Stupid Tech Support – Then I used the pliers…

Customer: “I got this problem. You people sent me this install disk, and now my A: drive won’t work.”

Tech Support: “Your A drive won’t work?”

Customer: “That’s what I said. You sent me a bad disk, it got stuck in my drive, now it won’t work at all.”

Tech Support: “Did it not install properly? What kind of error messages did you get?”

Customer: “I didn’t get any error message. The disk got stuck in the drive and wouldn’t come out. So I got these pliers and tried to get it out. That didn’t work either.”

Tech Support: “You did what sir?”

Customer: “I got these pliers, and tried to get the disk out, but it wouldn’t budge. I just ended up cracking the plastic stuff a bit.”

Tech Support: “I don’t understand sir, did you push the eject button?”

Customer: “No, so then I got a stick of butter and melted it and used a turkey baster and put the butter in the drive, around the disk, and that got it loose. Then I used the pliers and it came out fine. I can’t believe you would send me a disk that was broke and defective.”

Tech Support: “Let me get this clear. You put melted butter in your A: drive and used pliers to pull the disk out?”

At this point, I put the call on the speaker phone and motioned at the other techs to listen in.

Tech Support: “Just so I am absolutely clear on this, can you repeat what you just said?”

Customer: “I said I put butter in my A: drive to get your crappy disk out, then I had to use pliers to pull it out.”

Tech Support: “Did you push that little button that was sticking out when the disk was in the drive, you know, the thing called the disk eject button?”

Silence.

Tech Support: “Sir?”

Customer: “Yes.”

Tech Support: “Sir, did you push the eject button?”

Customer: “No, but you people are going to fix my computer, or I am going to sue you for breaking my computer?”

Tech Support: “Let me get this straight. You are going to sue our company because you put the disk in the A: drive, didn’t follow the instructions we sent you, didn’t actually seek professional advice, didn’t consult your user’s manual on how to use your computer properly, instead proceeding to pour butter into the drive and physically rip the disk out?”

Customer: “Ummmm.”

Tech Support: “Do you really think you stand a chance, since we do record every call and have it on tape?”

Customer: (now rather humbled) “But you’re supposed to help!”

Tech Support: “I am sorry sir, but there is nothing we can do for you. Have a nice day.”

Stupid Tech Support – I have been working at a local…

I have been working at a local national chain computer store for the past few summers as a salesperson in networking hardware.

Me: “How can I help you today, sir?”

Him: “Hi, I’m looking for a router.”

Me: “Ok. What are you looking to use it for?”

Him: “Actually, I was looking to tap into a network”

Me: “You mean in hotspots?”

Him: “No, my neighbor three houses down has a network that I want to get into.”

Me: (blink) “What? Uh. What you would need is an adapter.”

Him: “Yeah, I have one of those, but I can’t get the signal from my house. I can only get it when I’m standing right outside their wall, but if I move away I don’t get it.”

Me: “Sir, without knowing what kind of router your neighbors have, I can’t definitively tell you if you can tap into their network, assuming it’s insecure.”

Him: “Oh, it’s unsecure. I got into it and figured out what they have. They have a 54mbs G router.”

Me: “Ok, sir, you’re not going to be able to get into their network.”

Him: “But what if I get this card?” (grabs a Pre-N card) “Don’t I get more range?”

Me: “Yes, but you’re still not going to get into their network.”

He proceeded to ask about four more wireless adapters until he got it that there was no possible way for him to get into their network. Then came the topper.

Him: “Maybe you should give them a new router for a present.”

Me: “That would be just a little creepy, sir.”

Stupid Tech Support

This happened to me several years ago. The phone rang and I picked it up. It was my wife, Kitty, on the other end. She informed me that she was having problems printing out a report on the computer. The system was locked up and would not respond to the keyboard or the mouse.

I told her reboot the system. She did. I heard the printer go through the startup cycle. I asked her to describe what the computer was doing.

Her: “The computer is on, the monitor light is on, and the printer is on!”

Me: “What is on the screen?”

Her: “A box with the instruction: install Kickstart 2.0x.”

Me: “Kickstart? When did we get an Amiga?”

Her: “About six months ago? What’s the problem?”

Me: “We have an Atari, and we’ve had it for 18 months.”

Her: “What???” (high pitched squeak) “Sorry, wrong number!” (click)

Stupid Tech Support

Customer: “There are smoke and flames coming from my computer.”

Tech Support: “Uh, hang up, unplug the computer from the wall, and call the local fire department.”

Customer: “That’s not the problem. I need to know how to do a backup. Fastest possible method.”