, T1's, DS3's etc. I'm somewhat new to the company so I'm not the seasoned veterans like most on here are. I do however share your pain....already lol

This one I personally take blame for, I guess I gave the client more credit than I should have...

I call up client X and tell him I'm following up on his order for internet service and wanted to know if he was up and surfing or he had a vendor to do his setup for him. He replies that he IS the vendor and is having some issues with the setup. Basically my first problem call with a client. Ok so I start at what I thought was the beginning, Do you have our modem plugged in? Do you have a router? and so on. I confirmed the IP we issued him, the subnet mask, gateway and DNS server he had entered into their TCP/IP properties, they all checked out. Well after using telnet to log into some of our equipment to check settings and about an hour later I was frustrated with myself for not getting it yet so I had him start all the way over. I had him unplug everything.

"Sir could you please plug the ethernet cable into the back of the pc"
"Which one" he replied
"....., wait a minute which color cable did you plug into your pc and modem?" (it dawned on me that our tech's leave both a crossover and a straight through)
"Sir we are going to use the other cable, please connect that now"
"OMG it worked!"
<pounding head into desk> "Great, here is the client services number, they can help you with most of the questions you might have in the future, thanks for calling"

I had to take a break cause I felt like a dumbass, I doubt I will ever make that mistake again though!

Stang Man said:

I'm one of them guys


people will call up and complain about the tons of problems they've been having (i look in the db, and there's only 2 cases noted) and that they're threatening to cancel their service.
I've told them along the lines of "I don't care what you want to do with the service.. I can transfer you to billing right now to make it easier on you."

Click to expand...

lol. I've never had someone tell me that. Of course, I'm not a $40/mo customer. I'm a $30,000/mo customer. They're sweating bullets right now because we're having some chronic problems they cant seem to fix, and we're looking at taking some of our business to CBeyond partly because of it. They'll have to fix it anyway if we do that, but Cbeyond will be getting our money, not SBC.

And yes, ASI typically does know their stuff. As I said, SBC is getting better. But two years ago, their level 1 techs sucked. Either they're getting better, or we're getting more important to them.

The thing i hate most is people who don't read error messages.. or people who over analyze them... example:

I work for a software company that makes POS software, which includes reciept printers, cash drawers, etc. When upgrading between versions where printer settings change, you have to open up the printer settings window and save the settings to fill in the blanks in the DB. The error message reads something like:"Your printer settings are incorrect. Please click "Settings", then "Printers", check your settings and click done" Seems simple, no? I get calls everyday with people saying:
"I can't finish any sales!! i've tried 5 times and some error comes up. It says <blah blah>"
"have you checked your printer settings?"
"No..... why would i do that??"

Or "My screens blank and my computer won't turn on!"
"Is everything plugged in?"
"yes and the light is orange"
"ok thats your monitor, can you check your computer?"
"my what?"
"the tower"
"wheres that?"
"The box on the floor....."
"ooo that fan thing?"

"Minimize this window and hit my computer"
*SLAM* "ok i don't know how thats going to help though"

"I can't backup to my usb flash drive"
"is it plugged in?"
"no i lost it, does that matter?"

Finally when you tell someone to click something and for the life of them they can' find it.
"click on control panel"
"its not there"
"It may be under settings"
"thats not there either"
"Its on the right hand side near the middle"
"nope"
"could you read everything out to me starting rom the bottom"
"run, search, help, printers and faxes........ ok i'm in control panel"

Boscoh said:

lol. I've never had someone tell me that. Of course, I'm not a $40/mo customer. I'm a $30,000/mo customer. They're sweating bullets right now because we're having some chronic problems they cant seem to fix, and we're looking at taking some of our business to CBeyond partly because of it. They'll have to fix it anyway if we do that, but Cbeyond will be getting our money, not SBC.

And yes, ASI typically does know their stuff. As I said, SBC is getting better. But two years ago, their level 1 techs sucked. Either they're getting better, or we're getting more important to them.

Click to expand...

you're sent straight to the business tech support. i do home tech support, where people are cashing in on the 14.95/month plans, and i dont see a difference in pay if a customer quits or not. and frankly, i dont know how much it matters when they've got 30+ million subscribers and we only get like 7,000 calls a day (to our dept).

and damn, the level 1 techs you're dealing with, in comparison are like level 3 techs at other companies. the level 2 techs in home support will create trouble tickets and shit like that... level 2 has way more freedom and access to a lot more stuff and what they can do. I don't think I would mind working as a level 1 tech in the business support.. at least there, it sounds like you're actually dealing with real problems... not wireless connectivity issues are idiots wanting the icon on their desktop

Karlos said:

Finally when you tell someone to click something and for the life of them they can' find it.

Click to expand...

I'd like to complain about that as well but last week I spent 20 minutes looking around a store for something only to give up and ask one of the staff for help. The person was very nice when he pointed at the shelf I was standing in front of to show me the item I was looking for.

