I don't know it all

[tertiumquid.livejournal.com]

Dear customer,
I am the product expert. I do know an awful lot about the product. This does not mean that I know every nuance of every file or the specific meaning of every crappy vague error message the developers saw fit to put into our crappy software. Please do not be so surprised that I have not seen the specific issue you're reporting before. There must be a first time for everything.

The Tech...


As a side note,
Here's another problem summary from level 1 for a Palm synchronization software:
"can't get the prom top to sink."

Sounds like a personal problem to. Hell, I didn't even know it was prom season.

Comments

[zercool.livejournal.com]

"can't get the prom top to sink."

So give her a few more glasses of punch.

*DAR*

And yes, I know how that goes with error messages. "What do you mean you don't know? You're support, right? Why don't you know? I pay good money for support!"

[ozdeadmeat.livejournal.com]

Well if you dont know every lil error message and stuff id stop calling yourself a Product Expert. You should call yourself something alittle lower like. Product Tech or something. Product Expert sounds like you wrote the fuckin thing.

I feel your pain though, i hate it when i cant fix a problem over the phone and need to send a tech out. Especially when its described as such an easy/stupid problem that there should be an easy/stupid answer. Only later to find out that its something the user has done to the machine that he hasnt told anyone about. But in the retarded users mind its still our fault. You cant win with some arseholes.

[kyndig.livejournal.com]

Odds are product expert is a job title versus self-labeling. Even so, there is some leeway. Hell, I'd consider myself an expert on DSL but sometimes shit I couldn't have imagined comes up.

[geekgrrl-ca.livejournal.com]

I'd consider myself an expert on DSL but sometimes shit I couldn't have imagined comes up.

"It's supposed to be idiot proof but god keeps making better idiots every day".

Some of the stuff users come up with amaze me. They couldn't do it on purpose if they tried.

[tertiumquid.livejournal.com]

Product Area Expert is part of the job title. I am actually the closest thing to an expert we have short of the developers who are third party and don't speak to customers.

[tertiumquid.livejournal.com]

That's exactly what prompted this. This particular caller was getting a very nonspecific error message (The specified module could not be located). At the time of synchronization we have at least a dozen DLLs being loaded by our software and who knows how many by Activesync. It just isn't possible for me to know what module isn't loading and why with that little bit of info.

Turns out the caller didn't read the instructions and didn't install our product correctly. Granted, he shouldn't have had to and out install sucks, but reinstalling did fix it.

[dmsalem00.livejournal.com]

That's bloody brilliant.

HAVE THE DEVELOPERS SPEAK TO THE CUSTOMERS!!

You've really hit onto something here..

[tertiumquid.livejournal.com]

I wish!!

I do actually have a few developers for some products that will work directly with the customers on complex issues. It's a great relief when they do but introduces its own set of problems because they don't document anything.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Ah, the comfort zone. Is the answer in our staggeringly obese FAQ? No? Fire up extra brain cell, commence stupendously boring in-depth troubleshooting until caller's patience runs out, either fix it and write FAQ entry or give up, glob all the info into a trouble ticket and send it developer-wards. Add a standard little post scriptum saying "If you want helpdesk to fix this in future, send sufficient details to..." etc etc.

Advise caller that the developers have been notified and have the caller's phone number, no I don't know when they'll be able to start working on it, give ticket number, end call, shut down brain cell, go back to sleep.

(Warning: Six years on one helpdesk can turn your brain into a flow chart.)