Who calls Tech Support?

miata13B · Dec 17, 2003

Ok folks, I have been doing the computer tech support thing for a job over 5 years now. I am wondering what percentage, or should I say who calls into tech support and the reasoning you call tech support whether it be because of hardware issues, software issue and such. On top of that, knowing now that most tech support is being outsourced and some of these outsourcers create jobs in other countries, how do you feel towards that.

BTW, I lost one of my jobs due to the fact they shipped most of the tech support jobs over to India, putting me out of work.

GilesGuthrie · Dec 17, 2003

I used to BE tech support. Now I'm not. Well, they keep trying o make me do it, but I'm resisting well.

At the start of 2003 I changed companies, and now I don't have Domain Admin rights, so I call whenever I need something doing to one of the servers, which is usually because the cretins have chopped the disk space on our shared drive again.

When I'm at home I only ever call tech support when my internet connection isn't working.

miata13B · Dec 17, 2003

Originally posted by GilesGuthrie
When I'm at home I only ever call tech support when my internet connection isn't working.

I was figuring you had a deep background in computers, never knew you did tech support either, may I ask what company or companies?

Also, do you know if your internet has internal techs or are they outsourced? Do you also find your knowledge runs a tad bit more in-depth then theirs?

milefile · Dec 17, 2003

I used to. The last couple times I called I realized I should've figured it out on my own. When my internet connection is out I know to re-boot the modem. And the last time it was an email problem and as I walked through it with the tech support guy I felt so embarassed to realize I had typed the mail servers in wrong (both the same). I haven't called since.

miata13B · Dec 17, 2003

Originally posted by milefile
When my internet connection is out I know to re-boot the modem.

I haven't called since.

Ah, the classic "Power Cycle" It does wonders sometimes

. It is good to know that you are figuring it out on your own. From working in this field, my main goal is to get a client to feel more comfortable and confident with their computers. I am happy anytime I hear someone figuring out issues themselves.

I love that last line. That made my day

Matrixhasu77 · Dec 17, 2003

The last time I called tech support was for when I couldn't connect to the internet through AOL(yes, I know, the root of all evil... we only pay 3 bucks a month so there). It turns out that it was a corrupted preference file and that the tech guy had no clue what my problem was. I eventually figured it out on my own.

miata13B · Dec 17, 2003

Originally posted by Matrixhasu77
AOL(yes, I know, the root of all evil...

I am still trying to figure out how to blame P.O.S. systems for the "root of all evil" but yeah it is AOL

Sage · Dec 17, 2003

Only called my ISP once... I couldn't get a connection, so the guy had me type in two DNS addresses into my preferences to get it working again.

GilesGuthrie · Dec 17, 2003

Originally posted by miata13B
I was figuring you had a deep background in computers, never knew you did tech support either, may I ask what company or companies?

Also, do you know if your internet has internal techs or are they outsourced? Do you also find your knowledge runs a tad bit more in-depth then theirs?

Sure. I started out at Marconi Electronics (now BAE Systems), then moved to Morrison Construction, who were bought by Anglian Water, who subsequently became AWG, and outsourced IT to LogicaCMG. Under the British Law "TUPE" (Transfer of Undertakings, Protection of Employment), I moved to LogicaCMG.

I now do Project Management, implementing Contract Changes.

LogicaCMG has quite an extensive offshore deployment at Bangalore in India, but it's all in the programming side. There's no call handling/resolution done out there, it's all done in Wales, which is bad enough, frankly.

I believe my ISP runs their support in-house in the UK. I used to find it difficult to get any sort of support, which didn't help because Blueyonder cable internet connections seem to need a couple of months to "bed in". Then when they brought out the 1Mb service, I upgraded, and as part of that I got a different phone number, which is exclusive to 1Mb subscribers with connection difficulties. I get more help from there, although it's only ever one of two things: a massive outage, or an exchange failure, which can usually be solved in software over the phone. Like milefile I learned about the modem re-boot pretty quickly.

