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Mostly what I'm seeing here is tech support people who either don't explain things well, or are severely lacking in empathy. Example: ------------------------

Mostly what I'm seeing here is tech support people who either don't explain things well, or are severely lacking in empathy. Example: -------------------------- I had a customer with a problem getting his mouse to work. So I tried asking him about his COM port settings and so forth. Tech Support: "Ok, do you have a internal modem?" Customer: "I don't know." Tech Support: "Um...do you have a modem at all?" Customer: "I call the Internet sometimes." Tech Support: "Do you plug a phone line directly into the back of the computer?" Customer: "Yes." Tech Support: "Ok. And is this a serial mouse that isn't working?" I explained to him what a serial mouse was, and he agreed that his mouse was a serial mouse. Tech Support: "Ok, do you know what COM port your mouse uses?" Customer: "No." Tech Support: "Ok, well do you know what COM port your modem uses?" Customer: "No." Tech Support: "Uh, do you have any other serial devices that plug into the machine, like a graphics pad, external modem, etc?" Customer: "I don't know." Tech Support: "Uh. Well, I'm gonna have to guess here, but your mouse should be on COM 1, and your modem is probably set for COM 2." Customer: "What do you mean guess? I told you everything you need to know! Now quit messing around and just tell me what I need to do to fix it!" -------------------------- Anyone who concludes from this exchange that the customer is an idiot should NEVER do tech support. It shouldn't take more than a couple of questions to gauge the customer's technical knowledge, and then adjust your questioning to match. For example: Tech Support: OK, first we need to find out what kind of mouse you have. Follow the cable going from the mouse and take note of where it's plugged into the back of your computer. Customer: OK. Tech Support: Alright, now, you need to remember where it's plugged in because you have to plug it back in the same way, and be careful not to plug it in upside down because it won't fit that way. Now I want you to unplug it, look at the socket it was plugged into on the back of the computer, tell me whether the socket is rectangular or circular, then plug the mouse back in the same way you found it. Customer: OK... It's rectangular And now you know it's a serial mouse. Now you can ask things like "Do you have a phone line connected to your computer? or is it connected to a box that's connected to your computer?", etc, then lead them through looking at Trumpet Winsock configuration and COM port config and even IRQs if necessary. How you ask your questions makes a BIG difference to how helpful the responses are likely to be. Good tech support people ask good questions. It's a skill that can and must be practiced.

magduf 7y ago
>How you ask your questions makes a BIG difference to how helpful the responses are likely to be. Good tech support people ask good questions. It's a skill that can and must be practiced. You're asking for people who are both good with computers, and good at talking to people who are clueless with computers, and very patient and empathetic on top of that. And finally, you want to pay them peanuts for this job. Exactly how many people do you think you're going to find who are actually good at this, and want the job?

magduf 7y ago

>How you ask your questions makes a BIG difference to how helpful the responses are likely to be. Good tech support people ask good questions. It's a skill that can and must be practiced. You're asking for people who are both good with computers, and good at talking to people who are clueless with computers, and very patient and empathetic on top of that. And finally, you want to pay them peanuts for this job. Exactly how many people do you think you're going to find who are actually good at this, and want the job?