What is your worst Helpdesk/Tech Support Experience

[mmkhan]

well for me it is hell when our customers asks to dictate and spell the linux commands over the phone.

[Zaldy]

Aloha

I got a tonne of those.
Like this guy was a real jerk.

INSTALLATION OF PC

JERK :- "Where's the modem?"
Me :- "You told me that you wanted this computer broadband ready. That is you have network card"
JERK :- "But I thought all computers came with a modem."
Me :- "You gave me a list with all the brands and model number for all the parts that you wanted. A modem was not one of them."
JERK :- "But don't all computers come with a modem as standard?"
Me :- "No. I don't have a modem on my computer at home. And why would you need a 56K modem if you are going to get CABLE instead"
JERK :- "But how am I going to get onto the internet?"
Me :- "Why not use your old external 56K modem?"
JERK :- "But I don't want to use my external modem"
Me :- "Fine, another $45 dollars please, I will install a modem for you"
JERK :- "But I have all ready paid you $3000. I don't feel that i need to pay you another $45. Can you just throw on in?"
Me :- "No, not with the way you went shopping around with 3 other shops so you can price match me. Plus I am giving you free installation only because you know my family and that is it. $45 or no modem at all"

WEEK END
Like here I am on my own time collectioning the remaining $45 from him.
JERK :- "BTW, could you tell me how to record MP3?"
Me :- (thinking :- "This is my week end here")
Me :- "I don't have the software for that here"
JERK :- "WHAT!!! You don't have the software with you? But you are into computers, I thought you knew everything about computers and that you would have the software with you all the time"
Me :- "I do have a life away from the computer. You might notice that all I have is my skate board and few comic books with me. You want some thing from me, you call me before hand."

NEXT WEEK END.
JERK :- "I am trying to find this soccor web site, it's on this google list, but i have this ERROR 404. Why is that happening?"
Me :- "Because the webpage is not there."
JERK :- "Can you fix it?"
Me :- "No. It's out side my control."
JERK :- "But you are a computer expert, I thought you would know who fix these things?"

DURING THE WEEK (phone call)
JERK :- "How do you connect your dvd player up to your computer?"
Me :- (thinking :- "Please god tell me that he does not want to do video editing. He only just mastered Media Player.")
Me :- "Why do you want to do that for?"
JERK :- "I don't know. I thought you were the computer expert on these things"
Me :- (HANGS UP PHONE)

[JewishIntent]

This happened when i was living with my mother. She has SBC Yahoo dsl. The modem they provided to use stopped working about a month after installation, and i knew it was the modem because it wouldn't even power up at all. Well i go ahead and call the help desk for her expecting an easy "hey my modem is broke" "ok we will send a new one" conversation. Well i told em my modem was broke and get asked what makes me think that. I explain the whole no power thing, and even told them that i had swapped in a spare pwoer supply/cord i hade to make sure it wasn't just that. Well after about 45 minutes of the techy trying to talk tio the modem, having me try and talk to the modem, and a slew of other bs i get asked how old the house is. I'm like wtf does that have to do with anything and get a 5 minute explination on how older houses have older wireing that is not always condusive to good connectivity, and thats when i lost it. after about 2~3 minutes of me yelling and swearing at the guy i get 30 seconds of silence and then hear "Ok well it looks like you have a faulty modem. We will send out a tech to install a new one. When is the best time for you?". Sometimes i honestly think these people have no idea what business they are in.

[ntwrkscrty]

I chatted online with a rep from HP to ask questions about my lapper and ram and the compatibility with other manufacturers cards and such. Well, long story short, they gave me WRONG info and I bought the wrong card (from eBay). So I call back (and of course it's the help desk associated with a country that does not speak my language, and while i do exercise a small amt of bias, it has nothing to do with anything but I CAN'T understand someone if their 1st language is not english), and am told that they have no proof I was lied to, so I emailed the transcripts from my chat session and they told me: "Sir, sometimes, you just have to help yourself" Man, I flew way off the handle and hit the roof!!!! So after consulting with the Better Business Bureau, HP corporate called back and bought me a brand spanking new ram card from Best Buy. I was deliriously happy, so the moral of my story is: the BBB is your friend!!! There is a lot more detail to this story than I can go into on a message board, but suffice to say that if you walk outside and bang your head on the pavement a few times, you might understand how FRUSTRATED I was. There's a couple good stories up there, but how can some of you guys defend Tech Support.....I mean you work with some of these idiots, and while some of you guys are good, some of you are just as BAD!!!.....eric

[nihil]

Zombie~ amused me:

I actualy took a call where a customers house had exploded (dont ask, I didnt) and he thought we should give him a free laptop because his was under warranty. Do you have any idea how hard it was to not just put him on hold and piss myself laughing? I have also had to explain to one lady that a drive by shooting was not considered damage due to normal use and therfore not covered under her extended warranty

I worked in the extended warranty sector for a while (systems development, not the customer side) and actually we would have paid both those claims.....................unless the customer had managed to get themselves killed in the process.............then we would have paid the retail cost of the item into the estate of the deceased (more expensive, as that contains the profit element as well).