New Crackberries Are Here!

[ptstech.livejournal.com]

We issued our first new Crackberry a little over a month ago.
The results have been predictable.

We've had tickets submitted for everything from poor signal to bad juju, with the obvious (from the user's perspective, anyway) answer to "just send a new one!"

EU - End User
ME - uhhhh, me?

(ring)
ME: I.T., how might I give your errant technology the "terr'rist fist jab of life" today?
EU: My blackberry has a hardware problem.
ME: Well, how about telling me what it's doing, or not doing, and I'll determine what the problem is.
EU: I know it's a hardware problem.
ME: How do you know that?
EU: I've got all my bars and it still doesn't work.
ME: So you checked the circuit board did you?
EU: Whut?
ME: You said you knew it was a hardware problem, I just assumed that you, well, looked.
EU: Let me tell you what it's doing.
ME: *That didn't take as long as I thought it would* Sure, why not?
EU: Well, when it rings, people can hear me, but I can't hear them.  Unless I use the speakerphone.  And it only works some of the time.
ME: Hmm... a couple of questions-
EU: Look, I know it's a hardware problem!
ME: Again, did you check the circuit board?
EU: How do I do that?
ME: Unless you're trained to troubleshoot the unit, you don't.  That's kind of the point.  There are questions that I can ask that can help narrow it down, but you haven't answered any of them.  In fact, I haven't even gotten to ASK you any of them yet.
EU: Okay, then, if we have to go through all that...

He answered every query with an answer that he thought would make me throw my hands up and say, "Okay, I'll send you a new one."  He gave up at the point where we were going to conference him in with an AT&T rep.

It's like they don't even try anymore...

(x-posted to TSC)

Comments

[heuteistmeintag.livejournal.com]

which BB?

[ptstech.livejournal.com]

8310 Curve, gunmetal grey. It's an OK unit, outside of some activation adventures not much trouble.

[phrogg.livejournal.com]

Heh...we're fielding 8820's at my place. Not too bad, but like you said, there are some activation 'adventures'.

[bitterfun.livejournal.com]

FSCK, I know what you're talking about. Every Tom, Dick and Sales Drone in my company wants to upgrade their 8700 for a Curve.

[docskurlock.livejournal.com]

I like your response to his "I KNOW it's a hardware problem." My thought is, oh really jackass? The why the hell are you calling me? Sales drones are idiots.

[4ti3k4t35.livejournal.com]

Make 'em do a master reset before calling you.

And then stab them.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

noooooo!!!!! i LOATHE updating my phone! i want something nice and easy to work, not something i need to check the manual for every time!

(i have a razr. TheEngineer wanted to get me an iPhone. nooo! too much stuff to learn how to use!!!)

[spooforbrains.livejournal.com]

You have a RAZR and you're ... happy with it? :)

[mouse-from-marz.livejournal.com]

boyfriend's got a razr.. it's nice. takes and sends calls, handles myfaves, and not much else - and it's lightweight enuff to hang on his neck so it doesn't get lost (and so he can hear the friggin thing cuz otherwise he'd keep it in the recesses of his bag - the land that phones forgot)... anyway, he's not very savvy so he doesn't really need much.

(I've got a curve)

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

I buy pants with a cell phone pocket. They work well.

[jimbojones.livejournal.com]

I just stick my phone in my, you know, pocket pocket. Also works well. =)

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

Yeah, but I'm a pockets whore (http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/92204.aspx?feature=Product_1&kw=Fire+Hose+Pant). Each cargo pocked has stacked bifurcated pockets on top, plus velcro closures outside (to close the pocket) and inside (to keep the flap from flopping around). Plus, these pants are stout - if Carhartt made trousers with cargo pockets, these would be them.

[agmlego.livejournal.com]

WANT!

--
"Memento Mori Ergo Carpe Diem"

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

They make those in shorts (http://www.duluthtrading.com/search/searchresults/64002.aspx?feature=Product_9&kw=Fire+Hose+Shorts) too...

[agmlego.livejournal.com]

Oh, man...I need to get me some of those, now. The only feature they seem to be lacking is the convertible zipper around the knee, but I am handy enough that I can put that in.

--
"Memento Mori Ergo Carpe Diem"

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

The only feature they seem to be lacking is the convertible zipper around the knee,

Hunh? As in "what function does this serve"?

[agmlego.livejournal.com]

So the same article of clothing serves both as shorts and as pants. The zipper detaches the lower part of each leg. Very useful when camping, sailing, or living in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, or any situation which starts cold and gets warm or hot.

--
"Memento Mori Ergo Carpe Diem"

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay. I had seen that applied to "zip off" pant/shorts, but I was confused since you replied to a post about shorts.. However you meant converting and adding that to the pants, yes?

You should check - I want to say that I have seen those there, but am not certain that they were in the fire hose.

[agmlego.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I meant to say that I would be modifying the pants--no convertible short-shorts for me, thanks... ;-P

I looked, but there are not any convertible pants in the Fire Hose section. Besides, it is cool to make (or modify) one's possessions.

--
"Memento Mori Ergo Carpe Diem"

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

We can call it "pant hacking". :-)

[agmlego.livejournal.com]

Yes! That is a most excellent term for it, good sir. I will begin using it posthaste!

--
"Memento Mori Ergo Carpe Diem"

[argonel.livejournal.com]

I put my phone in the cavity in my dashboard that is about the right size. If people want to reach me they can leave a message. If I'm at work and I don't answer the phone on my desk they can page me. About a third of the time my phone has a dead battery anyways. The cell phone is for my convienience.

[hisamishness.livejournal.com]

You sound a it like my girlfriend and her daughter. It's perfectly fine to have it only for your convenience, but if you don't pay it enough attention to keep it charged and ready, it's a lifeline that has been cut in the middle.

[mouse-from-marz.livejournal.com]

he weighs 320 lbs. it's hard to find PANTS, let alone pants with a cell phone pocket.

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

Try that site - you can choose from a range of sizes, so maybe they have ones which will fit.

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

I miss my v60t.... It actually got signal.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

yes, i am. it makes phone calls, lets me receive phone calls, and is ok with the occasional text message i make.

oh and the alarm clock works on it. what more could i want? (i tell you, the less technology the better in my case!)

[argonel.livejournal.com]

I agree with that sentiment. I want a phone that is roughly the size of a standard headset, has modern electronics, just makes calls, and has the rest of the space filled with the battery. I figure it should be good for about a month of standby that way.

[fallconsmate.livejournal.com]

*nods* TheEngineer uses his iPhone. he has to charge it every night. me, i charge when it gets down to one bar on the battery, generally every 4-5 days. maybe a week.

[mouse-from-marz.livejournal.com]

boyfriend ALWAYS forgets to plug in his razr and he doesn't leave the house with it all the time (only when he's traveling on his own).. left it on the table for a week unplugged and when I checked it - full power. that's what I call reliable. :D

[kenbrody.livejournal.com]

I have a RAZR and I like it. It makes and received phone calls just fine. That's what a phone is for, isn't it?

Note: I'm a geek through and through, but to me, a phone is just a phone. I've got a digital camera. I've got a video camera. I've got 20Mbps Internet access and a 20 inch monitor.