I work in tech support for a fairly large company, and I’ve had my fair share of bizarre calls. But this one really stuck with me.

A customer calls in, and the first thing I notice is that they’re clearly frustrated. I ask for details, and they explain that their computer is “just frozen” and nothing is working.

I tell them, as calmly as possible, “No worries, let’s start by rebooting the computer. Please hold the power button for 10 seconds to turn it off, and then turn it back on.”

There’s a pause on the line, then: Customer: “I don’t know how to do that.” Me: “You don’t know how to turn off your computer?” Customer: “No, I don’t know where the power button is.”

I’m trying to stay professional at this point, so I walk them through it. I even ask them if they can find the power button on the actual device. They respond that they don’t see one.

So, I ask, “Can you look on the side or the back of the computer for a button or a logo?” Customer: “It doesn’t have one.”

At this point, I’m a little confused, but I decide to walk them through the process anyway. I start asking if they see any lights on the device. They tell me no, nothing is lighting up.

Then it hits me. I ask, “Are you sure you're working with a computer?” Customer: “Well… no, I’m looking at my microwave.”

This person had been trying to reboot a microwave for 30 minutes, thinking it was their computer. After a long, awkward silence, I confirmed that microwaves don’t have the same functionality as computers, and recommended they try restarting their actual computer instead. They were extremely apologetic, and I just couldn’t stop laughing after I hung up.

Never a dull moment in tech support, folks. Stay strong out there!