I had an email conversation with someone over the last two days, which, in another industry, might have gone something like this:
Customer: “My light won’t turn on.”
Me: “Make sure it’s plugged in.”
Customer: “It still desn’t work.”
Me: “Try changing the bulb.”
Customer: “No, it still doesn’t work.”
…
Customer: “Hey, I plugged it in, and it worked!”
I have to wonder: did this person misread my advice as “make sure it’s unplugged?” Did he simply ignore it? Did he think it meant “check to see whether it’s plugged in, but don’t change the situation one way or the other?”
Why do you call up tech support if you aren’t willing to follow the directions we give you?
The worst part is, he probably thinks he solved it himself and we didn’t help at all.
re: “Why do you call up tech support if you aren’t willing to follow the directions we give you?”
It’s likely a symptom of the same trait that made him/her NEED support, in the first place. I’ve got my suspicions about that one, too.
But yeah, a lot of folks would be really, really crushed to discover that they are terrible listeners and do not follow directions very well, at all – even those they asked for.
re: “The worst part is, he probably thinks he solved it himself and we didn’t help at all.”
Indeed.
Support positions can easily lower one’s opinion of other human-beings.
It can be tough to limit one’s emotional investment, yet remain personable and accessible.
It helps to have an outlet, though, huh? 😉
-West
Oh, yeah!
Fortunately, tech support is only a small part of this job. Otherwise I don’t know how long I would have lasted before looking for something less… phone-intensive.