Don't you just love it when...

[mrsvickie.livejournal.com]

People say they got a BRAND new computer and you think to yourself...

"Oh wow, okay Windows XP this is going to be a short call..."

But then you realize 5-10 minutes later of waiting for it to start up that they are infact running 98 or ME... God damn... Why don't you say, I bought a used computer!!!

Comments

[rettiger.livejournal.com]

Umm, or you could just spend an extra 5 seconds and ask them if their start button is green and know right away so you don't mess around with the wrong thing..

[thecrazyfinn.livejournal.com]

That doesn't always work. XP can have a normal coloured start buttin as well, when running the old-style interface. Of course, anyone bright enough to switch it probably knows enough to mention they're running XP.

[mrsvickie.livejournal.com]

Oh it's not so much that because most of the things we do as an ISP doesn't really matter what version of Windows you have because it's all mostly the same...

Asking if a customer has a green start button is not a good question to ask because my mother has a green start button, and she's running Win98. To which she only uses email for, but besides the point people can customize their settings so that they could have a purple start button, then what?

[valiskeogh.livejournal.com]

yeah yeah yeah, i thought i'd get spiffy and do that to, which i still do MUCH of the time. but have you been in an environment where you ask this question?

i've had to add CLARIFIERS to it, i.e. "is your start button gray or green" instead of how i started out asking it, "what color is your start button"

i'd get people saying, "oh, it's red, green, blue, and yellow".
um, no ma'am, that's the FLAG ON THE BUTTON
or 50% of the people will just be confused and say they can't tell, or not know what the start button is, the rest of them will tell me "black" giving me the color of the letters...

i probably have some calls with those shown...

[valiskeogh.livejournal.com]

true, it can be customized, but someone who CAN or has the capacity to customize their settings, more than likely KNOWS what operating system they have.

however, read the other comment...

some of mine haven't a clue what i'm talking about when i ask for the start button

[mrsvickie.livejournal.com]

winver is the bestest friend ever!

[mrsvickie.livejournal.com]

My mother has no idea how she did it... Lol... I then showed her... Lol..

[jordy.livejournal.com]

Three words: Windows Classic theme.
Depending on the manufacturer, they'll screw around and change the default desktop theme.

[tjernobyl.livejournal.com]

"All I have is PWR and Reset. What do those do?"

[valiskeogh.livejournal.com]

hehehe, true!

[tjernobyl.livejournal.com]

I used to try to get them to tilt their heads sideways to read the logo on the side. That didn't turn out so well :)

Winver is easier, if the customer can be coaxed to actually type :)

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

Not to mention are capable of comprehending "start/run"...

[mrsvickie.livejournal.com]

Just plain out screw windows... I can't believe that msn and symcrapico joined forces... Evil

[jacobine.livejournal.com]

My company is planning on forcing a policy switch to classic version when we finally go to XP. Annoys me, since I prefer the XP look!

[klyf23.livejournal.com]

I prefer having them type as little as possible.

Right-click on "my computer," then "properties."

[infy.livejournal.com]

No no, that doesn't work either - you then get people who actually try to WRITE "click" onto their screens. She even asked if she should use a marker or a pen.

True story that happened when I worked at an insurance company in '99.

[dmsalem00.livejournal.com]

My fave: Company buys umpteen bazillion computers.

They're all still technically under warranty.

Yet, 2 years later, when they *finally* crack open the boxes, open it up, and start the computer, there's an error message on the screen.

An error message that would require a) the diagnostics CD or b) the windows CD.

One of which was not put in the box. Had they opened the box and looked in the first 30 days, they could have gotten a free replacement of either. But no. I don't care how much you complain, a 700Mhz computer with Windows 98 is *not* "brand-new."