How Not to Get Tech Support

I work in technical support, usually on the phone. I like my job there are some quite rewarding parts of my job. One of the reasons I like it is that I am given the freedom to work on a problem until it is fixed. I do not have time limitations and when the phone rings I am working for the caller more than working for the customer. Some customers however do everything in their power to not get good support.

 

Here is an example from earlier today.

Ring ring

Me: This is David with "Super Awesome Company"!

C: CAN YOU TELL ME WHY I HAVE NOT BEEN RECIVING DATA FOR 2 MONTHS WITH YOUR PROGRAM!?!?!?

Me: I would need to connect into your system and determine what the….

C: I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT! *click*

 

Ok so I understand that many of my customers are serious type A personalities but let's break down this simple and short conversation and see why I was not able to give good service to this customer.

1. There was no hello, no social niceties what so ever. I am ok with that. Customers do not have to be polite to me.
   
2. Customer demanded an instant answer. Now I have a good handful of reasons why this would be happening to him but I do not have ESP. The closest I have is ESPN. My satellite tv provider gives me multiple channels but it is of no help in this situation.
   
3. When I offer to help refuse that help. In fact refuse to answer any questions that I ask.
   

I do not have a crystal ball, I do not even have a magic 8 ball or a "fix the customer's pc" button, or a magic wand with which to fix a problem. It is a funny thing that people think these magical solutions exist in the computing world. It leaves me wondering about the caller and if his car did not start in the morning would he call his mechanic or dealership and behave in the same manner. Somehow I doubt that he would behave in the same manner.

Computers and computer programs are complicated sometimes the fix is not easy or quick.

I am aware that dealing with tech support can be difficult at times. I recently had a bad experience myself just last month but was able to reach a good solution. Not all tech support people know what they are doing… sometimes I have no idea what I am doing but I know who to ask if I am clueless.

 

It is the calls like the above that suck everything great out of life.