160 replies to this topic

[Zach]

Why is tech support so fucking stupid? I realize that you have the motions you need to go through, but fuck an A, when I say I'm a network analyst I'd really like you to believe what I'm telling you. Rather than telling me step by step where to go, tell me the goal at hand!

[Orangejuice]

Lougan, on 17 February 2010 - 08:07 PM, said:

The only real thing I have to say is dumping millions of tons of greenhouse gases into the air... probably isnt good for us.

Of course, that's not in question. However even those 'millions of tons' from Humans accounts to less than 10% of global CO2 emissions a year.

[Samurai_Goat]

Zach, on 17 February 2010 - 09:08 PM, said:

Why is tech support so fucking stupid? I realize that you have the motions you need to go through, but fuck an A, when I say I'm a network analyst I'd really like you to believe what I'm telling you. Rather than telling me step by step where to go, tell me the goal at hand!

Well, it's probably less tech support, and more low-level customer service positions in general.

Just in case you aren't venting (and there is a TLDR at the end):

Tech support centers, and call centers in general, have a tremendously high level of turnover. Most people you will deal with are, at best, irritated and impatient, and at worse actually have rabies. If someone is calling tech support, it means that something has gone wrong, you're starting with a bad situation. Further, if the problem is easy, then you're probably dealing with a computer illiterate, which makes even basic issues very difficult. If it's a really tricky problem, then you're probably dealing with someone whose experience outstrips your own. In either case, it's taxing. On top of that, because many call centers are understaffed, you can't spend too much time on any one call. You need to move on to the next person! In the face of sustained (and inescapable) adversity, call center employees quit.

The people who run call centers are then faced with an issue: in order to do the job properly, call center workers must, essentially, become experts. Extensive training, however, is expensive, and considering many can't handle the stress of a call center, full training is mostly wasted money. The “solution” was the script.

Now, you don't need to train a person fully, just enough so that, with a script, they can handle most issues. But, this means that people in the call centers aren't fully trained. As such, any non-script advice may be wrong. Bad advice can ruin computers. So, following the script is tied to employee evaluations. After all, you don't want some idiot screwing up Some Expensive Equipment, right?

So, the call center employee is now in a position where 1) they don't know fully what they're doing, 2) they're being paid based on their ability to follow a script, and 3) they're timed.

If they don't know what they're doing, they still need to follow the script with little time wasted, which leads to brickwalling (“Sir, we need to make sure you turn off the modem for a full thirty seconds before we can move on”). They can't admit their incompetence without being fired, and the arguments would likely increase their times, also leading to a firing.

If they do know what they're doing, they may abandon the script, at which point one of two things happen: They are promoted to an executive tech support group, or they're fired. If they don't abandon the script, one of two things happen: They are promoted to an executive tech support group, or they keep their jobs.

Tldr: Exceptional employees are promoted and trained, but aren't accessible to normal people. Non-exceptional workers quit. Employers are continually pressed with the issue of handling technical work with an untrained, inexperienced staff. Which leads to scripts. No training and high frustration leads to quitting. Many employees leaving leads to mass hiring of unskilled workers. Unskilled workers leads to scripts. Scripts to quitting. Quitting to mass hiring. Scripts. Quitting. Mass hiring. Scripts.

[Zach]

And the people who ARE good at tech support are forced to keep to the script, so they leave because they're not using their troubleshooting skills. Unfortunately I knew most of those points, but you summed them up very nicely. One of the best things that a company can do (and most tech support-like ISP tech support-can't do) is install remote access software on every computer. All of a sudden, one or two help desk people can see exactly the same desktop as the user and run the mouse/keyboard, instead of having to be there. I was on help desk for a medium sized business, supporting approximately 8 buildings throughout northern Wisconsin, and didn't have a problem keeping up.

Then again, we knew what we were doing, there were no scripts, and we were more than welcome to flounder. If we felt we couldn't handle the situation, there was a boss that usually could or a person to elevate the situation to if it was out of our scope (we didn't deal with servers, phones, etc...we weren't given the access).

The thing is with that tech support, they never listened to me when I said "I've changed the environment from the default." I set up bridging so that my homebrew IPCop firewall was getting the public IP address, so that I could set up a VPN with work/friends if I wanted to - and have. They kept plugging away at their list. I told them they had an internet line down, they told me they couldn't start the motions to collaborate the data they needed to fix it. I realize that more than one person in residential internets have to report that sort of problem, but I have explained to you what I have done, and why I think this is the problem.

Of course, that goes back to staying on script. I've had some Dell tech support listen to what I've done to diagnose, say "okay, i'm going to send you such and such a part" and me thinking "cool. Thats what I wanted, they listened to me," and being very happy with the experience. Not all companies have scripts, but unfortunately they are becoming more and more popular.

[The One]

I didn't answer your question, because I hate tech support. Unless its Dell Chat Support. I do like them. Obviously you can't take your computer apart when you are chatting on it... or on the computer next to you.

[Sandy is my wizard]

What is the best and cheapest way to fly from New Zealand to Costa Rica? I don't want any travel times that are over 24 hours.

[The One]

by duck

[Sandy is my wizard]

Where is the intweb site for this duck transport agency

[Zach]

www.wisconsinducktours.com

[The One]

I hear you get fried cheese curds and Old Milkwaukee during your flight

[Zach]

Nah, they're not fried.

[The One]

After my trip to Wisconsin, I feel in love with cheese curds. I actually found a restaurant that sells them here. I was excited

[Zach]

With the fried ones, or non-fried ones?

I can hook you up with non-fried ones - I know a place that sells them made as recently as yesterday.

[Funky Cold Adina]

yesterday? Shoddy. It's the fresh out this morning ones that are to die for. They squeek.

[The One]

I like the fresh out 2 mins ago ones. All gooey awesomeness.

[Zach]

Adina: made yesterday ones squeak too. They'll squeak for a few days.

Lougan: we're talking non-deep fried ones.

[Bear of Happiness]

Can you bring me some chicken?

[Zach]

I thought you were raising chickens, and I have none to send you. Now, cheese curds...doable.

[Bear of Happiness]

Mat took the chickens...
I want FRIED chicken!!!

[Zach]

Have you heard of the KFC Double Down?