I did my bit of web surfing this morning, then went out for an errand, and came back home to find the internet connection "no workie" (as we say in the high-tech biz).
Some folks may have picked up the phone to their cable company at that very moment, but I like to cover all my bases before I call for help. Is the problem a loose cable? A bad cable? A conflict between the LAN and wireless connections? Is Ad/Spyware hijacking my connection? Is my PC's ethernet port dead?
After almost an hour of trying to solve the problem on my own, I called Adelphia - only to discover a message saying the entire area was suffering internet 'no workie' and that they were working on it, and not to complain about it because they already know, dammit, and they're working on it, OK?
Those people who walk into a store an instantly ask for help (often leaning over the very product they're seeking to ask for it) or who won't even take a moment to make sure a problem isn't their own doing get on my nerves. So I try not to be one of those people.
What makes it more annoying is when you do call for tech support, they have to ask stupid questions like "is it plugged in?" and "is your electricity working?" and "are you a moron?" because so many people are intentionally dim. (As compared to a good person who just doesn't know how things work - I'm fine with these people).
Next time, I guess I'll call before spending an hour trying to fix it. Thpptt.
Not to be too dim, but Adelphia just, um, sucks.
ReplyDeleteI don't know why "no workie" does not have a Wikipedia entry. It's a valid and acceptable tech term, like fubar, hosed, fuxx0red, etc.
ReplyDeleteWhenever I call tech support I try to rattle off as fast as I can what steps I've taken so the guy doesn't have to ask me and knows I know a thing or two. It usually comes out "Hi I'm having a problem with my connection everything is plugged in I power cycled the machine and the modem and the router yes I am using a Linksys four port router no I'm not assigning static IPs I can't do a ping or a trace route out yes I've flushed the DNS yes I've done an ipconfig /release and ipconfig /renew yes I've also done so on the router no I'm not an idiot yes I'm free for drinks on Friday."
SQ: Yeah, I'm not fond of Adelphia either, but they're the only provider with coverage for high-speed internet in my area.
ReplyDeleteKato: Hells yeah! You should write the Wikipedia entry.
I once had the privelege of talking to an honest tech-support guy. My internet was out, and he started to talk me through all the settings.
ReplyDeleteI said: "look, I actually know a bit about computers. I built this computer myself, and I've already checked all the settings (rattled off everything he needed to know.)"
He tried to talk me through everything anyway, and I asked him "Why do you have to check through all this, when I've just told you I've checked it all?"
He said: "Between you and me, most of the calls we get are from people screaming at us that their internet isn't working, then we find they don't have their modem plugged in, or they've just installed one of our CD's and don't even HAVE a modem. That or people who constantly tell us they know more than us, and just don't listen. Basically, it's our standard operating procedure to assume everyone who calls is a moron...I have to check all this off the list before I can even check for outages."
I have a lot of sympathy for tech-support people. I couldn't do it...I'd be screaming at people by the end of the first hour.