photo credit: vlima.com
It is no secret that computer and software phone support is awful. Finding a concerned and competent phone support person is like hunting for a four leaf clover.
Today, a long time client of mine called me, exasperated over a recent bout with her cable company’s tech support. Following is a modified transcript of the call:
Voicemail from my client: Hello Rick, I have a problem with my Internet. My Internet doesn’t work. I called (cable Internet company) and after talking with them multiple times, they asked me what antivirus product I used. I told them AVG, and they said they couldn’t help me because they had so much trouble with that product.
My thoughts while listening to the voicemail: Wow, the classic “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing, so I’ll blame another product or service” game played by so many undereducated tech support folks.
I called back my client:
Me: Hello Mrs. A. It’s Rick Castellini, I’m returning your call. First, I want to put your mind at ease, and let you know that AVG is not the problem. Literally hundreds of my customers around the valley use AVG, including me, and may of them use the same service you do…without problems.
Mrs. A: Really? OK, that makes me feel better. Thank you.
Me: What soft of problem are you having?
Mrs. A: I can’t get on the Interne.
Me: What do you mean by that? Can you receive and send email? (I knew she used Outlook Express, but what have asked if I had not even known her)
Mrs. A: Yes, my email works fine.
Me: Good deal. That means that your Internet connection is fine. What kind of problem were you having that caused you to call (cable Internet company)?
Mrs. A: When I try to go to my bank or any of my Favorites, it kicks me off. I can’t get anywhere.
Me: Ok. I think we can fix this pretty quickly. Are you near your computer?
Mrs. A: No, but I’m heading there now.
Me: When you get there, make sure no programs are running, then click Start then Control Panel.
Mrs. A: Ok, I’m at my computer and doing that now.
Me: When you get to the Control Panel, look for Internet Options or Network and Internet, then Internet Options and double-click the Internet Options icon.
Mrs. A: Ok, I found it and am looking at the Internet options.
Me: Look across the top of the screen and click the Advanced tab.
Mrs. A: OK.
Me: Look towards the bottom of this screen and click the Reset button. Then click Reset. If you see a check box that says Delete Personal Settings. (I wasn’t sure if she had updated to IE 8 yet).
Mrs. A: There is no check box, just a button for reset or cancel.
Me: Please click the reset button.
Mrs. A: Ok, now I see that it is doing something.
Me: When it finishes, click the Close button, then the OK button on the previous screen.
Mrs. A: Ok.
15 seconds of silence
Mrs. A: It finished and I’m back to my main screen (desktop).
I then quickly walked her through resetting her home page, and walked through the initial options settings after the reset.
Mrs. A: Hey, it’s staying on so far. Can I try my bank account real quick?
Me: Sure, give it a try.
30 or so seconds of silence.
Me: Is it working? Any problems?
Mrs. A: Not so far, I’m checking on a deposit.
Me: Great. I think you are all set.
Mrs. A: Why didn’t the tech support folks know how to fix this so quickly and easily?
Me: Not sure, Mrs. A. They aren’t well trained most of the time. (trying my best not to be too derogatory)
Mrs. A: Thank you for your help.
Me: You are welcome. Have a good day.
I obviously had some inside knowledge of this woman’s issue. But even if I hadn’t, I do three things that most tech support people don’t do:
For those still reading. I used the most basic of all Internet Explorer troubleshooting steps that I wrote about many years ago here.
No related posts.
Loading ...
,
Rick, all those years working at RuralNet (ISP) has really paid off for your clients.
Being a tech guy myself, I’ve noticed a huge trend in “passing the buck” mentality that we didn’t have when we were doing tech support.
And honestly, I’ve found that if you don’t have a direct response to the questions they’re asking (with severe technical bias) they try to have you off the phone in about 2 minutes.
Glad you’re still able to take the time, and solve peoples real problems… just like the good ol days!
Matt
We had an excellent staff there for sure…fun times! And you are correct, asking the right questions is the start to a successful tech call. Sometimes “I can’t get connected to the Internet” really means, I can’t get email from my sister, but everything else is fine.
I think if phone techs were trained to ask the right questions, and get to the specifics of the issue, not jump to conclusions, that would help. I had a user leave me a voicemail last week that said her “GJSentinel.com” was broken. Now, if I had jumped into the middle of that one without asking some specific questions, I might have just told her that her antivirus was screwed up and hung up the phone, too.
