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I consider myself a pretty savvy computer user. I have a degree in computer science and I’ve worked in IT and software engineering for over 10 years. So when I have to contact technical support over an issue, whether it be software or hardware, it hurts my professional pride a bit. On the other hand, it is always good to ask for help when you need it.
Part of why I dislike talking to technical support so much is they tend to treat you like you do not know anything. This is reasonable because most people who contact them do not know enough about their issue to fix it. If you have gone to technical support with an issue you know what I am talking about. Generally the first things 90% of hardware techs ask you is “is it plugged in?” or “Have you tried turning it off and back on again?” (made famous by the IT Crowd TV show). Most issues can actually be solved by these common phrases
As a computer expert I hate being talked to like that. During my latest foray I was asked to “flip the USB cable over so it will fit into the port”. Now, my cable was already plugged in correctly, that was not the issue. I went on to give a lengthy explanation of my problem and the cause which was not going to be reconciled, so I wanted a refund. The sales engineer kept going on and on over how USB 2.0 and 3.0 are the same thing so it should work. Unfortunately they are not and I gave him reasons why this particular piece of hardware was not going to work for me.
Unfortunately, I started to get frustrated and said some not so nice things to the poor tech who was then assigned to me. I know I should not have, but if a company advertises that they have a “no hassle” return policy, they should not hassle their customers as much as they did me. At one point I even asked if I could return the item for credit toward another product from their site and pay the difference. I was going to give them more money than I already had, and still they were obstreperous.
In the end, I felt bad about being such a pain in the neck. I am not sorry about trying to get my refund, as I was entitled to it, but I felt bad about how I treated the tech. I should have been a bit more patient and given him sources for my information. So next time you have to deal with tech support, be nice to the poor person on the other end of the phone, Karma does exist in the technology world.
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