quit blaming the computer.

[wyldthyng.livejournal.com]

YOU entered your password incorrectly. That's why it's telling you you entered your password incorrectly. So slow down, check your capslock and get it right. Rebooting the computer isn't going to help you, twit.

I'm not techsupport for the person in question - just the poor sod who has to sit beside her and hear her slander the computer for her lack of typing skills. I feel sorry for any techs that might cross her path.

Oh, and Dad? If the instructions tell you to tap the text field with the stylus to bring up the virtual keyboard, then TAP THE TEXT FIELD WITH THE STYLUS TO BRING UP THE VIRTUAL KEYBOARD. There. See? I did it, and it came up, just as the help doc said. I *should* be charging you for this.

edit: no, I wasn't spelling "incorrectly" incorrectly to prove a point. ~blushes~

Comments

[mynameisnotreal.livejournal.com]

The question is, are we charging them for our skills or for their stupidity?

[mouser.livejournal.com]

http://filkertom-itom.blogspot.com/2007/05/interlude-tech-support-for-dad-live.html


Different version:
http://thefump.com/fump.php?id=30

[sgt-easton.livejournal.com]

Oh man, if I charged my Dad for tech support, I wouldn't have to work a regular job.

[sgt-easton.livejournal.com]

this is so...good...I don't even know what to say.

[wyldthyng.livejournal.com]

in the case of my dad? Stubbornness. He's not stupid, he's just ALWAYS RIGHT, even when he's not. And he doesn't read through where he should.

In the case of the other chick? yeah, I'll go with teh dumb.

[mouser.livejournal.com]

If you like it, buy one of his CDs. It's where he makes his money.

And he's really that good.

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

Actually.. rebooting the machine might fix the caps lock issue if the machine doesn't remember the state of the key... I know my Caps and Scroll go off and Num goes on.

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

It's amazing how often I've encountered the very basic problem of people receiving very specific and very carefully worded instructions, leveraging the exact wording or configuration of exactly what's in front of them, and responding to those instructions by doing something completely random and irrelevant. I've come to the conclusion that a significant minority or even a majority of people actually use this as a survival strategy, because it explains a lot of otherwise inexplicable behavior.

I've often daydreamed about devices that do anything from deliver painful shocks to explode when people poke at their controls randomly instead of doing what was instructed, and wondered if that would be education, or eugenics. I've come to believe either one would be of about equal value. :|

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

And there are few things more insanity-inducing than going through a procedure for the third or fourth time giving the most granular and specific instructions imaginable, and having the person once again do something completely different from what you told them to do. And *then* ask if that's what you wanted them to do. That's when I'd really like LART-via-TCP/IP ability ..

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

Still sort of like swatting a fly with a Buick, though. Worse, because once they see that it fixes the problem, it will become their only response to it and they'll argue with you when you tell them it's not necessary ..

[yanni85.livejournal.com]

Fortunately there are a hell of a lot of problems that rebooting will fix so you may just get fewer calls if they try that first.
Anyone seen the IT crowd? "Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and back on?"

[reyvin.livejournal.com]

It is ALWAYS the computer's fault. It's maliciously out to get you, don't you know? It's not allowing you past the password screen for it's own sadistic purposes. Same reason it won't print even after you resend the job thirty-seven times. If you had said PLEASE and then sent it a thirty-eighth time...it would have printed. Because computers can be pursuaded by sheer volume of requests just like they can be manipulated by threats of power losses and baseball bats. Don't you know? ;)

[awarrenfells.livejournal.com]

Especially annoying, when trying to give them a long string to type into the command prompt [Say, a TCP/IP reset for example], and they automatically assume your pause as the cue to hit enter.

[awarrenfells.livejournal.com]

Well, if it is Windows Vista... I wouldn't put it past the machine to do just that :P

[mariasama16.livejournal.com]

Which is why I so dearly love that XP at least, lets you hit the up arrow key and get back everything you previously typed into the command prompt. Also handy when doing similar tasks with minor changes (my favorite is when searching drives for a file but not sure which drive that file was on, 5 physical drives and I've let them get very unorganized).

[awarrenfells.livejournal.com]

Yeah, agreed.

I'm not a big windoze fan.... but...

Vista == DIAF