OT: Talking to Tech Support

[trekgeezer]

Ever have to call tech support to get some part for you computer replaced or get a problem straighened out and the idiot on the other end makes you jump through 50 kinds of hoops to come to the same conclusion you came to before you ever called them.

What really kills me is that I've been doing this s**t for over 26 years and I have to talk to someone who does their troubleshooting by reading a script and doesn't really have a clue how whatever it is they are talking to you about works.

Example: I'm hooking up DSL at one of our remote offices, all the lights on the modem are on that are supposed to be on are on, but I'm not getting an IP number from the phone company. I call their tech support (in India) and the first question I'm asked is about the stupid lights.

TS: "Are there four green lights?"

Me: "The power, ethernet, DSL, and Internet lights are on."

TS: "Are there four green lights?"

She knew there should be four green lights, but not what the hell they were for.

Finally they transferred me to second level (in the USA) and it seems someone at SBC didn't finish the registration on their end.


Anyway, I needed to rant because of an LTO tape changer we're having problems with at work. The old one just died (bad power supply) and the new one won't let the backup software see the tape changer part of the drive, only the drive itself (same box but different devices each with their own SCSI ID). I had to lie (not the first time) to the damned guy because of the total BS he had me doing. They wanted to blame it on the SCSI controller or the cable, both of which would have made both devices not work (the BIOS on the controller could only see the drive also).

Finally after he talked to their second level support they agreed to send us another replacement unit.

I used to work for Compaq's tech support about 11 years ago and I know that it can be tough, but I could usually judge people's technical knowledge through talking to them. It's seems these days the people they have working the phone lines have less knowledge than the end users they are supposedly helping.  

Thanks for letting me vent.

[Neville]

I made half a dozen phone calls to my DSL provider during the first months, only to find they kept me waiting an awful lot of time (several times I just hanged in frustration). When I finally solved most of my problems, it was thanks to a free website where I could contact with other users with the same problems, which eventually got solved thanks to a router firmware upgrade. Of course, they couldn' tell me that, not even forward me to that website, at that crappy phone line.

[ulthar]

About two years ago, I did my best effort to get on one of those "hey, check out THIS guy" tapes.  I was on the horn with Bellsouth tech support for an email issue I was having, and the dude was absolutely insistent that what I was doing was in violation of their Terms of Service.

It wasn't.

I had the ToS open in front of me, AND the Bellsouth sales person from whom I bought the service specifically told me that what I was doing was OK, because I specifically asked.  It worked okay for about a  year and a half.

The problem began when I noticed I was logging onto a different server/IP address for my service.  The problem was intermittent - appearing ONLY when I was logged onto THAT server; the old ones continued to work.

The problem was not on my end.

I was yelling at this maroon over the phone, and every word out of his mouth just made me angrier.  I ended up sending a letter of apology to the Customer Service Department at Bellsouth for my behavior.  In this letter, I (very clearly) outlined the problem I was having; about two days after sending it, the problem was resolved and I never had it again.

I did not change anything on my end.

For me to get that frustrated with a person on the phone was rare....I almost always try to empathize with the person on the other end of the phone, but that guy just rubbed me wrong - he was just so SMUG and absolutely unhelpful - AND WRONG - that it just sent me over the top.  I am still ashamed of my behavior that day, but I also just shake my head that corporations hire people that give such a bad impression to work in CUSTOMER SERVICE.

You'd think that since they are going to be dealing with frustrated customers, they'd put the best there.  Oh well.  It truly boggles the mind.

[AndyC]

I know how you feel. Nothing like being treated like a moron by somebody who knows less than you do. This is especially true if you've gone to a great deal of trouble to describe the problem, what works and what doesn't, and everything you've tried so far.

I once sent a lengthy email to Polaroid technical support, explaining a problem with a film scanner we had at the office. I won't bore you with details, but the colour scans were coming out wrong in a way that was unlike any problem I'd seen before. After giving a thorough report of the problem, I get back a response suggesting I check some basic setting that would not account for the problem.

My response was something like this: "If you'd paid any attention to what I sent you, you would see that this was the first of several things I checked. Do you even have a clue what you're doing, or are you just reading me a script?"

