Family Tech Support
Posted by Ilhey@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 62 comments
My family called me in a bit of a panic because their dryer wouldn't start. They pressed buttons, tried unplugging and replugging.
So I get in the car, travel around 30 minutes to their place. I walk over to the machine, glance at the panel, and in under a minute, it's working again.
They ask me, "What happened?" I said, “Child lock.”
They ask, “How did you fix it?” I answered, dead serious: “I’m not a child.”
That was my only answer. Even when pushed. They got pissed. Everyone did including me, kinda. But I wasn’t joking—I was just being honest.
Guess I'm about to be called again later..
Child Lock. There was even a lock icon on the screen. Pressing any button just made the lock icon flash. Right next to it was factory printed text saying something like:
Hold 🔑 for 3 sec.
So… I held the lock combo button for 3 seconds. Dryer unlocked. Dryer works. End of story.
Grumpy_bugger@reddit
People just dont read stuff. Working for a tech company. There was storm damage one weekend and the office carpet was soaked. Very large fans were brought in to dry the carpet. One of the fans stopped working.
I watched and the general manager and head of development (2 guys who I knew were very tech literate) Stared at the machine for about 4 minutes. Then they asked me to call the company about the issue. So I go over to the machine to get the phone number, above the phone number are instructions for fixing the issue before calling. I selected the reset button and started it up.
nymalous@reddit
They also don't listen. At work, I used to answer the phone with "Hello, thank you for calling The Center Department, this is nymalous speaking, how may I help you?"
I would get a variety of responses from, "Hello? Is this the Center Department? Can I have your name please?" to "Oh, I'm looking for the Center Department..." It's like they don't even try.
So, I started pairing it down over time. It's to the point where when I answer the phone I just say, "Center." They don't hear that either, but at least I've wasted less time.
And don't even get me started on the written signs we have posted all over the place, in convenient and appropriate locations, saying what times we're open, what you can bring into the quiet room environment with you, how to use the lockers, and so on.
Ugh.
Salavora_M@reddit
Had to attend a "how to talk on the phone" seminar once.
The gist was: Most people won't or can't hear the start of what you are saying (sometimes due to bad connections or because they had been on hold for 30min and spaced out) and will only retain the last few words of what you said. So, if you want to make sure, they know your name, first say the department, then the name, if you want them to remember the department start with your name and then the department. Try not to add aynthing after that if you can"
nymalous@reddit
I just say the name of my department. Most don't hear it and/or don't remember it. Sigh.
Grumpy_bugger@reddit
Back when I started in a call centre, one of the guys started answering "Welcome to Bank, Sarah speaking" no one questioned it.
Raz0rking@reddit
Exactly. I don't even work in tech. I am a chef. One of our walk-ins is a bit bugging out so I emptied it, put a note on it where to find the stuff and I still get people "where is it now?"
K1yco@reddit
Do you ever get "I'm not a gourmet chef nerd" when you ask people to read what something says on a page, as if basic reading is a skill that requires you to be a tech nerd / chef?
Raz0rking@reddit
Not really, no. But sometimes I tell people to actually read what is written down or what the machine with a touchscreen tries to tell em.
Error message pops up. "Quickly klick it away and try the same thing that made the error appear".
Repeat a couple of times and then ask me why it aint working.
HammerOfTheHeretics@reddit
Many years ago I read an essay called "The Programmer's Stone". Part of it discussed two basic thinking strategies employed by different people, which the author called "packers" and "mappers". Packers think by assembling a set of what the author calls "knowledge packets" (hence the name). A knowledge packet can be thought of as an expert system rule - if you are in situation X, perform action Y. The packer simply goes through their list of packets, finds the one that looks closest to their current situation, and takes the corresponding action. If they get stuck, they ask someone to give them a new knowledge packet appropriate for the situation (i.e. they look for help).
The behavior you describe sounds to me like 'packer troubleshooting'. They have a packet for whatever the task is, and they keep applying it, and when it doesn't work they're just stuck.
