Stupid Customers

I work in a call center for a large cell phone company that sells PDAs with phone functionality. I got a call from a customer who said her stylus had broken. I offered to transfer her to customer care, where they could order her out a pack of styluses. She said no, the phone had gotten “messed up.” I asked what was wrong with it, and she said that when the stylus had broken, she’d tried to superglue it back together, then put it back in the slot before the glue had dried, and it got stuck in the phone. So she tried to take it out with a hammer and chisel.

Stupid Customers

I was working tech support for a university when I got this call:

Tech Support: “Hello, tech support.”

Customer: “I am ready to send.”

Tech Support: “What?”

Customer: “I am ready to send.”

Tech Support: “What are you ready to send?”

Customer: “The file I am uploading. I am ready to send.”

Tech Support: “Ooooh-kay…what are you sending?”

Customer: “I am submitting a file to you. I selected ‘upload,’ and it said, ‘Ready to receive, waiting for signal,’ so I called you, giving you my signal, so you can begin getting it.”

Stupid Customers

Customer: “Hi. I’m trying to buy something on the Internet, and the web site wants my credit card.”

Tech Support: “Ok. If your positive it’s a secure connection, and you’re on a reputable dealer’s site, go ahead and enter the numbers.”

Customer: “Well, every time I insert my credit card, nothing happens. Now it’s stuck.”

Tech Support: “What?! Insert your card? What do mean it’s stuck?”

Customer: “It won’t come out of the slot.”

I decided to see exactly what she was talking about. My fears were confirmed when I arrived at her cubicle. She had been trying to slide the card into the floppy drive and managed to push it all the way in. I decided to have fun with her and told her it was being electronically sent over the line to the web site. She stared at me with a look of shock on her face, and said something I’ll never forget: “Is that what they mean by ‘Credit card transactions can take twenty-four hours to process.’?”

Stupid Customers

Tech Support: “Thank you for calling customer service, and how may I help you?”

Customer: “I can’t get it to do.”

Tech Support: “Excuse me, ma’am?”

Customer: “I can’t get my Internet to do.”

Tech Support: “Let’s check your setup.”

Customer: “Okey dokey.”

Tech Support: “Are you at your desktop?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Tech Support: “Do a double click on the ‘My Computer’ icon.”

Customer: “I don’t see that one.”

Tech Support: “What screen are you on, and what does you desktop look like?”

Customer: “Wood.”

Tech Support: “What’s on your screen, ma’am?”

Customer: “A bunch of names.”

Tech Support: “Like what?”

Customer: “Bill, George, Larry, Jim.”

Tech Support: “What screen are you on?”

Customer: “I am on the one I’m on. I need to go get my daughter. She’s the computer guru of the family.”

Tech Support: “Great, thank you.”

April: “Hi, I’m April, and you are?”

Tech Support: “Mike.”

April: “Mike. Cool, dude.”

Tech Support: “Are you at your desktop?”

April: “You will have to excuse my mother. She’s a little dense.”

Tech Support: “No problem.”

April: “How old are you?”

Tech Support: “300 years old. I’m the ‘Highlander.’ Um, would you do a double click on the ‘My Computer’ icon?”

April: “Sorry, I don’t see that one.”

Tech Support: “What do you see?”

April: “Bill, George, Larry, and Jim.”

Tech Support: “What version of Windows are you using?”

April: “Ninety-something I guess.”

Tech Support: “Erm. Shut down the computer and reboot.”

April: “Ok….” (pause) “Done.”

Tech Support: “What does your screen say?

April: “Bill, Larry, Jim, Barbie, and Wimper.”

Tech Support: “Just for kicks, do a double click on ‘Bill,’ and see what happens.”

April: “What is this?”

Tech Support: “What did it do?”

April: “It now has little folders: modems, devices, etc.”

Tech Support: “Why was your ‘My Computer’ icon named Bill?”

April: “I wanted to name it something cute. Did I screw up?”