I just keep reminding myself that it's easy when we use the stuff everyday to think it's simple. But for people that don't spend 8+ hours at work plus whatever amount at home working with the systems it is a completely foreign enviroment.

That doesn't quite explain why twice a week I have to reexplain to professors at the university how to attach files to their emails, but I'm trying to be nice.

Karlos said:

Finally when you tell someone to click something and for the life of them they can' find it.

Click to expand...

run commands, learn to love them!!

ncpa.cpl > straight to network connections folder
iexplore > internet explorer
cmd > command prompt
services.msc > services
inetcpl.cpl > internet options
devmgmt.msc > device manager
taskmgr > task manager
winver > show windows version
windows key + pause|break > system properties

either I missed it or it wasn't posted yet....



In my Inbox:

My email doesn't work.

Click to expand...

One of the biggest DUH moments that I've had involved a user that was responsible for updating and maintaing data on new and future projects. To accomplish that job, they had to have full rights to about 5 directories and all subdirectories (containing over 2000 files) on a very deep 20 directory DFS structure. Well, we had spent about 8 months in meetings ironing out the DFS structure with every computer user in the company before transitioning from NT4 over 2003+DFS. One day, this user decided that they didn't like the DFS structure anymore, so they took it upon themselves to change every bit of it. They moved folders, the locations of files, names of folders, created new folders, deleted folders, etc. They did all of this over an extended lunch break when everyone in IT but a desktop support person was out at a lunch-and-learn.

Needless to say, our l&l was cut short with about 50 phone calls of "My excel spreadsheet is telling me that the link to another file is broken." "I cant find my daily reports". "Where did everything go? Everything is GONE! OH CRAP!"

Took us about 20 minutes to figure out what the person had done, and 30 minutes to invoke ShadowCopy and revert everything back to the way it was. This person was SERIOUSLY pistol whipped...and we made it seem like we had to do a lot more work than we actually did. This person got their computer rights revoked for a week, and their backup switched roles with them. Thank god for ShadowCopy, or it would have taken us a LOT longer to fix.

Stang Man said:

You'll never get a support call for somebody using *nix. If you do, it'll be just somethings wrong with the line, they need to know the router interface ip. lol

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ROFL, you just described my job, I should put that shit on my resume.

I had to call Charter Business this morning for a Cable Modem in Wisconsin that goes down like thats it's job(my job is in the NOC, i watch this shit for an outsourcing company). All I wanted was to know they're doing maintenance, like every other goddamn morning. Becasue I'm calling from CT, I don't get routed int heir phone system right, so I have to ask to be transferred to the business portion for wisconsin. 8 fucking calls later I make it . No problems, no maintenance in the area, I have to have a user reset it, but 2 hrs later it's back up with no issues. Now I worked at a cable ISP 2 years ago and I know we were clueless about maintenance, but I always thought that was because the company sucked. Is it the same at every Cable modem company? it sure seems like it..

TeamStrykerCore said:

Oh that is soo true. Public school systems have to be the worst for that. And also a lot of times the network admins are underpaid.

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Payday is VERY depressing.

I can't complain to much because I was desprite when I got this job. (unemployed chemical engineer with no experience ) I dread to think what would have happened if I didn't get this when I did. Luckily the low pay scared away those with higher qualifications.


I went to high school here and come from a family of educators. It is a little weird working with some of the teachers who use to teach me. But I appreacaite the ones who treat me as an equal and not as a student. The hours are good. I do not get summer vacation but I do get Christmas and Spring Break. The school system funds tech related needs fairly well.

Tech in public schools is a gray area. Some schools put them on teachers pay scale. Others put it on the support pay scale. It needs to be addressed on a state level.

Grrrr, INVENTORY SOFTWARE CANNOT DO ACCOUNTING!!!! IT'S LIKE WANTING TO HAVE DOOM 3 TO DO WORD PROCESSING!!! Sorry, just needed to vent.

///Flips thread around///

As a tech supporting a client, a hard drive had total physical failure, or a video card is totally dead...some OBVIOUS hardware failure such as that.

The support person you call because the machine is still under warranty, lets say it's a Dell, with an accent so thick you can barely understand them...insisting you run the restore CD.

Yeah...OK Mr or Mrs Support Person.....even though I can hear the hard drive going "clack...click.....thunk....clack" or I hear the 4 "bad video" beeps and it works if I stick in a backup video card....you think running the restore CD will help. LOL

Stop wasting my time and send the replacement part...this isn't my first day on the job!

YeOldeStonecat said:

///Flips thread around///

As a tech supporting a client, a hard drive had total physical failure, or a video card is totally dead...some OBVIOUS hardware failure such as that.

The support person you call because the machine is still under warranty, lets say it's a Dell, with an accent so thick you can barely understand them...insisting you run the restore CD.

Yeah...OK Mr or Mrs Support Person.....even though I can hear the hard drive going "clack...click.....thunk....clack" or I hear the 4 "bad video" beeps and it works if I stick in a backup video card....you think running the restore CD will help. LOL

Stop wasting my time and send the replacement part...this isn't my first day on the job!