Every competent engineer and software developer I've ever worked with has been a mapper, to the point where questions that let me figure out whether a candidate is a packer or mapper have become a key component of my job interview question toolkit.
oloryn@reddit
Oh, good. Someone besides me bringing up the packer/mapper distinction. Though it's really a spectrum rather than an either/or, I've found it helpful. One of the big differences between the two is that mappers (called such because they make 'mental maps' of information) are much better prepared to figure things out on their own - particularly important in IT troubleshooting because you can't memorize a 'magic fix' for every possible problem; you often have to figure out for yourself what's actually going on. Doing that is a lot easier if you have a mental map of how the learned information connects, and you often find that solving a particular problem requires expanding the map.
Salavora_M@reddit
oO!!!!
THANK YOU BOTH!
I LOVE this distinction and it explains so damn much!
I would categorize myself as a mapper and thus always want to know the "why" of a step as well as the how (ok, not always, but most of the time. Sometimes it is just 'Always press A' and no one knows why anymore and no one has the time to actually figure it out either). This way, I can build my mental map and see the needed connections and can build on those if there are problems.
When a colleague of mine asks me for information, I always add the 'why' and additional background information they will need to actually understand and 'build such a map' and I get very frustrated when they clearly do not listen to the explanation and 'just want to know what to do' without learning anything. Those colleagues are packers and "just" want such a packet, even if it won't help them very much, when there is just a small variation.
As an example, I had recently had a conversation such as this:
"Your document upload failed, because you specified it should be stored in the DMS as type ABC without first creating ABC in the customizing... I do not care that ABC exists in this other system from which you copy/pasted the code and no, I am not psychic just because I know that you can not create a document with a type that does not exist in THIS system! Why the hell did you just spend a whole week on trying to find this problem?!?!?!"
Traveling-Techie@reddit
There is a pandemic of this behavior.
K1yco@reddit
It really does feel like unless it's a Tik Tok telling them how to make some anti toxin lasagna , any attempt for them to learn is something that can only be done if you are some tech guru.
action_lawyer_comics@reddit
This reminds me of a story from my days as a cook in fancier restaurants. Our chef made a great consommé from trout. It was flavorful, had the perfect color and clarity, it was great. But they struggled with what to call it on the menu.
We were mid-to-upscale, and we were hardly a white tablecloth French restaurant. So we tried to have a more straightforward menu that could be read by anyone without needing to ask the servers a ton of questions. So we didn’t want to call it trout consommé since that would have them immediately asking the servers what consommé was. We could call it “trout broth,” but the owner thought that sounded gross. The executive chef, general manager, and owner went back and forth for five minutes before agreeing on calling it “sustainably farmed trout broth.”
So yeah, you can run into “I don’t speak chef” issues out there
K1yco@reddit
"Can you please tell me which farm the trout comes from? Is it Fosters or Johns?"
action_lawyer_comics@reddit
We legit did list the farm. We were that kind of restaurant in the early 2010's
Salavora_M@reddit
So much this!
Once had to track through a plant (food processing, so I had get all dressed up with shoe cover, head cover, coat and so on) only to READ the "too technical" error message on the users screen which said, that the printer was out of paper.
TinyNiceWolf@reddit
When you get older and your vision goes, sometimes that factory-printed text isn't readable, particularly if the manufacturer opted for a stylishly neutral and subdued design, like most of them. So many spindly gray fonts on a gray background.
mountrich@reddit
I bought a pair of magnifying glasses specifically for that kind of tiny print. The print on computer mother boards is really small.
Starfury_42@reddit
That button could've been 4x the size and flashing red and they still would've ignored it.
Terrible_Shirt6018@reddit
Yup, people just don't read. But then again sometimes we're the users, not the admins. So it helps to stay humble.
