You think you're so smart

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

This is for all the techs out there who sometimes need tech support themselves.

I really appreciate it when I'm calling someone else for support and I can tell that they're thinking and asking systematic problem-solving questions. I know that I'm perfectly capable of missing obvious details even though I work with computers for a living too. In some cases, calling tech support is like getting a fresh eye to look at the problem and point out what I looked over.

If I start asking you the basic questions (did you install the drivers, what version of Quicktime do you have, etc.) and you tell me that you've been working with computers for umpteen years, I will not skip the easy questions and move on to the more advanced ones. I don't know what you've already tried. If you know how this stuff works, you could possibly give me a list of the things you have already tried, so that I know where to start. (I think this is all symptomatic of someone who works with computers but has never had to do any kind of support or troubleshooting themselves. We're all very specialised types of bees in this business.)

Claiming to be an expert does not impress me, and just makes you look worse if it turns out your problem is something really obvious. :)

Comments

[ptomblin-lj.livejournal.com]

So what do you think about techs who ignore all the trouble shooting you've already done and force you to go through the steps anyway? I call up my cable ISP and say "I can't get a DHCP address from you. I've tried power cycling my modem and the Link light doesn't light, so it's obviously a problem on your end", and they want to know what version of Windows I use (irrelevant) and they want me to reboot my PC (useless) and power cycle the modem (redundant).

[drquuxum.livejournal.com]

"May I tell you what I've already done/tried?" is my very common opener.

[wibbble]

In my last job at Nokia I sometimes had people call up about Mail for Exchange, Blackberry (and other push email solutions) or VoIP that knew way more about it than I did.

In those situations, it was all I could do to make it sound like I knew what they were talking about.

[darkrose.livejournal.com]

This.

I think a lot of us find dealing with support a humiliating experience. At least I do. I don't like admitting I need help with something, even when it's something that I can't diagnose on my own or can't fix because I don't have the right parts to fix it (or test it).

[bitterfun.livejournal.com]

Scripted call-centers don't constitute Tech-support if all they're doing is going through a checklist then escalating a ticket.

editted to add: I know it sounds snarky but in the land of McTech jobs, call-center agent (sans troubleshooting) is the fry-cook. All you're worried about is call-times, FCRs under a set time, and escalation procedures. If they happen to fix something, they get a cookie but it's not required.

[melstav]

I also find that it helps if you provide a narration while you follow the tech support person's instructions. Especially if the instruction you're given is of a slightly higher-level, like "Change suchandsuch setting to X and try ${Multi-command operation} again."

[peace873.livejournal.com]

It's annoying when another tech is doing that to you, but I agree it is necessary and valuable. If not for any other reason than that we are all just human and can overlook something obvious on occasion.

[jimbojones.livejournal.com]

I think they're following a script, they HAVE to follow that script - whether they know a fucking thing or not - and you aren't making either of your lives easier if you don't just respond appropriately until the ticket is escalated.

When you aren't getting a "cable" link light on your cable modem, and your desired outcome is a field tech being dispatched to the site, the correct answer to the question "what operating system are you using?" is not "what does that have to do anything", it's "Windows XP Pro." Similarly, the correct answer to the request "okay, can you reboot your computer for me?" is "sure... okay, it's rebooting... alright it's up again."

Just. Navigate. The flowchart. With them.

[celyste.livejournal.com]

With a lot of the modems we use, no link light says the computer and modem are in the middle of a divorce.

Secret handshake

[kenbrody.livejournal.com]

Funny you should mention that. On one of the rare occasions I needed to call my ISP's tech support, it was for exactly that reason -- no DHCP from them.

However, apparently, somewhere during the call, I said some magic words, because the tech apparently went off-script and jumped straight to "let me check if there are any DHCP issues logged", and found that the local DHCP server was, in fact, having problems.

I only wish I knew what those "magic words" were. We could make them our secret handshake. (Double entendre intended.) I believe it was something about how, as I was doing what he requested, I mentioned that I already did that (as well as X, Y, and Z) and what I found out doing them. (Basically "I already did some troubleshooting, this is what I did, and here are the results", and we were able to skip doing them all over again.)

[wxgeek.livejournal.com]

Because your ethernet cable is bad, that's why.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

Mm... if it's a field that isn't my own area of expertise, I will happily follow all the steps they suggest, in order. I might have tried some things already, but I have no idea if there are other tricks they know that must be done in a certain order.

If it's a scripted level of support, I'll follow through it, and if something is still wrong at the end it will be escalated. If it's someone who is allowed to think outside the script, they may need the information for documentation of the problem.

[random-c.livejournal.com]

Oh indeed. You're a *sysadmin* are you? More hoop jumping for YOU, bastard.
On the other hand, phoning up or worse, emailing, giving full details of the problem and what I tried in order to resolve it - and get back an answer parroting the first useless and tangentially related article in the FAQ... at least twice.

