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Oct. 28th, 2008 01:23 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
antikythera.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
techrecoveryThere are several reasons why the tech support phone may not be answered during stated support hours.
1) I'm on another line. If a call comes in on line 2 when I'm on line 1, it'll still ring four times and then go to voicemail.
2) I'm in the bathroom, or having lunch, or talking to coworkers in the other room. I'm the only person on tech support and I'm paid by the hours I'm in the office, not the hours my butt is glued to the chair. .
3) I'm not actually in the office yet. If you call at five past one, I may still be walking in from the subway. Commute time on public transit has significant uncertainties, sometimes as much as +/- 10 minutes.
4) I'm working from home, as is the case today because I wrenched my back and I don't want to subject it to strap-hanging on the subway. We don't have the support line set up to forward to my home number yet, although I can check messages and return them.
The bottom line is, if you want the privilege of having your software supported by someone who works with the programmers, knows the software almost as well as they do, knows the field of science that the software is meant to be used in, and therefore is not paid sweatshop wages, you may have to deal with there only being one such person. Leave me a goddamned message and I can help you.
The plus side is, my manager says I can refuse to deal with abusive customers. Also, the ones that are angry enough to leave a profanity-laced voicemail message usually forget to leave contact information. :)
1) I'm on another line. If a call comes in on line 2 when I'm on line 1, it'll still ring four times and then go to voicemail.
2) I'm in the bathroom, or having lunch, or talking to coworkers in the other room. I'm the only person on tech support and I'm paid by the hours I'm in the office, not the hours my butt is glued to the chair. .
3) I'm not actually in the office yet. If you call at five past one, I may still be walking in from the subway. Commute time on public transit has significant uncertainties, sometimes as much as +/- 10 minutes.
4) I'm working from home, as is the case today because I wrenched my back and I don't want to subject it to strap-hanging on the subway. We don't have the support line set up to forward to my home number yet, although I can check messages and return them.
The bottom line is, if you want the privilege of having your software supported by someone who works with the programmers, knows the software almost as well as they do, knows the field of science that the software is meant to be used in, and therefore is not paid sweatshop wages, you may have to deal with there only being one such person. Leave me a goddamned message and I can help you.
The plus side is, my manager says I can refuse to deal with abusive customers. Also, the ones that are angry enough to leave a profanity-laced voicemail message usually forget to leave contact information. :)
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Date: 2008-10-28 05:42 pm (UTC)The plus side is, my manager says I can refuse to deal with abusive customers. Also, the ones that are angry enough to leave a profanity-laced voicemail message usually forget to leave contact information. :)
Oh my goodness, sooooooo true!! My company works on a strictly callback system, so our customers (pro digital photographers) have to leave voicemail to get support if they don't email us. Our message says, we are not answering the phones i.e. leave a message, this is our system. And we still get messages with, no one is answering the phone, I've been calling all day! They also assume that if they do leave voicemail, they won't get called back soon or at all. (when in reality, that is just a terrible business practice)
And yes, when they are pissed, they don't leave a message! "I have been calling all day, I have spent thousands of dollars on your company and I can't talk to anyone! -click-" When in actuality... they never have spent more than $50 or so on us. We had a lady last week complaining that she spent $300 on her software, when in actuality, she got it for free from her lab.
Oh joy of joys.
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Date: 2008-10-28 05:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-10-28 06:35 pm (UTC)My company has 4 different products, and we only take sales calls. Support is provided through a ticketing system/email, or users can buy a (pretty damn expensive because we don't want to talk to them anyway) support incident that provides call back service. The users who get the software for free are the absolute WORST when it comes to not understanding "No free support (at all for them)". I mean, we give away a copy of the software, and they expect us to train them and fix their idiot-induced problems for free?
I don't work for a charity. I'm sure the electric company would have issues if I said "Well, you sent me the electricity and i used it, now you expect me to PAY for it!?!"
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Date: 2008-10-28 06:40 pm (UTC)Fortuantely, the people at work are really decent about not abusing the support staff. Bog help them if they do, though...
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Date: 2008-10-28 06:42 pm (UTC)We used to have an online hosting service that was paid for through a commission on all sales placed online. We got rid of it because people were abusing it, using it without any online sales. People got so upset, and the ones that got the most upset, weren't the ones actually selling images, it was the abusers.
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Date: 2008-10-28 06:43 pm (UTC)I <3 email support, personally! :)
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Date: 2008-10-29 02:50 am (UTC)Well, obviously you're in the business of doing things for free, so...
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Date: 2008-10-29 03:44 am (UTC)