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> usually you reach out precisely because the automated solutions on the website aren't working. I work closely with customer care in Telco and this might be t

> usually you reach out precisely because the automated solutions on the website aren't working. I work closely with customer care in Telco and this might be true for tech-savvy people, but 80% of our call volume is still problems solved by "have you tried turning it off and on again?" Sure, it's frustrating if you know exactly what you need fixed, but the automated triage makes sense for most businesses out there.

Nextgrid 3y ago
You fix this by having a good documentation website and then charging for support beyond that (refunded if the problem ends up being on the ISP's side). This will weed out the vast majority of idiots and would allow you to focus on quality/skill vs quantity when it comes to hiring support staff.
jtode 3y ago
I love how direct and obvious unionbusting shifted over to a discussion of efficiencies in seconds. Never change, HN.
than3 3y ago
Don't forget the circumlocution that needs to happen sometimes. "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" I've already done that multiple times... (Console shows uptime on device is 12 days 4 hours 31 minutes). Ok, I need you to remove the cable going into the back on the right side (the power plug but I'm not going to say it) and let me know when the light goes off. You mean the power cord? The cord on the right hand side. Are the lights off?, good. "I'm initiating a reset, go ahead and plug the cable back in and let me know once the lights go steady." (no reset actually initiated on my end). A lot of CSR is working around trigger words to de-escalate. An AI program will never be able to do that effectively. Its a fundamental limit of computation. You can't have the same inputs map to two equally separate outputs. It breaks determinism required for computers to work, and words have same inputs, different outputs (meanings). Anyone worth their salt in IT would have warned against this article's type of magical thinking. The foundation responsible for funding them is basically just misrepresenting and taking money and not providing the services and support that was intended at the loss of a group of at-risk individuals. Real stupid imo.

Nextgrid 3y ago

You fix this by having a good documentation website and then charging for support beyond that (refunded if the problem ends up being on the ISP's side). This will weed out the vast majority of idiots and would allow you to focus on quality/skill vs quantity when it comes to hiring support staff.

jtode 3y ago

I love how direct and obvious unionbusting shifted over to a discussion of efficiencies in seconds. Never change, HN.

than3 3y ago

Don't forget the circumlocution that needs to happen sometimes. "Have you tried turning it off and on again?" I've already done that multiple times... (Console shows uptime on device is 12 days 4 hours 31 minutes). Ok, I need you to remove the cable going into the back on the right side (the power plug but I'm not going to say it) and let me know when the light goes off. You mean the power cord? The cord on the right hand side. Are the lights off?, good. "I'm initiating a reset, go ahead and plug the cable back in and let me know once the lights go steady." (no reset actually initiated on my end). A lot of CSR is working around trigger words to de-escalate. An AI program will never be able to do that effectively. Its a fundamental limit of computation. You can't have the same inputs map to two equally separate outputs. It breaks determinism required for computers to work, and words have same inputs, different outputs (meanings). Anyone worth their salt in IT would have warned against this article's type of magical thinking. The foundation responsible for funding them is basically just misrepresenting and taking money and not providing the services and support that was intended at the loss of a group of at-risk individuals. Real stupid imo.