[alcoholiday.livejournal.com]

I'd rather just get all the information to diagnose the problem. Having to prod for information, luser or tech, is arduous.

If it's obvious that...

[rose-welch.livejournal.com]

...they're reading a script, then I just say I've done it and answer the useless questions because it will probably be just as fast as explaining I've already done it, even though it's more frustrating to me. For the most part, they *have* to read the script and acting as snarky as a feel is *not* going to make them help me any better or faster than before. Even though by the time I have to call someone else, I usually feel really, really snarky.

[cjkline83.livejournal.com]

Screw you guys, I'm going 127.0.0.1

Re: Secret handshake

[cjkline83.livejournal.com]

The magic words are don't make me kill you.

Re: If it's obvious that...

[cjkline83.livejournal.com]

I had to get a replacement monitor from HP. I knew the monitor was bad because I've already tried it on another system and had the same display issues (completely pink screen).

So... I just sat there, smoking a cigarette while I answered:
What operating system are you running.
Please connect the display to another device.
Please power down the device, unplug all connections.
Turn the monitor on, what do you see... "No signal"
Reconnect everything.
Try it again.

Okay, we'll send the monitor.

THANK YOU.

It took 45 minutes of me answering their script (While doing absolutely nothing) to get a replacement monitor under warranty.

Re: If it's obvious that...

[brotherflounder]

Been there, done that as well. For HP, incidentally.

Re: If it's obvious that...

[jecook]

Same here.

I had an issue with an OfficeJet 4215 once. Every 30 pages like clockwork, it would jam hard. Hard, as in "the little fingers that eject the paper stayed up and the print head ran aground on them" hard.

I ran a 90 page job through it and verified the problem before calling, but when I called HP the monkey insisted that I do it anyhow. So, I just sat back and killed time and put appropriate noises in at the appropriate times.

They sent me a new printer the next morning.

the last time I called my ISP up because the line decided to start flapping, I tried everything and still fiddled with it. Fortunately, the techs at my ISP are allowed to jump off script. :)

Re: If it's obvious that...

[brotherflounder]

Bleagh. My PSC 1315 is doing that, but I'm sure it's way out of warranty by now.

Went through a similar song and dance when my Presario died. (The motherboard went kaput.) Took them two calls and three days to convince them to do the warranty replacement on it.

Never buying HP again.

Re: If it's obvious that...

[jecook]

Unfortuantely, their inkjet line is pretty much disposable at this stage. It's cheaper to toss it in a dumpster then is it to actually fix it and keep it running. :(

Some of their 'consumer' laser printers are that way, too, which can't be all that good either. (I still see companies using the venerable LaserJet 4s, the odd 4si here and there, and the 4000s still trucking along. Hell, the only reason why we replaced all our with new 4350s is to get them all the same model.)

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

Rules are put into place because, the majority of times, they're relevant. Most people haven't tried rebooting or powercycling. Some people lie, and tell you they already have because they "know" that the problem is on your end. And in the rare cases where they really have, you still have to follow the rules, because the company that signs your paycheck is monitoring your calls, and will write you up if you don't.

Re: Secret handshake

[marahsk.livejournal.com]

The magic words vary, but "I already did some troubleshooting, this is what I did, and here are the results" was probably it. Bonus points if you understood and accepted that he has to follow his company's rules.

[mashiroikaze.livejournal.com]

This is exactly why I stick with my current ISP (well, one of two reasons). If I call them up and say "My modem isn't talking to your network anymore - here's what I've done. Can you check to see if it's on your side?" they go, "Okay - sure!" And if it's something stupid that I've done (has happened twice now), they point out where I missed it in my own troubleshooting.

The other reason is less technical - about once a year, I call them and say "Yeah, I'm not really happy with how much my service is costing lately..." and they usually drop the price for me for 12 months.

[mashiroikaze.livejournal.com]

The flip side of the coin here, though, is when you make the same call to the same company for the same issue and they make you run through the script again and again.

Case in point: I had an XServe die about a year ago. I got on the phone with Apple, explained the sitrep and what I'd already done, as well as asked if the problem could be X, based on evidence Y, Z. I'm told that's not possible, they run the script with me and dispatch a tech. Summary of the next week: field tech replaces, in order, the mobo, the power supply, the mobo again, then the mobo and the power supply again. Still no joy, and each time we have to run the script. After running the same script at least ten times (twice per call), I asked for a supervisor, who insisted on sending me back down to the call center rather than escalating a week long ticket. This engineer listened as I explained the situation (which was in his call notes - all the other monkeys ignored the notes), and asked me to do something else entirely - the same thing I asked about when I first called in. Sure enough, that was the issue, and the following Monday my server was back online.

What I'm trying to get at is that yes, we're all fallible and prone to overlooking things. However, sometimes it's necessary to go off script and listen to what the customer is saying. If the customer is saying "The modem is on fire..." the proper diagnostic path is probably not, "What OS are you using? Have you tried restarting the computer?"