Who Designed This Crap? Tech Support, Need I Say More?

[Chester3000]

Well, I was working at a computer company and a customer came in and bought $2000 worth of hardware in parts. We offered for $50 more, we would put it together for him. He declined informing us that he had this covered. Well, we don't like to let customers leave the store without some sort of confrimation that the person that would put this so called system together, knows what they are doing so we kindly asked about it and all he would say is that his neighbour is building it. Oh, very nice then. So we left it that.

2 Days later, guess who is in the store with his computer talking about how his computer did not work after it was all together.

So, we opened it up and took a look...

No Risers (standoffs) were used.

Yeah, we slowly tested every single part of his computer in a test board we have.
CPU = FRIED
RAM = FRIED
MOTHERBOARD = FRIED
POWER SUPPLY = FRIED
HARD DRIVES = FRIED
OPTICAL DRIVES = FRIED
GRAPHICS CARD = FRIED
EVERYTHING = FRIED.

Then he goes off trying to get warranty on it. Right... :roll:

Similar story happens 6 months later. Fortunately for this one though, the only thing that got fried was the motherboard.

What did these people learn the hard way? Don't forget those risers (standoffs), the little golden screws. Oh, and if you don't know what your doing, you should watch someone that does know what they are doing first. Or pay the $50 for the company to do it for you anyways.

 

[Chester3000]

Another incident we had at this computer store.

Customer comes in and buys a processor for his older motherboard. We ask him about compatability and we quickly get a response of:
"I've been building computers since before you were in diapers! Don't tell me what I don't already know!"

Ok... 8O

3 Days later, guess who comes in for warranty. Turns out it was the wrong socket and that he bent the pins on the processor trying to get it in.
Nice... :roll:


Another worthy story:
Customer only buys a few parts from us. Processor, Video Card and Ram. He buys the motherboard from a different company and goes home and builds this computer himself.

The next day he phones saying he is unable to get his computer to post with just the ram, cpu and video card installed. We informed him that we could only test the products that he bought from us or else we would charge extra for testing of the motherboard (We gave free hardware tests on products purchased from our store). So, about an hour later this guy comes in, holding a heatsink with the processor just being held on by the thermal compound on the bottom of the heatsink. 8O

Thankfully, nothing was broken and no pins were bent. Turned out he had a faulty motherboard and had to go to the other company he bought it from.

 

[krexvien]

I work in Tech support for a University. We of course support just about everything. I received one of my favorite calls just this morning.

I answer the phone and the first thing the call says is "I can't connect can you tell me whats wrong?"

These calls are the worst cause that can mean anything. As i expected the caller doesn't even know what they are trying to connect to. So after a few probing questions i get the response "I called a few weeks ago and you sent me some instructions can you tell me what you said again?"

Now not only am i not the only one who works here i handle some days over 100 calls so i don't have a clue whats going on. Finally after about 5 minutes of asking what she is trying to do i find out its dial-up. The caller has no idea what operating system they are on just that they have Windows XP instructions and something isn't right.

Now the first step is to verify they have the right instructions so i attempt to walk them through checkin their OS. Any the single most annoying thing you can do to tech support. They begins to voerthink and try things on their own. This always results in confusion because i have no idea where you are in the system. Im pretty clear and ask them to find my computer on their desktop, which they do. Then have them right click it and select properties. Somewhere in there they stopped listening and wound up who know where but it wasn't anywhere near my computer.

Now the caller is frustrated because its not working so i finally calm them down and get them to follow my 2 simple instructions. We now know they have the right instructions for dialup. The dialup instructions are just a few steps with screen shots for every action so its pretty simple.

Now i attempted to clarify the problem. The caller has no idea what was wrong. They asked me to walk them through setting it up and they could tell me what was wrong. I informed them i couldnt do much better than just reading the instructions to them and asked at what point in the instructions they were having trouble.

