Tips for dealing with Technical Support

It's been a while since I've contributed, so I figure I'd throw a little something on here. This one's dedicated to my co-workers, the Inglourious Basterds on the front lines of the phone lines.


Ladies and gentlemen: Be kind to your tech support representatives on the phone. Know going in that they're not going to know everything about your computer. When they're asking you questions, answer them honestly because it helps them figure out what is going on. No, we will not replace your system just because you got a virus. We didn't install it. We can help you fix it, but we can't save every lolcat picture you downloaded. You should back up your files. If we tell you you need to reinstall your operating system, you NEED TO REINSTALL YOUR OPERATING SYSTEM. We're not saying this to get out of anything. It's a long process that requires us to stay on the phone longer than we want to and have to try to make small talk with you - an irritated and relatively anonymous stranger. No, we're not going to send a technician out to do that for you. You're big enough to look at porn, you're big enough to fix the problems that your porn caused.


Yelling at a tech support agent isn't going to get you anywhere. Asking for a manager is not going to get you what you want. In truth, most managers have forgotten most of what they know about computers and will not be able to help you anywhere near as much as the agent on the phone. This mess might fly with customer service, but it will only make fixing your computer take longer with technical support. 


Do not call the tech support agent stupid. You're the one calling because you can't figure out what's wrong with your computer. If we can't figure out what's wrong with your system based on "well the light's flashing," it's because we need more information than that.

Don't tell us that you weren't the one looking at the porn on your system. Unless you're a 85 year old grandmother, we know that isn't the case. 


Tech support is not here to fix aesthetic problems you have with your system. Telling us the system is ugly or not the color you want will usually result in about 20 seconds of silence and a confused "what?"


Here's a big tip: Being NICE to the tech agent is more likely to get your problems resolved quickly, correctly, and will usually get you more insight on how to keep your problems from happening in the future.


Thank you, and good night.