6 worst types of callers
Posted by FastRecommendation72@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 22 comments
- The storytellers - this is the person who you speak to that for a very SIMPLE question, gives you a long-winded answer that doesn't really have anything to do with the problem. "Hello ma'am, so how long has this issue been occurring?" "Well, just last week when I was at my cousin's house, they were getting their walls painted, they chose yellow. I dont really like yellow because my dog goes crazy - and then my son played Fortnite on the big TV yesterday and my computer is slow." "SO HOW LONG HAS IT NOT BEEN WORKING?" "oh, 3 weeks"
- The "just don't get its" - these are sometimes older people or people that it takes 30 minutes to power off their PC and swap 1 monitor cable. They're not trying to be stupid. They just are
- The fake smart guys - these are the ones that try to help you troubleshoot, but they don't know what the f**k they're talking about. "I need to delegate the mainframe onto the server so the VPN can upload into the router." "Sir, all I said was to reboot your PC. They call into tech support for help, but swear they know your job better than you.
- The screen readers - these are the ones that will read the WHOLE screen to you - EVERY - SINGLE - TIME. I've seen the BSOD screen a million times. I dont need you to read "stop error code 0x52200000493X".
- The battle talkers - these are the ones that will not let you complete ONE full sentence during the whole call. I've started just talking LOUDER and louder and ignoring their interruption until I finish my whole sentence.
- The determined bad day-ers - these are the people that are just determined to be negative because they have PC issues. They make every world you say try to sound like the issue is hopeless and you don't know what you're doing. Their bad attitude makes the call entirely harder than it need be. Speaking with 10 years desktop support
Riajnor@reddit
The ones that have to remind you this is important. Dude i get, you can’t do x, calling me to tell me that it’s important that you can do x is actually stopping me from fixing things so that you can get back to doing x. And telling your manager to call me to remind me is doubly unhelpful
DeejayCa@reddit
3. It’s the firewall.
K1yco@reddit
7: How do you function: When ask to read something their response is "I'm not a computer guru" even though the thing you asked for is literally in their face . Also showing them an example image causes them to give you everything that looks nothing like what you asked.
Aerim@reddit
Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Someone who is following your instructions and providing you information is infinitely better than someone who won't give you the information that you ask for.
They don't know what's important when they parse the information on the screen. In *most* industries, error codes are massively important for actually resolving the problem, so it's actually totally reasonable to think that information would be useful.
Jivax666@reddit
I'd rather have someone who reads the entire screen than someone who just reads "error code"
FastRecommendation72@reddit (OP)
I don't think you understand... if I ask for the error code - read the error code. Dont read the WHOLE BSOD screen. They just start reading and won't let you interrupt until the read every word. I've resolved thousands of BSOD. Just reboot the PC and I'll check eventvwr
LethiasWVR@reddit
I get it.
I do a lot of work with G-code, and have a similar thing where I'll ask something like "Where in the program does the error occur?" and they end up trying to read me hundreds of lines of cartesian coords as if it tells me anything.
That and other tech support woes got a lot easier to tolerate once I made a bingo card of them. Now I'll hang up a difficult card and be like "Man, three squares from that one."
Harry_Smutter@reddit
What of the ones that go back to BSOD after reboot?? 😉
FastRecommendation72@reddit (OP)
I think y'all are kinda stuck on the BSOD. The bigger picture is the word "screen readers" - people that read the WHOLE screen - every word. BSOD was just an example. Sheesh
Harry_Smutter@reddit
Haha, I know. Was just messing with ya :)
That is annoying, though. What I ask this group is to tell me what it says after a certain word or symbol. Works fairly well.
georgiomoorlord@reddit
I agree. Reading me the BSOD is far easier than raising a ticket titled "It's broken"
Equivalent-Salary357@reddit
LOL, this made my day.
JoeMorgue@reddit
- The 2nd parties. "Hi this is Pam. Terry wanted me to call you and tell me she was having a problem. No she didn't what the problem was, how to contact her, and what her last name is."
- The 2nd parties (2nd variation). "Hi this is the person that for some reason everybody just tells me their IT problem and I wait until I have like 20 of them built up and call them in all in at once. I'm going to data dumb 37 different totally unrelated problems to you."
- "Hi it's 4:59 on Friday. We need 28 accounts ready for new hires on Monday morning."
bignides@reddit
Those are 3rd parties. You’re the first party. The caller is the 2nd party. The user is the 3rd party.
FastRecommendation72@reddit (OP)
Damn, your comment is making me kinda angry just reading it 😆 so many flashbacks
FastRecommendation72@reddit (OP)
Ohhh shit, damn I hate those too... had one guy call in this Monday with 8 users I have to follow up with. ALL. IN. INDIA. Now I gotta track them all down during weird hours for the next week or 2
TURBOSCUDDY@reddit
Ugh… TIL I’m a 5. Gotta go apologize to Tyler and Karrie
sywor@reddit
There is a 7:th, The Sibboleet, https://xkcd.com/806/
When one of us needs to call support.
1mAfraidofAmericans@reddit
Excellent. Unfortunately I read this and immediately recognised myself in there, I won't say where. Please forgive me
FastRecommendation72@reddit (OP)
Say 3 Dell Mary's and your IT sins are forgiven
djdaedalus42@reddit
Type 1 is probably well known to car repair shops as well.
phunkjnky@reddit
I work in Custom A/V, first for a distributor, then for a dealer.
Part of my job is tech support, and checking the messages from the overnight.
The most requent flier I get is "The Storyteller"
Your TV/WiFi/Sonos system is not working. Why is the message 10 minutes long when that was the message? I have to listen to the whole thing before I can delete it.
My favorite was the woman who was threatening to call the cops on us if we didn't stop holding her furniture hostage. We don't sell furniture, she wouldn't identify herself, or who she was trying to reach, and I was holding the receiver away from my head and the rest of the office could hear her clearly. After 20 minutes, (which was about 20 minutes too long), I said, "Call the cops" and hung up.