Generally I've found the Blueyonder people to be friendly, professional and knowledgeable. They also edit their voicemail all the time, so if it's a major outage in your area, you know within 1 minute of picking up the phone.

At LogicaCMG however, I've found the tech support people to be unhelpful in the extreme. I don't want to go into too much detail, but let's just say that on one occasion a call was logged and closed before they'd even got any problem detail from me. :rolleyes:

emeraldtiger · Dec 21, 2003

i call every once in awhile like when i rebooted my system couldnt remember what disc my photoshop was on and had to call time warner once when someone pinged me and shut off my cable modem the funny thing about that was my friend traced the ip and it led striaght to time warners colubus ohio branch and when i traced it it went to their west virginia office that really sucked took me about a hour to confince the damn lady that i had no internet then what i hate is calling dell and you get someone that doesnt speek english verry well like the just started taking english classes

The Porko · Dec 21, 2003

I havent but from wat i heard from my bro, its mainly idiots that dont know wat there doing that call tech (i dont mean everybody only most are idiots)

emad · Dec 21, 2003

I call tech support only when I have reason to believe my equipment is defective. This was the case with my ****ty ibm laptop - took the morons (no offense to you) 2 weeks worth of phone conversations to figure out the problem and another week and a half in the service centre to replace the motherboard. Not to mention 4 wasted subway tickets and a waste of 30 minutes airtime on my cell phone (I was @ my school's tech support office - they made me lease it :mad:

)

The other time i called tech support was because my router refused to do port forwarding...they replaced it but I still get occasional problems with it :mad:

I learned NEVER to buy IBM or Linksys again...they have now officially been added to my "don't even think about it you moron" list

I have also done tech support... I was a co-op student at head office of the school board and they had me spend 2 months setting up their servers and another month writing up support documents for the teachers that would be using it. As well as seminars where I helped to teach the teachers in my high school how to use the new system. My last month at the school board was spent doing service calls on the system - good times those were

. I'm too good a teacher and I spent my last month doing next to nothing. My only supervisor was on maternity leave so I couldn't ask for a summer job

. What makes me mad is all my code went to waste...they just went back to the more crappy system they had before I came along :mad:

- but it was a LOT of code...and they have to have update the code every semester for what I had done. Hopefully, they'll have the process automated. It was much more userfriendly on the user side of things

I also help out most of my friends with pc probs...but that isn't exactly tech support

Ghost C · Dec 21, 2003

I call tech support when my modem goes out, and fails to fix itself after 5 or so reboots. Then I get treated like an idiot, and it usually makes me mad - But I don't say anything to them on the phone, because I'm sure there's lots of morons who call, and they're just doing their job.

Other than that, I try to fix everything myself - Even if it means breaking something else. It's all one big cycle of "learning how to do ****, learning what **** not to do, and learning how to fix **** if you **** it up".

skylineGTR_guy · Dec 21, 2003

Nope. I'm on hold for so freaking long I figure it out while I wait. Do you have any particularly funny tech support calls? I'd love to hear em.

did you hear about the guy who called tech support becasue he broke his "cup holder" they tryied to explain to the man that they didn't sell cup holders. when they asked the man to explain what it looked like he said that it popped out of his computer and that it had the words DVD on it. :lol:

miata13B · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
Nope. I'm on hold for so freaking long I figure it out while I wait. Do you have any particularly funny tech support calls? I'd love to hear em.

did you hear about the guy who called tech support becasue he broke his "cup holder" they tryied to explain to the man that they didn't sell cup holders. when they asked the man to explain what it looked like he said that it popped out of his computer and that it had the words DVD on it.