Finally they admit they had only tried them 2 weeks ago and only remember it didnt work and have no idea what happened. (however they expected me to know) And decided to try it again and call me back when they knew what the problem was.

This is the second most annoying call you can get in tech support.

The first goes like this:

me: "Technical Support how can i help you?"

Caller: "I can't do (doesnt matter what the problem is"

me: "Ok on your computer can you.."

Caller: "Well im not at my computer right now can't you just fix it?"

me: "Well, I can't troubleshoot your issue if your not at the computer"

Caller: "Think i should call back when im at my computer then?"


Please never never call tech support unless you know what problem you are having or are at a computer to troubleshoot it. I'm not sure what you expect me to do when your in your car and don't even know what your calling about.

 

[500r420]

I can usually determine whats wrong with my gear and if its out of my range to repair, so I use tech support for product replacement. I usually expect a full month from the time I ship out a product (at my expense) before a reburbished one replaces it. Dell vastly exceeded my expectations when I had the display on my Inspiron 9300 replaced.

I bought the computer on ebay late last year sold as a refurbished for about half of Dell's retail price for the computer (no foolin) When I recieved the system, I found several black dots on the screen that were not pixel related but instead foreign material under the display cover. You would think for a computer bought on ebay that I'm SOL, but I called up Dell tech support anyways.

There was only one unpleasant part of the procedure, which was the one hour wait to speak to a representative, but I understand that this is more than standard (I've spend multiple hours listening to Abit's classical music on speaker phone after they predict a 20 minute wait.) I told the fellow I bought the computer from an organization not related to Dell and he simply asked me to give him my name, my address, and the serial on the computer. Just like that, the warrany was transfered (which is identical to the warranty on a new product!) I could have stolen the computer! The man agreed the display needed replacement and said a box, PAID FOR BY DELL, would arrive at my front door in two days.

The box did arrive on time, and I packaged the computer then called a number they included to have the box picked up by a shipping company. They arrived to pick up the box on a monday, and I recieved my computer with a replaced display on friday, 4 days later. Thats four days divided by the shipment to dell's repair center, repair of the laptop, and the return trip. ScreenTek, the website reccomended by the mobilityguru article "How to Replace a Broken Laptop or Notebook Display" puts the wholesale cost of the display at $506 (Its a 17" 1440x900). Thats a few ben Franklins short of what I paid for the computer, and Id be a bit uncomfortable installing it myself. Way to go Dell

 

[500r420]

oops, thats a double post

 

[killernotebooks]

ikjadoon: I am negotiating with a Flash RAM Drive manufacturer to get 2.5" SATA form factor to offer across the boards for O.S. & Programs to speed up the systems as you know the hard drive is usually the bottle neck in todays systems.

The 2 GB memory modules (total of 4GB) are the next thing I have the sites set on.

Gamers tend to be one of two things.
1. Well off enough to buy whatever they want.
2. Driven enough to get whatever they want, and have the coolest, fastest computer in tent city.

The only way to beat DELL and Alienfairy is to use a little Sun Tzu. Take the usual disadvantage of my smaller size and use it to my advantage by bringing newer technology to market faster and actually listening to what the gaming industry wants, then delivering it.

 

[killernotebooks]

For DDR2 667, part # TS256MSQ64V6N (2GB module), we are in worldwide shortage due to a rather famous brand's order, however...

I love the commercial where the guy is on the phone with DELL and he is changing his order and the assembly line stops while he decides. Right, only problem is, in the commercial the assembly line looks like it is in America, in reality it is in China.

 

[krexvien]

For a bad tech support experience.

