if youβve never worked in tech support, itβs hard to grasp just how non-technical most people really are.
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switch it off, switch it back on
Right?! I keep helping so many older family members wirh their android and iPhone phones.. And I'm thinking.. How is this supposed to work without any help?
technology
this fixes many things.
I fixed a printer for a struggling nurse at work by pushing the power cable in all the way. It had pulled out.
"It's just not getting any power!"
Yeah.
Dude the number of times I've fixed something by fully plugging some power component in is kind of insane.
This π―
I've spent over a decade of my life in support, phone & on site. The floor for technical knowledge is very low.
i've seen this or similar plug issues many, many times.
It's one of my go to fixes (I have a check list lol)
back in my tech support days, i did too :)
I often see a similar issue with monitor video/audio cables (and of course monitor power cables).
I think VGA had something figured out with the screw in connectors.
What's funny is I don't even work in tech support. People just know that I have a CS degree and used to work in tech so they just come to me while I'm working my healthcare job. The water finds a way in. I can't escape it π
My worst support call ever was a person whose computer sound wasn't working. We went through the troubleshooting steps, check volume, reboot, make sure sound drivers were loaded, etc. Finally I got them to verify the speakers were plugged into the correct port.
"Speakers? I don't have any speakers."
π€¦ββοΈ
Oh my fuck.
π
I pretend I don't know about computers now, saves a lot of unpaid tech support time π
A good tactic. It's somewhat hard in jobs where your background is known or of interest. Students, etc.
I, hand to your preferred deity, took an "I can't get on the internet" call at an ISP where the cause was a power outage.
They were on a land line phone and their mind was blown that wired telephones didn't get their power from your household electric. Determined that since the phone and computer both get plugged into phone lines they should both work.
Yeah, I know. I've outed myself as being old as fuck before.
That's pretty hilarious.
From personal experience, I wouldn't wish working as ISP support staff on my worst enemy. It's cruel and unusual punishment π
I was actually an electrician once. Most people don't understand the differences between low and high voltage lines, which is fine. We can't all know everything. But maybe know a little to not be totally helpless π
I used to see all sorts of goofy shit. Especially on old houses where people would do what I called "straight pipe" an old breaker that kept tripping. Why update the panel and wiring for modern draw when you can just burn the fucking house down? Lol
I once had a support call with the Dean of the College I was working at, he had like 2 doctorates. He called because he moved his office phone to a different jack in the room. When I got there, instead of plugging the handset to the phone then phone to the wall, he had plugged the handset directly to the wall π€¦ββοΈ
Fix the issue in 80% of the cases! π
Oh boy π¬π
Not when you are on the call and know you are being recorded.
Wut
There should be a Doctorate of Thinking. That might actually be worth the money for most people.
/s
I always forget that's an internet thing. Maybe I'm getting old too...
How else are they supposed to find the next highest resistance component?
low voltage, your fingers are probably fine but your tongue isn't.
High voltage, do not touch this.
Good enough for explaining to idiots who only touch things in their house.
Yeah. I was told maybe I shouldn't come to work sober again by my boss. I'd rather work shovelling cow and horse shit again.
One thing I learned working ISP tech support is that 65% of people don't know that you can right click on the mouse. And once you show them it exists, they will ask you whether they should "regular click" or "right click" for the rest of the call. It's like they discovered a new world.
See also ctrl-c & ctrl-v.
I don't remember that. But I don't remember much thanks to the amount of substance abuse I engaged in at the time and number of years.
I do know I was homeless and unemployed shortly after my ISP stint and still refused to even consider jobs where I answered a phone and talked to end users.
NGL I smoked a lot of weed and drank when I worked those kind of jobs too. It goes hand in hand π
depending on setting it's mostly dealing with people who have learned helplessness and don't want to try things on their own. mom always cleaned the customer's mess
Yeah like stuff with flashing lights and shit.
If it makes you feel better, friend finally walked out of his job on the second broken cup holder
it's so easy, i don't understand. i've only been using linux for 10 years and everything works flawlessly for me
i see what you did there...
