03.26.09
What End-Users Really Mean When They Call Tech Support
An interesting perspective from Bill Detwiler of TechRepublic!
They say: “I haven’t touched anything.”
They mean: “I have just fiddled with some registry settings/DLLs/system settings, installed some unauthorized software, and now it won’t work at all.”
They say: “I really truly haven’t touched anything.”
They mean: “I’ve really done it this time.”
They say: “What would happen if…?”
They mean: “I’ve just done this and feel a bit silly. How would I fix it without anyone knowing?”
They say: “I’m a personal friend of the chairman.”
They mean: “He once swore at me for using his parking space.”
They say: “I’m running Windows 97.”
They mean: “I don’t know the difference between an operating system and an office package.”
They say: “Of course everything is plugged in! Do you think I’m stupid?”
They mean: “Something is not plugged in.”
They say: “I really can’t waste any more time on this, goodbye!”
They mean: “I just spotted what I did wrong, and I’m very embarrassed.”
They say: “My screen is blurred and I get headaches.”
They mean: “The guy across the corridor just got a new monitor and I want one too.”
They say: “Is there a problem with the network?”
They mean: “I forgot my password.”
They say: “It won’t let me in and I know I entered the password correctly.”
“I have caps lock on.”
They say: “I checked my caps lock and I still can’t log in.”
They mean: “I forgot my password, and the last time this happened I had my caps lock on.”
They say: “Has this problem been reported by anyone else?”
They mean: “Am I the only clueless pony on the block?”
You can access the full list from Bill’s video blog.