However, when something like this happens I don't solve it, I make them get the instructions and make them read. And ask questions to make sure they were understood. Then they solve it themselves. Otherwise I'm always called to solve learned helplessness.
CatalpaBean@reddit
Tell them you found the dryer's Any key.
Wowplays@reddit
Where’s the any key? All this computer hacking is making me thirsty I guess I’ll order a tab!
iainmcc@reddit
Ctrl yourself, man!
Osiris32@reddit
There is no esc for you!
syntaxerror53@reddit
What? No Command+Option key?
Why can't they put the PowerOn key on the front?
Equivalent-Salary357@reddit
That’s funny, unless…
Never mind
jeffbell@reddit
Ours has that too.
It's handy if you have a four year old who keeps opening the front load washer midcycle.
lord_teaspoon@reddit
My front-load washer locks itself when it starts and starts locked until several minutes after it finishes. It's kinda frustrating when you just need to get the load of washing out to dry before you go somewhere and the cycle has finished but you still have to wait for whatever mechanism to agree that it's really done enough to release the lock.
henke37@reddit
It's a thermo-electro-mechanical latch. A small electric heater operates a bimetallic strip that prevents the door from being opened.
Not even a forced power cycle can override it. You just need to wait for it to cool down.
jeffbell@reddit
My Maytag had the thermal wax motor and took 30 seconds to open even in normal operation.
The LG that replaced it has a solenoid latch that opens in two seconds.
lord_teaspoon@reddit
I was guessing it was something to do with only releasing once some sensor was dry, but I doubted it because that would misbehave depending on humidity etc. Just having something that can't release until the heater has been off for long enough does sound pretty reliable, with just a bit of variation in how long it takes to open depending on what temperature the room is, I guess.
SeanBZA@reddit
They are well known to fail though, and as they have an interlock switch in them, that tells the machine the door is closed, and it can start, it can give you some strange issues as it ages and the wax pellet, the most common type now over the bimetallic one, starts to get past the seals, so the machine will power on, and randomly not start, or stop mid cycle with no indication other than a cryptic Err message.
Equivalent-Salary357@reddit
Our washer locks but we can press ‘end’ to unlock it. Or ‘pause’ to open mid cycle.
Moneia@reddit
Front loaders will, and should, lock once it's started as opening risks dumping the water on the floor.
Normal use you'd have to stop the cycle and then a spin & drain
Equivalent-Salary357@reddit
Our front loader (8+ year lod LG) will unlock when paused without dumping water. There is a several seconds pause between the drum stopping and the door unlocking.
To be honest, my wife does most of the laundry, but I have done more than a few loads. And while I have added a lightly soiled item mid wash cycle, it has only been a handful of times. So, I am far from a laundry expert.
jumbofrimpf@reddit
Not really tech related, but my sister (when she lived nearby) called me in a panic one day because her washer wasn't filling up. Knowing she just came back from a trip, I asked if she opened the shutoff valves before turning the washer on.
"YES! I'm not stupid!" 😏
"Okay... I'll come over and look." I figured maybe the valve had gone bad again (she had them replaced a few years ago because of the seals swelled up in our lovely city water and plugged the shutoff). So I go over and... yep, you guessed it. Both shutoffs were closed. Opened them up and the washer started filling fine.
In her defense, she said she thought I was talking about the whole-house shutoff that was there in the garage. Apparently, they just turned that off instead of the washer shutoffs. Luckily, their water heater didn't self-destruct from having the water off... but I guess as long as the tank stayed full it was okay.. 🙄
SeanBZA@reddit
water heaters, if installed correctly, will be fine for a few weeks with the water shut off, till the cycling of the element finally blows enough water out of the tank to expose the elements.
I had one which was making arcing noises one day when i was close to it. Figured out time to change the element, so went and got the tube spanner to remove it, and pulled it out. There was only half an element, the rest having been eroded away by arcing in the water, but it was still making heat and making hot water, with the copper piping probably carrying 20A of current to ground every time the thermostat demanded heat. So in with a new 2.2kW element, and a new thermostat, and away it went again. 50l gravity geyser, new to the building in 1965, and still working perfectly a half century plus later.
meitemark@reddit
There is considerable overlap between the intelligence of the smartest children and the dumbest parents.