His next response asked me to send the scanner in for repairs. When in doubt....

A more recent problem was with the customer support at LG. When we were selling the house, I tried to get a replacement handle for the refrigerator. After navigating through their rather confusing set of websites, I sent a question. Figuring I could save some trouble, I used their online request form to ask how I could go about ordering a replacement part, instead of the 800 number. This involves going through a series of pull-down menus until my request was specifically for parts information for my model of fridge. So far, so good.

A week later, I get a response -- telling me that the information I need can be found by calling the 800 number. I wrote back, explaining that I chose to use the online form, and asking why in the hell they even have this complicated online system if the answer -- a week later -- is to call the phone number! I also said it was pretty damned stupid that something as basic as replacement parts could not be found in the FAQs, or on its own page, or that I couldn't just order the replacement part online in the first place. "Thanks for nothing!"

I got no response to that.

I did end up calling the number, and succeeded in ordering a new handle -- which still hasn't arrived, two months later.

[Ash]

I have a good friend that used to work in tech support for a software company.
He would complain about his job constantly until he finally just got fed up and quit.

Tech support can be a tough job because almost every single customer that calls in is usually upset and frustrated.
Even worse was the fact that he was restricted by his company to be able to do only so much for a customer.
There were limits placed on what he could and couldn't do to help.
He would tell me that oftentimes he could easily have fixed the problem but because of the company's guidelines and the nature of the problem, he was forced to put the customer through to a higher tier representative.  Then the customer just got more p**sed off at having to wait longer to get the issue resolved.
I asked him why he didn't just apply for the higher tier position.
"Because that call center where they work is in another state." he said.

I was a Customer Service Rep for years for FTD Flowers so I know what it's like to deal with angry customers.
I've had a guy screaming at me on the phone because the $100 bouquet of roses didn't arrive on Valentine's Day for his wife.
Even worse, I had a customer call in saying that she wouldn't accept flowers from someone because the local flower shop was owned and ran by Jews.
That was the most difficult call I ever handled in all my years of Customer Service.

My job that I now have is Sales Verifications.
You know when they say that "this call may be recorded for quality purposes."?
I listen to those recorded calls (for AOL, MBNA and Citibank) and I hear all kinds of weird s**t.

But I understand what you mean about the rep being an ass and being wrong.
Most reps are pretty good, they have to be.  Otherwise people like me who listen to their calls have the power to report any bad behavior and potentially get them fired.

[AndyC]

That's the most frustrating thing about dealing with tech support, telemarketers, or any voice on a phone -- you know that the guy you really want to yell at is completely unreachable.

Sometimes the tech support guy is unreachable too. A buddy of mine occasionally invites me over for ultimate fighting on pay-per-view. I'm not a fan, but it's a fun guys' night in. A few months back, he couldn't access the channel, so he called the cable company. They have a voice-recognition system that is clearly a major source of pride for them, even if it barely works. You tell it what you want, and it sends you to the wrong place. It almost works when it asks yes/no questions. Where it really doesn't make sense is when it requires you to speak your phone number -- while holding a numeric keypad that is faster and more reliable.

Anyway, my friend spent about 45 minutes trying to get through, occasionally having to back up or even hang up and start over. When he finally got through, he was more concerned with the phone system than the original problem (which they did solve). By the terse "we're trying to make it better" he got, you could just tell that no matter what a customer called about, they all ended up complaining about the phone. The really sad thing is that my friend, annoyed as he was, couldn't even threaten to take his business elsewhere, since their chief competitor (where I get satellite) has a similar crappy phone system that doesn't work any better.

[Scottie]

After I receieved an e-mail requesting a re-confirmation of my account due to some suspicious activity, which required that I type in all my important numbers again, I'm still waiting for a pending e-mail from Ebay and Paypal to confirm that the e-mail I got wasn't fraudulent. [rant]Those goddamn mother f**kers still haven't contacted me[/rant]. That was three months ago. For all I know, I could have been ripped off and the two companies were doing as little as possible to inform me that they even sent out such an e-mail. And I can't even begin to tell you how hard it is to get your name and information taken off Paypal. I'm still trying to do it. I hate those sons of b***hes.