I'm not technical, but I can't know how much I'm not technical
Believe me I know, because I am one of them! π¬ Slowly getting better but it took me a bit to get NWC to work π
Its so easy! What friction? You bork your machine during an update and reinstall!
this one still gets me to this day... i replaced all of the computers at a law firm once. it was done after hours. it took me all evening. i was proud when it was done. new desktops, new laptops, everything worked with their existing infrastructure, etc. i went to bed exhausted sometime after midnight. i got a phone call at 7am because a woman said he computer wouldn't work. i was freaking out because she was one of the partner's secretaries and had been there since time began. she was also a very nice lady that i always enjoyed talking to. so i quickly showered and rushed in there.
i get there and one of the partners sees me in the hallway and essentially berates me because his secretary is unable to do her job and she has work to do.
the issue was none of her desktop icons were in the order that they were previously in on her old computer
she would start her day and go down the line of icons from far left top to bottom clicking on law program 1, law program 2, law program 3, email, internet.
i don't remember the order i had them in. all i knew was that all of her law programs were there and automatically signed in like she requested and all data was there.
i would have never thought she would be unable to use her computer because the icons were out of order.
she panicked because icons were not where she wanted them to be and was literally unable to do her job.
i think i learned very quickly right then and there that sometimes people panick and their brains shut off when it comes to technology and things they don't understand.
greating a good UX is hard, especially when you understand what you're building and how the technology works. it's hard to think about people that have no clue what they're doing.
CAN CONFIRM
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Probably because like money, information about it is not taught in school
with android, and probably ios too, things have gotten more complicated and easier at the same time, as the years have gone by.
I have had very similar experiences, at an accounting office though. The QuickBooks icon *must* be in the right position or it becomes invisible.
It's hard for me to understand, being able to jump from Windows to Mac to a bunch of different Linux DE without skipping a beat. People get set in their routines, and any tiny difference will throw them off.
I was half the asshole once. I was working a Network Operations Center helpdesk for a while, and one of our field techs called in (after hours on a weekend) saying his laptop is busted. Now, I was no rookie, I'd been building my own computers for a decade, but this was one of our top field technicians, so I dutifully created the ticket. When he typed, it just printed garbage on the screen. He went online, found his motherboard, and found a post discussing the same problem, which turned out to be a KB9 keyboard chipset error. The laptop needed to be replaced immediately for an important job tomorrow.
I called the on-call manager and conferenced him in. After 10 seconds of the tech explaining, the manager asked if he checked NumLock. It was fixed. Scariest words I ever heard: "Gentlemen, we will discuss this on Monday morning. *click*"
Yeah and you'd think it would be a simple enough concept like "male and female" cables. But we aren't even having sex anymore so maybe that's to blame π
That's transphobic.
Ah fuck you got me lol
you're a smart guy, marc :) i enjoyed our conversations in Las Vegas. dont' sell yourself short!
im glad you were able to figure out NWC. which client app and wallet did you struggle with?
Does being the tech support for my mom counts?
ill let it slide this time :) performing tech support for our family members is a time honored and frustrating addition.
shit.
this reminded me that my uncle called me two weeks ago and left me a voice message. i never returned his phone call. he only calls me when he needs my help with something computer related.
Started with damus trying to connect to my wavlake wallet. Eventually got it to work. I think part of it was I didn't know I had to route a specific connection for each device I was using. I also use primal.
I see. Sometimes too many choices makes things confusing.
For sure. My next task is to figure out how to use AQSTR with keychat or something similar. Couldnβt figure out how to get Alby to work.
Left click with the mouse...."er but I'm right handed"
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Holy shit, I had this happen to me at one of my old IT jobs as well. Icons got rearranged because I essentially had to rebuild this computer from scratch. It was a workstation for an interferometry lab And the lady using it was confused because things weren't in the same order even though they were all on the desktop. She just couldn't be assed to look left.
people really get set in their ways and do not like any sort of change.
I haven't but I know. Then again neither are the people who answer the tech support calls. Everyone I talk to reads from a script.