When i first moved into my own apartment was about the time AT&t was rolling out Digital cable and Cable intenet all over. So i got my apt and signed up. The Guy came out and set it all up no problem. Well i immediatly began having issues with slow speeds and disconnections. I did some ping tests and showed i was experiencing about a 30% packet loss. So i called tech support and got the same usual stuff but i went through it fine and they sent a technician out. He came out replaced some splitters and told me my 3 way splitter was on backwards causing the problem (the cable modem was getting the weaker signal)


So he leaves little later same problem (gaming was unplayable which is why i had this) Go through the routine 2 more times call tech support jump through hoops (by the 3rd call i know the routine and can tell them the results of each stupid test) and they send someone out. This 3rd guy looks around turns on ym tv and switches to the high numbered channels and see the picture is bad (which i told every tech support person) pulls a device off his belt conenct it to the cable and shows me my signal strengths. My building was old so the cable in it didnt handle the high signals for digital channels and internet very well. So he yanks it all out and replaces my cable form the box to my apt took him 45 min cause he had to go over the roof. After that perfect service the rest of the year.

At the end of the year my rommate and i move to another apt in the same complex. At&t is now Comcast but everything is the same just new logo. This new apt same problem. Digital Channels are weak and packet loss on the cable modem. So i call tech support. Well comcast at this point was a coin flip you have a 50/50 shot of getting an American or someone in India that doesnt understand english very well but says his name is "Mitch" Comcast does this i never knew why its not like their accent and the fact that they say they are in India is hidden by a all-american name.

So i get the same shit stupid troubleshooting spend an hour "Registering my cable modem" since it wasnt so i had to join their proxy and fill out all these online forms. really annoying when your connection drops every 5 minutes.
They send a tech out and i tell them jsut test the signal strenght i had this exact same problem 4 doors down. They won't do it cause they don't wanna be bothered replacing the cable. They just tell me its a pc problem or a problem with my home network and leave. They wont look at the TV since they are Internet tech support but they are the same people who come out for TV tech support.

Then on like my 5th call the worst happens i meet the tier 1 technician who thinks he knows it all. all i want is another visit so i can finally get someone to replace my cable. But he wants to show off and makes me do all this troubleshooting that he doesnt understand. So its a waste of an hour. Finally he gives in and sends a work order. This time a college friend of mine shows up with the tech since hes in training. So first thing i tell them is about the signal strength so he tests it. Sure enough same issue and he makes my friend "the trainee" replace the cable.

To this day i never call comcast tech support except during outages to get credits on my bill.

I work in tech support and to me its a pure joy when someone calls and knows whats wrong and can talk with you about the problem like a tech. Don't call an spout certifications but if you call and say im showing a 30% packet loss im always interested to see how you got that and help resolve the issue rather than making you reboot things uselessly.

 

[ikjadoon]

Oooh, Flash Hard Drives; those HHD sound like the next big thing.

Do you notice a large system performance increase when you use the fully flash hard drives?

Exactly! Listen to the people who will actually be buying the products, then deliver. That is the best way a company in the computer business can remain one of the fastest, I think. The consumer gets EXACTLY what he wants.

~Ibrahim~

 

[gpfear]

Let me start by saying that I am an Engineer for one of the largest OEMs who will remain nameless. By virtue of working for this OEM, I get discounts on their products which I pass along to friends and family to push my companies products. I ordered a laptop for a friend of mine, nice notebook with all the standard features and such. I received said notebook and started configuring the software and adding all the Windows updates, good ol Windows. That's another forum altogether. While doing this I noticed that the battery was not charging. Time to call tech support. I thought to myself this will be a great way to see what our customers experience. So I called, went through some motions, they have a silent key that tests the battery on boot which i was unaware of, and it was agreed that I would be sent the battery. Ok, problem is that you should make sure products work before you send them to the customer. Second, I had to give my credit card number before they would ship the battery. Just a formality I thought. OK, so I get the new battery, everyone is happy. My aformentioned friend is enjoying his new notebook and everything is right in the world. WRONG, I get my credit card statement and it shows a charge from the OEM for $175. What the hell? Because I am a stickler and pay attention to details, I kept the FedEx receipt with tracking info when I sent the defective battery back. Guess what, signed for by XXX, showing delivered. I normally dont lose my temper, it takes a bit, but this is my company so I pulled out the employee card. We have an internal website for these issues to be escalated, so I escalated an issue for myself. I received a call from account exec. Many apologies the charge was removed and I was offered a second battery for free. I told them that the battery wasnt the point. I just dont want this happening to Joe Schmoe computer user that decides to buy elsewhere. I feel for everyone who has these experiences.