BTW, turns out her Firefox icon was missing from her dock. Why you would call your browser your “GJSentinel.com” remains a mystery to me, but I didn’t argue!
Ha, ha That’s the key…don’t argue. Be empathetic and helpful. Thanks for comment Daniel.
Hi Daniel,
My first guess would be “gjsentinal.com” was what she’s using for a home page. Is this simply female logic?
At any rate, I have a few question for anyone. When rebooting, why are my task bar icons (on the rite side) constantly coming and going? ESPECIALLY my sound icon. At the moment, all I have is the time, avg, & Ad-Aware. Prior boot, I think I had 8 items.
Also either I’ve become really impatient, or rebooting takes forever. I have 43-44 processes running. How can I safely un-check any?….When I have no idea what they are. I assume anything that says ‘system’ is not one to UNcheck?
Last…Rick, would a remote tune-up address/correct these items?
Thanx.
Yep…they could answer and solve all those questions and more.
Good Morning, Rick!
Best, Judy
I read this article/conversation with great interest since I am unable to connect to online classes (Webinars). I’ve talked with the tech folks that run the Webinars and they tell me my problem is with Firefox and I need to uninstall it and reinstall it. I’m reluctant to try this and am thinking that perhaps the sequence you’ve just described might help me out. Am I making any sense?
Hello Judy! Firefox doesn’t have a reset button like IE, but you can click Start –> Programs –> Mozilla Firefox —> Mozilla Firefox (safe mode). This mode disables any add-ons you might have in Firefox. If everything works fine, then one of your add-ons is causing the problem. Now you can click Tools –> Add ons, and enable them one at a time to test. Good luck!
Rick, I thought of your article today, after an encounter with HP tech support via email.
I sited 4 issues I was having. #1. Their online chat did NOT work. He made no mention.
#2. He interpreted my problem the opposite of what it was….Thus do not take the next steps.
#3. A list of steps to get to the processes running. (Rather than the one step that it takes) Only to determine, the two items were indeed running. Again, do not take the next steps.
#4. D/L & Install Adobe Flash Player….Which I already have. Is there really a connection???
So, my issues So my issues remain. I did respond. I can’t wait to see his reply.
Rick, I may need remote assistance.
Hello Anne…you know how to find me…good luck.
I’ve been on – well, several ends of this. I do support for a living, after all. And I’ve worked next to the people that have no idea, mixed in with those that do, and can get things done quickly.
One thing that you (in general, though in response to Anne’s comments) have to keep in mind is that there are times our hands are tied. The steps may be steps you’ve done before, but we *have* to ask or *have* to check… especially if, as is often the case, you’re dealing with a third party support company. If we don’t ask, it affects *our* jobs – so, yes, asking you to check that checkbox again may be an annoying few moments to you, but it can be our paycheck on the line.
That said, yes, as a tech (or anybody dealing with customers, honestly,) the main thing to do is *listen.* Repeat it back if you have to to make sure everyone’s on the same page. That lack of listening has made me stop doing business with some companies – even with the “inside look” at what the techs have to go through, there’s a level of competence and understanding I do expect. And while yes, there are times you have to be sent to a different department (or company,) being sure the customer understands *why* (policy, patch, or what have you) is important – and should certainly not be done as a “blow-off.”
Hi Eric,
Thank you for your response. I strongly agree with you. LISTENING is all important. I sent & received 4 emails, from 3 different techs. Unsure if they actually understood English. They didn’t reference my original (4 ) issues as I stated them. (Never addressed one at all) They didn’t seem knowledgeable in that their steps were longer, thus included unnecessary steps. I finally gave up and decided on the last resort: uninstall & reinstall the software. That did it.
Nicely said Eric…being a telephone tech is no picnic, but you hid it on the head when you talked about listening…kudos!
This is only a gravatar test….
It worked!!
Thanx Rick!
I was unable to get the darn thing to work. I had emailed gravatar. When he asked what browser I use, was a dead giveaway. I blew the dust off IE, and ran the test. Obviously it doesn’t work with Firefox.
Au Contraire…I use Firefox and Chrome ONLY, and have zero problems with Gravatar.
Interesting indeed. I told him I used Firefox. His reply:
“Gravatar works best with firefox, I do not think that the browser is the issue.”
It is my issue. My gravatar comes up with IE (recall my test) Yet not on any other comments, using Firefox. Thus my request for an overhaul.