A story from a Novell netWire SysOp:
Caller: Hello, is this Tech Support?"
Tech: Yes, it is. How may I help you?"
Caller: The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?"
Tech: I'm sorry, but did you say a cup holder?
Caller: Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer.
Tech: Please excuse me if I seem a bit stumped. It's because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any trademark on it?"
Caller: It came with my computer. I don't know anything about a promotional. It just has '4X' on it."
At this point, the Tech Rep had to mute the caller because he couldn't help it. He was laughing too hard. The caller had been using the load drawer of the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder and snapped it off the drive.
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A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her printer. The tech asked her if she was "running it under windows." The woman responded, "No, my desk is next to the door, but that is a good point because the man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a window and his printer is working fine."
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Tech Support: Ok, Bob, let's press the control and escape keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle of the screen. Now, click on the letter "P" to bring up the Program Manager."
Customer: "I don't have a 'P'."
Tech Support: "On your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "What do you mean?"
Tech Support: "'P' on your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "I'm not going to do that!"
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I realize that stories liked this are not funny to those who've we've undeliberately offended by talking over their heads. That's a feeling we can all identify with at different times in our lives as we interact in a world where we only know about the things we touch on a day to day basis. We've all been there, and I can remember being as confused and frustrated, sick AND tired... and I try to remember that when I'm on the phone.
I remember one customer who experienced an issue that I couldn't help but to laugh out loud because I had experienced the same exact circumstance in my early dinking days. I felt so foolish when I finally understood my ignorance. He (the customer) thought I was laughing at him instead of myself, and honestly, I was. He was deeply offended, insulted. Nothing I could say would take away the sting. He cancelled his account a few hours later and I'll remember it to this day, with every call.
It's hard not come off as the Physician talking to a mere patient, or sound like a Lawyer, or any other profession that requires a different language further defining its' components. We forget that we all were there once too, either while on the phone, in a chat room, or simply trying to understand something we didn't know.
Technically,
Bobco
Posted by Bobco at February 13, 2003 05:19 AM