The cupholder is a classic, everyone knows it. I am trying to get my hands on a voice recorder ot attach to my phone. . . I will record some of the calls and attach them. You'll get a kick out of them. Super Trooper has been a big source for a lot of my games I play with people

Last Thrusday night I got this guy that I felt bqad for. He was a twich. . . Studdering person, 100% unsure of himself and 100% guided by his own self demeanor. He was trying to figure out how to get one file to save off this POS software we send out. So I finally get him through it in 45 minutes. The whole time I'm putting him on mute to stop the hysteria and level myself out. To put it blunt, he sounds like he has a hard time preventing premature ejaculation. So on Friday night, guess who calls back. . . He now has "lost" this file and can't "find" it. That was another 45minutes in basica windows struture to teach him. So basically I am going to hell for that bit I did with him

but you'll all join me

skylineGTR_guy · Dec 22, 2003

lol Super troopers is funny. do the meow thing! :lol:

GilesGuthrie · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
Nope. I'm on hold for so freaking long I figure it out while I wait. Do you have any particularly funny tech support calls? I'd love to hear em.

I had a call from someone once. He said that "this funny box keeps appearing on my screen whenever I print something". I asked what the box said. It said:

Printing Notification

Print Job (some number) (Microsoft Word: Document1) submitted by (caller's name) has successfully printed to Finance Laser 4000.

[OK]

I said the most polite thing I could, which was "I'm sorry sir, I'm not sure I understand the nature of the problem here".

I would often get calls from people who'd locked their accounts because they'd typed in the wrong password. Once I'd run through the whole checking CAPS LOCK thing, and they were still swearing that they'd typed the password in correctly, all I could say is "Well, there seems to be a difference of opinion between you and the network as to what your password is, and since the network tends to be all stroppy, and like, deny you access to stuff until you bend to its will, I'll just change your password for you, shall I?"

miata13B · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
lol Super troopers is funny. do the meow thing!

Been there done that did that Meow. only 9 though is my record.

skylineGTR_guy · Dec 22, 2003

Have you ever had the urge to just chew somebody out for their stupidity? Or are some calls monitored?

skylineGTR_guy · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by miata13B
Been there done that did that Meow. only 9 though is my record.

Man It would have been great if you could have taped it!

miata13B · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
Have you ever had the urge to just chew somebody out for their stupidity? Or are some calls monitored?

Oh yeah. . . unfortunately, I always feel bad afterwards, but some people just simply deserve it though. The guys that call up with an attitude and yelling I always chew into them and belittle them. It is almost a game.

Pako · Dec 22, 2003

I only call Tech support if:

1.) I'm in a really really bad spot, and usually by the time I brake down and try Tech support, I have already exausted all the trouble-shooting steps that they insist on walking me though (which is fine).
2.) or when I know I have a hardware issue and want to get the warranty process rolling.

I to am Tech Support at my employment, at least that's one of the hats I wear. I've had more then one friend loose their job because M$ didn't renew their contract with Stream, a tech support company. M$ and HP renewed their contract with overseas (India) support firms. I think it sucks!

miata13B · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
Man It would have been great if you could have taped it!

I will get one of the taped., don't worry

miata13B · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by Pako
I only call Tech support if:

1.) I'm in a really really bad spot, and usually by the time I brake down and try Tech support, I have already exausted all the trouble-shooting steps that they insist on walking me though (which is fine).
2.) or when I know I have a hardware issue and want to get the warranty process rolling.

I to am Tech Support at my employment, at least that's one of the hats I wear. I've had more then one friend loose their job because M$ didn't renew their contract with Stream, a tech support company. M$ and HP renewed their contract with overseas (India) support firms. I think it sucks!

1 - And working the industry here, We also know to just tell the tech exactly what we have done and normally the first question out of our mouths is, can you think of anything else to do?

2. The only true reason to use tech support

3. I think we should turn India to glass for the fact they stole a ton of our jobs!

skylineGTR_guy · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by miata13B
I will get one of the mtaped., don't worry

Good then upload it somewhere! I can't wait!

I'd love to tape ome of my conversations at work but that would be a felony

stupid pharmacy laws.

GilesGuthrie · Dec 22, 2003

Originally posted by skylineGTR_guy
Have you ever had the urge to just chew somebody out for their stupidity? Or are some calls monitored?

No, you have to be professional. And remember, they just don't know about computers. They could be very good at their jobs, it's just that they know nothing about PCs. I've worked with some of the best electronics engineers in the country, so they're not stupid, it's that their knowledge is focussed in another area.