Click to expand...

Heh, Thats why I insist on Gold Tech support on any Dell systems purchased for my clients. No accents and certainly no scripted support techs to deal with.

SJConsultant said:

Heh, Thats why I insist on Gold Tech support on any Dell systems purchased for my clients. No accents and certainly no scripted support techs to deal with.

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Yeah....Gold Support is a good thing, a friend of mine from our SG forums works in that dept..

Wasn't singling out Dell...just using an example...plus a lot of clients I have already bought Dells before I supported them...didn't get the package, just basic warranty on some Inspiron or Dimension entry level junker instead of Latitudes or Optiplex or Precision business grade rigs.

My common answer "Have you checked your Num/Caps Lock?!?!!?!?!?"

YeOldeStonecat said:

Yeah....Gold Support is a good thing, a friend of mine from our SG forums works in that dept..

Wasn't singling out Dell...just using an example...plus a lot of clients I have already bought Dells before I supported them...didn't get the package, just basic warranty on some Inspiron or Dimension entry level junker instead of Latitudes or Optiplex or Precision business grade rigs.

Click to expand...

It's all good.

I absolutely hate calling into any tech support line that automatically assumes the caller has "zero" knowledge. I've had a few instances where I "play along" with tech support and simply sit there on the phone acknowledging their "instructions" until I get them to the point where they give me what I need in the first place.

SJConsultant said:

I've had a few instances where I "play along" with tech support and simply sit there on the phone acknowledging their "instructions" until I get them to the point where they give me what I need in the first place.

Click to expand...

"You mean put the red CD in the coffee cup holder?"

YeOldeStonecat said:

///Flips thread around///

As a tech supporting a client, a hard drive had total physical failure, or a video card is totally dead...some OBVIOUS hardware failure such as that.

The support person you call because the machine is still under warranty, lets say it's a Dell, with an accent so thick you can barely understand them...insisting you run the restore CD.

Yeah...OK Mr or Mrs Support Person.....even though I can hear the hard drive going "clack...click.....thunk....clack" or I hear the 4 "bad video" beeps and it works if I stick in a backup video card....you think running the restore CD will help. LOL

Stop wasting my time and send the replacement part...this isn't my first day on the job!

Click to expand...

Exactly but the problem doesn't lie within the support usually. It's the company

XYZ employee can't RMA XYZ part without going through the company steps and bs.

Like for me I can't roll a truck to a client until i practicallly wipe their ass with the cat-5 and have them lick their 10/100 port.

well...even though its like 12 posts later....i have been threatened with lawsuits
one lady was so pissed that i dismantled her pc...(i work at a repair store)
and our paper on the wall plainly says..."after 30 days of me caling your, your shit is mine"
or something like that

she had an old gateway with the monitor and pc in one, prolly worth like 75 bucks if that
i ripped it apart, did my usual
she comes in like 2 months later, and im like sorry see this paper up here, and you signed the note saying you knew all this

i always deal with bad customers with a smile, it confuses them sooooo much
and i love it

other than that, most people that get pissed end up being return customers because of me

what i hate the most, is the know it alls...yall know what im talking about

i can make such a long list, i deal with people in person, and on the phone.....

I hate dealing with dell when I have to call one of our systems in, you'd think as being a on-road tech contact for them, and a reseller, you'd get a different tech support group, but no... So call, tell them what's wrong, and what I need. They pause for a minute and ask "Have you restarted the computer?" I pause for a moment as well, and rattle off all the steps I've done, and usually they pause once again, and ask where want the stuff shipped. It's like "Hello! douchebags, I can run circles around you!"

At the last place I worked we set up a couple of wireless access points in the office for the laptop users.

I get and e-mail from the new head of sales saying he's been approved for the company to buy him a wirless access point for his house so he'll have access to the company network.

1) I approve all those types of purchases so I don't know who approved him.

2) I e-mail him back and attempt to explain that just because we have wireless here doesn't mean that having wireless at home to magically connects the two networks.

3) He doesn't understand that and insists upon having the company spend money on his home network.

4) He got fired about a month later because he did nothing, sold nothing, and was generally a jackass.

I'll throw in my 4 cents here.

I work for a company who sells expensive e-mail archiving appliances - and while no product is 100% perfect, I'm often times on the chopping block. Today I said there was a "known" issue, and we were looking at it. I asked if I could get access to his box to help us get a better idea on the problem.

I got this info around 11:15AM, and after taking care of another issue I had went to lunch. I got back around 1PM, and went about my day doing other things (mostly on this known issue we had) and around 3PM I get back to my desk, and he had called me back.

He apparently called the sales line and starts to express his dissatisfaction that he has a unit and it should have been fixed by now, and that since we have not accessed his box, we aren't paying attention - and he wants it fixed.

That's all for now, maybe I'll add another one later.

fibroptikl,

You've got mail.