 

[Gormeroth]

The more I think about it...the more I realize I could easily spend several days typing up my numerous encounters with Tech Support....This will be my last one.

Verizon DSL

In 1999 I was in the Marine Corps living outside of Jacksonville, North Carolina. My house was so far out in the boonies that I was lucky to have telephone service. I had to use bunny-ears on my television to watch the one station that came in clear...PBS.

In those days I was limited to dial-up internet. I played Tribes and Asherons Call on my laughable connection.

In 2001, I finished my tour with the Marines and moved to Massachusetts. One of the first things on my agenda was to get high-speed internet. This was available through Verizon "High Speed DSL".

I signed up and received my modem and "starter kit" a few days later. The instructions said that I had to wait until I received the confirmation email that my service had been turned on, before connecting the modem and DSL filters. The estimate was 6 weeks before this would happen.

Let the waiting begin.

Three weeks went by and I received an email saying that my service had been started and I could now hookup my systems. I went home that evening and hooked everything up and...no service.

I called TECH SUPPORT...here's where it gets good.
I spent several hours on the telephone with these people. They had me troubleshooting everything. They finally told me that my network adapter was not supported.

My main system was equipped with a 3COM 3C905 card. This is by far the most widely recognized and supported card in the world of network cards. Just about any operating system you load on your machine will have support for this card...so I knew they were full of shit.

It was then and there that I was sick of playing this game. I told them that I was a CCNA and an MCSE and I can guarantee that the problem is not on my end. The call was escalated and the end result was...The service had not been activated, I would need to wait another 3 weeks.
Fine, I can live with that.

I went to work the next day and I started thinking about how pissed off I was that Verizon was jerking me around. Why did I receive an email saying my service had been activated? Why did I spend several hours on the phone troubleshooting crap only to be told that my service wasn't activated? I decided to call Verizon and give them a piece of my mind.

I explained the situation to the customer service representative. She looked in the system and told me...My service IS ACTIVE. WTF?! I was instructed to go home and call tech support to resolve my issue.

Once I arrived home that evening I went through some of the same crap as the night before. I finally said to the technician to "put me in touch with someone who knows what they are doing." and tossed my credentials her way.

Within 5 minutes I had someone on the line who had identified a problem on their end pertaining to the binding of the protocol to my line...I had connectivity.

no offense dude, but i worked in tech support for an online gaming company for close to 3 years and it's people like you that make your life a living hell.

where i worked, management gives you a 6 minute call time. you have a certain quota to make every day and if you don't they fire you without a second thought.

i liked to think i did a good job because when people had any further problems with their systems they would call back and typically ask for me. however there were people like you that would call and start raising their voice at me in a very condescending manner about how it was our fault and not the customers. now, granted that person may not have been the most competitent in the world, (most technical support is outsourced to india anyway) waving your "credentials" in their face isn't going to help anything. it is the most insulting thing in the world to the person on the other line. do you really think that person is going to go the extra mile to help?

when i was working technical support. the nicest customers got the most special treatment. the ones you would go out of your way to help. i mean, if a person is so damned qualified with so many certifications, why can't they just fix the problem theirself? the answer is because they don't know the answer and they need help. last i checked if you needed help from someone you don't shit all over them. it's call common descency. didn't your mother ever teach you some manners?

so for 3 years i had to take a minimum of 60 phone calls a day. rude customer after rude customer after rude customer.. it gets old after a while. so the next time you contact a customer service representative, why don't you try and put yourself in their shoes for a minute and have some freakin patience... just because you have more "qualifications" and make more than they do doesn't give you the right to treat people like shit..