[Ed, Ego and Superego]

Wel, I can't REALLY add anything useful to the discussion, but its a subbject dear to my heart.  However I am a profession tech support guy in a different field... Biotechnology.  Basically the calls come in two ways:
1) This experiment  is broke and I can't fix it.
2) I want to buy something but don't know what.

But I digress... The biggest thing is that a rude or arrogant customer will never ever get the same service as a pleasant one.   However I work in an environment where there are next to no instutional restratints on my abilities to fix problems.  I can't replace anything over $5000 without nmanagement approval, but thats about all.  The biggest woes are cultural or language differences.  its very hard to have technical discussions with someone who arely speaks any English.  

But some standout comments comments from the past years

"Can I speak to someone who is not you?"
(to a female colleague witha PhD in biochemistry) " Can I please speak to a man?"  

And once, I recommended a rare and cutting edge technology and got this reply "Well, I'm the inventor and it didn't work, I was hoping you knew a better one"

Ok, I have no point here, but to say I do tech support and its the the same no matter what field.
-Ed

[Ash]

Scottie Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> After I receieved an e-mail requesting a
> re-confirmation of my account due to some
> suspicious activity, which required that I type in
> all my important numbers again, I'm still waiting
> for a pending e-mail from Ebay and Paypal to
> confirm that the e-mail I got wasn't fraudulent.


I think you were the victim of a phishing scam.
Check this out:  HOW PHISHING WORKS

The e-mail you got was probably a "spoof".

[AndyC]

Ed Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I work in an
> environment where there are next to no instutional
> restratints on my abilities to fix problems.

That would make all the difference for me. The only reason I get frustrated with tech support (on the rare occasions I use it) is the micromanaging companies that believe consistent service is a better goal than good service, or that anybody can diagnose a problem if you give them the same useless troubleshooting guide that came with the product. It's much cheaper than hiring real technicians, and it does work for the people who are stupid enough not to make sure it's plugged in before they call. Unfortunately, it's hell for the rest of us.

I do feel sorry for those people in the middle, but when I've tried to be a good customer -- providing a thorough description of the problem -- and somebody's asking me if I turned it on, I get annoyed. Chances are, I'm already frustrated with the problem, and when the person I've turned to for help seems to be ignoring what I'm saying and throwing out random suggestions to see if something happens to work, it tries my patience, even if I know it's not by their own choice. It's not always that the customer is rude, any more than the tech guy is an idiot. It's the twits who set the policy for the company who are responsible for everybody's misery.

Of course, the only option available to the consumer, as far as I can see, is to complain, strongly, about getting scripted service, rather than real help. This I do, and I make it clear that it influences my overall satisfaction with their product. Sadly, it's always the poor guy who answers the phone who has to listen to it.

Telemarketers, while in some ways similar, get no remorse.

[Scottie]

Ash wrote:

"I think you were the victim of a phishing scam.
Check this out: HOW PHISHING WORKS

The e-mail you got was probably a "spoof". "
>
>
>

I'm fairly sure it was actually Paypal that I was logging back into since they had the last four digits of my card, but I'm still angry. And don't scare me like that. I'mscared to death by phishers- the second your numbers are in the wrong place means good bye good credit.

Damn.... is bad credit really my only foe? We live in simple times my friends.

[odinn7]

Scottie....
Any time you get an e-mail like that...DO NOT CLICK THE LINK included in the e-mail. If the subject concerns you, log into the site yourself and enter your information there. When you click the link in an e-mail like that, you are taking a chance that the link is spoofed and you are giving away your information. As much as I like to disagree with Ash, I will agree with him here.

[trekgeezer]

I'm never rude to the tech support people, because I've been where they are. Back when I was doing it they didn't have scripted answers (plus I worked a lot with dealers). I still get frustrated at having to deal with someone who knows about 1% of what I do about something, but I understand that they are just trying to make a living. (Besides, I can rant on the forum here, I don't need to yell at some poor guy trying feed his family)/

Tech Support centers are considered cost centers by companies, therefore the company is going to keep the cost as low as they can.

Scottie, if eBAy sends you any email it will always contain your eBay ID and they will never ask you for personal information through an email. They have a message service that you can view when you log in to your account.