The Grouse
The Grouse discovers just how hard it is to find good help these days
By Tom Conlon Posted 08.20.2008 at 12:24 pm 5 Comments

Time to Panic As gadgets are made to be ever more disposable, who can you call when you want something fixed. star5112 (CC Licensed)

Being a tech consumer is a treacherous endeavor these days. Installing software, upgrading a piece of hardware or even just plugging in a new peripheral is a pursuit wrought with danger. That’s because, as a man named Murphy has us conditioned to believe, something will inevitably go wrong. And when things do go haywire—when Part A won’t play nice with Part B—you’re left trying to figure out just what’s to blame. Is it your operating system? Is it the USB port on your computer? Is it your thingamajig’s firmware?

In that situation, who ya' gonna call?

Introducing a new piece of hardware or software into your tech ecosystem is a lot like drilling haphazardly into the walls of your house. Hey, maybe things will be OK, or maybe you’ll perforate a gas line. Maybe you’ll even flood your basement—you can never really be sure. But, home repair woes are a lot less treacherous than tech problems. Drill through an electrical wire in your house and (if you’re not dead from the shock) it should be fairly obvious why the lights aren’t working. Knock out a gas line and that deceptively pleasant smell will warn you that it’s time to hoof it outdoors.

It would be nice if tech were as helpful. On any given day, nearly all of us depend on at least a hundred different moving technological parts that have been sold to us and are serviced by a hundred different companies (if they’re serviced at all). How can things possibly not go awry? It wasn’t too long ago that any “technology” problems you encountered were easily solved by the guy down the street. TV out? Bring it to the TV guy. Vacuum stopped sucking? There’s a fellow for that, too. In fact, he’s probably the same one you bought it from. Now, a problem with your TV could be the television or the cable box, the TiVo or the overpriced cables you shelled out for. Good luck.

For me, the problem is with my printer’s wireless capabilities. I bought a Lexmark printer not too long ago, and the thing has stopped talking to my Mac. Well, that’s not true—it’s more like the printer and laptop are in a bad relationship and only communicate when they’re both “in the mood.” Is it my Mac that’s acting up or is it the Lexmark? Is it my wireless home network that’s at fault? I like to consider myself to be somewhat technologically savvy, but I’m flush out of answers on this one. I’ve called Lexmark a few times, and each time the problem gets fixed until I restart my computer. The thought of another 30-plus–minute tech support call that’s been routed to Timbuktu makes me queasy—where's the guy down the street for problems like this?

Then I remember Geek Squad. Never in a million years would I have considered calling a service like this before, but in the interest of finding a happy ending for this article, I gave them a call.

My happy ending still eludes me.

Page 1 of 2 12next ›last »

5 Comments

link to this comment
Solace

from Ojai, California

08/20/08 at 1:22 pm

The problem with tech support is, no matter how much you want someone to have an answer, there's just no way someone will be able to diagnose a real computer problem, especially over the phone.

First off all the parts of the computer are made to different designs and each design is made by several different manufacturers. While they all work together in theory, with a near limitless number of combinations there's just no way every little detail could possibly be tested.

On this mostly-tested piece of equipment, you're running several softwares at the same time, each of which also only runs on it in theory and may or may not be entirely compatable with each other or bug free.

You may also have any number of invisible viruses, which may do any random thing, might be only partially functional after being mostly removed by antivirus software, and certainly aren't designed to play well with anything.

And to top it off, any of this software might have gotten partially corrupted, and any of the hardware could have gotten damaged in any number of ways. There's just no way an underpayed and overworked tech support agent, who was hired on a lowest-bidder basis, is going to have the slightest clue what's going on.

link to this comment
jeejay70
08/23/08 at 10:54 am

I'm a "self-made" IT guy in the office... the way I made myself an IT guy is by trying to figure out how to fix just about any IT problems i or my officemates encounter... and the quickest way to do just that is to search google for IT forums (you must first narrow down the problem like "lexmark wireless not communicating mac" and enter them in google) then check out the results that shows the complete sentence of your problem (i.e. My lexmark wireless printer not communicating with my ibook, things similar to that)get the forum results and see if there's any replies that might suggest solutions.

My point is...we may never be a computer expert to identify and diagnose tech problems... but there's a huge possibility that somewhere out there had the same if not exactly identical to problems you may have and had asked somebody else who know the solution. You will just have to mine the information and DIY. But beware... do it at your own risk... but most of the time, you'll get it fixed... for FREE! and the best thing about it is... it takes you 1 step closer to be an IT expert yourself.

link to this comment
HahnsPCs

from Auburn, NH

08/29/08 at 4:31 pm

While I agree that the available technologies out there form QUITE the many combos, I would strongly suggest that what is LACKING in the tech support world is a bit of patience, basic troubleshooting skills and the ability to LISTEN!!!

Funny as I type this I've been on the phone with HP for the last 90 minutes or so JUST to get some clueless individual there to realize what the simple problem is...

Here's a few "to do's" for most tech support folks...

01) LEARN basic troubleshooting skills
02) Shut up and listen!
03) Embrace the technologies you "support" and LEARN more about them and what they DO work with so you are better prepared to do so
04) STOP THE Jargon... You're certainly NOT impressing me as I know all those cool words too... Thing is, I DON'T use them when talking to end-users... I speak English, NOT Techish
05) While Google is a great reference, it TEACHES you nothing, just gives you the answer IF SOMEONE has had the same problem

20 Years in support realm

Cheers!

Erick

link to this comment
9 Ninetails
09/09/08 at 5:11 pm

Have not had it happen to me, BUT I still know that the item works better than ever when the tech guy arrives, and on rare occasion that it does mess up when he/she gets there, the tech guy realy never can ACTUALLY fix it, but still charges you more than it costs to buy 5 of the item(or items)that are messing up.

link to this comment
9 Ninetails
09/09/08 at 5:15 pm

I don't want to be the annoying grammer guy...... ok so I do buy anyway, Wherefore art thou actually means WHY are you, not where are you.



Download Our iPhone App

Stay up to date on the latest news of the future of science and technology from your iPhone with full articles, images and offline viewing



Follow Us On Twitter

Featuring every article from the magazine and website, plus links from around the Web. Also see our PopSci DIY feed



Become a Fan On Facebook

Share links with friends, comment on stories and more


November 2009: Astronaut 3.0

Inside NASA's astronaut bootcamp and the grueling new training regimen for deep space. Plus, ten young geniuses shaking up science today, one writer's quest to analyze every man-made chemical in her body and more.

Check out the issue's full contents online here

Popular Science Photo Pool


Share your photos in the Pop Sci pool at www.flickr.com!
tags_sprite.png
POP_embeddedForm_cover_May09.jpg