SeanBZA@reddit
Around 100 IQ points at a minimum at times.
AvadaKedavra139@reddit
I would be jobless if those people don’t exist anymore. Thank god there are plenty!
AbandonFacebook@reddit
I once ordered a new washer for family 1000 miles away because their ancient one would do a hot wash. Multiple people swore that the hot water was not shut off. When I flew in to accept delivery…
ThisIsAdamB@reddit
This is what video calls are for. I have fixed stuff for family, over a thousand miles away, just by making a FaceTime call and having them point the phone where I tell them.
K1yco@reddit
I'd imagine if they couldn't read the light that says "hold for 3 seconds", they would not be the best at starting a video call.
Wadsworth_McStumpy@reddit
"My computer won't start."
"What does it say on the screen?"
"Enter password."
"Enter your password."
"It worked! Thanks."
streetsmartwallaby@reddit
I hear you man. So hard with aging family members. At least you got them to turn it off and on first. I can't get mine to do that unless I tell them.
MarvinPA83@reddit
Some of these aging family members have problem with seeing the figures or symbols because they are dim or tiny or both. Said with some feeling!
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
But is it the family members that are dim or tiny? Or the figures and symbols?
MarvinPA83@reddit
You can be the second entry in my soon to opened Nitpickers sub.
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
Yay!
megared17@reddit
Maybe both.
gijsyo@reddit
Yeah, technology is scary to some people. I have had similar things, and I tried to tell me mum/dad/etc "just read" but somehow when it's about technology they lock up and can't seem to help themselves. I'm happy to help but my mum is the only person that I help nowadays. It was just too convenient for some people to call me and I was getting frustrated :)
readituser5@reddit
Urgh it’s so frustrating. Something can state instructions very clearly and somehow words just lose all meaning to them. I’m constantly telling my mum to “just read it”.
gijsyo@reddit
Same here… I’m convinced she can do it, but she’s already convinced herself that she can’t ;) So I stopped my struggle and just do what she asked. Now she starts asking how I did that so it seems there will be some form of struggle ;) But it’s just my mum so it’s fine.
Breitsol_Victor@reddit
I don’t know what it says.
Read it.
I’ve never seen it before.
Read it, what does it say?
I’ve….
It is now an SEP - someone else’s problem.
TararaBoomDA@reddit
There is a lock function on our microwave. It gets me every time.
There is a lock function on our convection oven. And yes, it gets me every time.
We don't have a dryer, but if we did...
millie2298@reddit
I live on the other side of the country to my family, yet I am still the one they ring for tech support. Google is my friend. I google the tech we are trying to fix so that I can tell them where the buttons are etc.
Available-Topic5858@reddit
I know that reaction. I was living about an hour's drive from my parents. They called me one weekend to see if i could drop by with a big wrench or something. They were trying to change the windshield wiper on their car.
So i gather some tools, make the drive. Find my parents and my sister all looking glum on the driveway by the car. They told me the blade was stuck so they wanted to take the whole arm assembly off. I lean over the car, press the magic tab, and the wiper blade pops off into my hand.
They all were mad at me for not telling them how to do that over the phone.
Some things don't translate into words, like that little tab.
Elegance_Incarnated@reddit
I've learn the very hard way to ALWAYS ask for photos of the problem before heading out.
Inclusing any text on the machine (make and model, for example, any info on any screen, etc.
Save me countless hours and many headaches.
madriverdog@reddit
another case of RTFM, only the M was on the screen.
Stryker_One@reddit
Even if it was....
Throwaway_Old_Guy@reddit
That happens with the Dishwasher in my home if you happen to lean on the control pad while at the counter.