"I'm not a computer expert."

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

I've learned to cringe when I hear those words, because they mean the person saying them is about to wash his/her hands of any responsibility for participating in solving the problem they're going to dump on me.

I'm in a second tier tech support group, so one of my specialties is going at least an extra mile to help people who are overwhelmed or in information overload from dealing with something they find particularly frustrating. My full time *job* is being the "computer expert" so they don't have to bring anything more to the table than average or even below average computer literacy.

But it seems, more and more often, that people have learned to abuse that term in order to resist learning even one thing that might help them not need to talk to someone like me again, and too much of the time now, I hear a kind of pride in their voice when they proclaim to me that they are too pure to be sullied with technical knowledge and they expect things to be fixed purely by magic. And I've learned to get a sinking feeling when I hear those words spoken in that tone, because I can already predict virtually every turn of the battle of wills that's coming next.

Just pay attention, listen to me, trust that I know what I'm doing, and be my eyes, ears, and hands, OK? I know you're not a "computer expert", Mr/Mrs Entitlement Brat. That's why I'm here.

Comments

[mogaribue.livejournal.com]

I tend to prefer this to alternative, which is when they think they know what they're doing and really don't.

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

I guess that sort of depends on how argumentative the "smart" ones are. I can usually find a weak point somewhere that gives me back control of the situation without being too confrontational about it. When someone who's enough of a clod to work their way through two or more other agents before finally being transferred up to me tells me that, there's only one reason for it, and it's to excuse them from any sort of involvement in the process at all, and most especially to let them off the hook from even the slightest chance of needing to engage their brain in anything. I can adjust quite a bit to people with genuinely low skill levels, even if they have significant problems navigating, but "I'm not a computer expert" is the tech support counterpart of being arrested at a protest and going limp to make themselves harder to deal with. And when I get that in response to a simple request to go click on something with the mouse, it's headache inducing.

[ptstech.livejournal.com]

I should be so lucky - our users have admin access. (snif)

[ptstech.livejournal.com]

I can only try to dream of such things as I sleep the sleep of the damned...

[rbos.livejournal.com]

Try "That's okay, we'll turn you into one in no time."

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

Thing is, though, front and center in that attitude is a determined refusal to learn *anything*. And that includes basic things like *how to move a file into or out of a folder in the GUI*, or *how to make a menu selection*. (About the fourth or fifth time I have to go through the baby-steps approach to walking someone through the same thing, it starts getting *really* old.)

[sethb.livejournal.com]

At least the ones who know they aren't experts will do what I tell them, and read me the results. They won't try to interpret it for me. They won't click on "OK" and then say "There was a message that I didn't read."

[jjjiii]

This isn't new by any means, nor am I aware that it's a trend that's on the increase.

"I'm not an expert" is a way of denying accountability for having knowledge. This is why you're hearing the pride; it's their way of escaping having to know wtf they're doing, and putting all the responsibility and accountability on you. You must close this avenue off to them, or they will use this as a weapon and it will indeed become a rising trend.

To do this, first acknowledge that they are not an expert, and thank them for being forthcoming in admitting as much. They've just put you into a position of authority over their problem, so thanking them is quite appropriate. Now, point out that in addition to a technical problem, they also have a knowledge or skill problem, and offer to provide help with both. If you provide the former without providing the latter, the former will return again and they will be in an equally helpless position without you (and you won't always be around, or are expensive). If you cannot directly provide the knowledge or skill, then point them to where they can go to obtain it, and/or bring up the deficiency with someone in a better position to do something about it, such as a manager.

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

There are always ways to tackle that attitude, and I usually find ways to sneak a little knowledge in here and there -- most of the best lessons are taught when the student isn't aware he's learning :) -- or at the very least, point out that this is the third or fourth time I've walked them through the same basic thing and take a moment to suggest online tutorials, etc.

It's just that people who spend the kind of money they spend on a computer and don't bother to gain at least a basic level of literacy in how to navigate the UI without needing a script. How do they survive in other circumstances where they have to learn a new way of interacting with something, and there *isn't* a tech support line just a phone call away? (And how the hell do they make enough to afford a couple of thousand bucks worth of new machine when they're obviously not capable of reasoning their way through even basic logic to save their lives?)