 

[gpfear]

Need to wait around until all the tech companies dump their current bloated inventories of last years technology, so you can get something that will last for the immediate future

 

[ikjadoon]

Oh, wow. I wonder how long it would have taken if it had been a regular customer, instead of you...

~Ibrahim~

 

[killernotebooks]

Flash hard drives are reported to boot Windows twice as fast, the other benefite to speed are obviously no moving parts to wear out, power usage is slashed to almost none, heat same thing.

Not only should the files boot and load faster, but with the Windows swap file on the flash drive we should see an overall improvement also.

If I can pull these manufacturers together, the machine I am trying to build to have tested (first I would have to hear back from mobility guru as I posted earlier they haven't replied other than in the forum)
Executioner 17" WUXGA
7900 GTX 5125 MB
T7400 Core 2 Duo 64 bit
4 Gig's DDR2-667
Flash RAM & secondary 100 Gig 7,200 rpm hard drive
108 Mbps a/b/g/G+ wireless.

 

[killernotebooks]

Ok, the flash hard drive fantasy is over:

24 GB SATA $3,229

LOL, what are they nuts?

If anyone else knows of a SATA 2.5" Flash RAM drive let me know. I know SuperTalent makes one, but it is EIDE.

 

[bgerber]

OK, K/N TGP apparently has some pretty stiff policies about who can send email. So, easiest way to get to me is to go to the Tech Support column or the new Your Stories column and click on my name at the top of the page. That'll assure I get your response and we can start communicating about that hot notebook.

Barry

 

[gpfear]

Oh, wow. I wonder how long it would have taken if it had been a regular customer, instead of you...

~Ibrahim~

The thing is, I dont pull the I work for the company and do this everyday stuff off the bat, but after wasting at least a half an hour with no results I feel have to. Outsourcing is killing IT support anyway. I long for the days when I would get someone on the phone that at least spoke fluent ENGLISH. My only hope is that companies get enough complaints to affect their bottom lines enough to change.

 

[zenmaster]

Well I disagree the problem is with the poster.

He was given bogus info and the run around by somebody who did not know what they were doing.

He may have indeed done this because it was the tech supports job to get the caller off the phone. Yes, the last place I worked, the best phone techs got the worst reviews because they actually solved the customers problem with them on the phone. The ones just passed in along so it could sit in a higher paid techs queue for two hours before getting a chance to look at the simple issue got the best reviews.

I know were you are coming from, but it is a Dilbert Mgt issue.

Any tech should know that at that point this 3com was the defacto industry std so he gave the customer bs. Then he said an activated acct was not active when it was. Either he was not competant or the tech was forced into poor service by his companies mgmt. Either way this should not happen.

Of course he should always be courteous, even to morons.
Last time I called HP support to see why my I was getting x10 better USB performance from my Dekstop than my LAPTOP even though I verified both were USB2. The tech said while the laptop had USB2, the deskopt had USB3. I chuckled to myself and just politely excused myself from the call.

 

[ikjadoon]

F! Damn, four digits? Shite. Curse!

Does that mean that the machine you posted before, with the 7900GTX (wow) will not have a flash drive? Or a full flash drive without secondary is gone?

I think you mean full-size flash drives are OUT, but the smaller ones with regular ones as secondary are still good.

I'm looking for some SATA flash drives, but I haven't found any, yet.

Yeah, I hate outsourcing. Less jobs here, slightly weaker economy, and in the end I'm paying more for a product. OK, that is slightly far fetched, but you get me.

~Ibrahim~

 

[ikjadoon]

Don't think post went through...Anyways:

F! Damn, four digits? Shite. Life isn't fair!

I'm looking for some companies, without luck...

Yeah, outsourcing is greedy and selfish.

~Ibrahim~