Category: the Rant Board
For those of you like myself who do over the phone tech support may be able to relate to this. There's just some old people out there that just don't deserve a computer. It is very frustrating to work with these kind of people, you just want to hang up on them. Here's some of the ones I get.
"Ok, let's open up internet explorer, please." "What's that?" It's the big blue E on the desktop." Oh ok." "Now let's go to the address bar." What's that?" Oh and today I had one I say "Let's click on the start button, please." "What's the start button? I don't see it." And here's another one I see. "Now let's press the enter key on your keybord." "Where's that at?" "I don't have an enter key." I had a man who swore up and down his keybord didn't have an enter key.
People like that don't deserve a computer, and further more I think they need to take some classes before calling tech support. It's people like these that run up your handle times to 3 hours. Either you take some classes people, or you have someone that at least knows what a start button is to call in to troubleshoot your connection. The funniest one I had was this old lady who bought a pc for her grandson for his birthday and wanted to have it all setup before he got home. Well she called in and wanted me to help her, but the poor lady didn't know how to turn it on. Now how do you expect me to help you when you don't even know how to turn on your pc?
So, does anyone else get frustrated with these types of people? Sometimes I wonder why they even bother with getting a computer.
Troy
I hope you got it off your chest. In defense of the older folks, until recently I worked at a job answering questions concerning computers and accessibility. The people I hated to work with were the younger folks who had been brought up on computers and thought they knew everything there was to know about them. I would spend half the time getting them to go back and undo something they had already done.
There is something about the Rant Board that does then to make a fellow go on so.
Anyway, that's my say!
Bob
Agree with the last post. You undertake that job to help people. Just coz someone's not on a level you'd like them to be, there's no need to treat them as though they are so much lesser than you.
my grandma has a computer, God help her, and I don't treat her like she's stupid or whatever if she doesn't know something, but good lord! I kind of see Troy's point, and you have a point too Bob. Some old people really, really, don't need to have computers. I once had a tech person tell me they'd rather talk to me then my gradma because I knew what I was doing.
I love yall old people...
Cala
Some peopledon't deserve a computer, despite their age. Some older people lack the computer savy to use a computer, but they have the patience to learn. Some younger lack the patience to learn, but have the savy to... well to... mess up? Think I'll take the patience any day.
Thanks.
Bob
While I don't do tech support full time, I teach computers, and get my share of phonecalls. Most of the time I have problems is when soem family member has "helped" someone "fix" their computer, and the "helper" had no business doing what he/she was doing. I like to think of those calls as a way to put myself out of business on an individual basis as it were. To put it another way, when my students stop calling me, then I know I've done my job. I view those calls as a chance to teach, and probably a way for me to look at what 'm saying/doing/teaching and re-evaluating it. We have to remember that the problem isn't new to us, but its new to the person on the other end of the phone. That's not tosay I don't chew holes in the furniture when I hang up at times.
I'm glad older people are getting computers. If my dad hadn't gotten one and learned to e-mail, we wouldn't have communicated nearly as much as we did the last three years of his life. Neither one of us were great about calling often, but e-mail allowed us to stay in touch more regularly without long distance charges. So I'm all for older people getting computers, and you tech support people are just going to have to deal with it or find another line of work.
Well, my take is this. I've never ever had a problem with an old person on a computer. However Tech support opperatives are a constant pane in the arse. So while you may bitch that the eldily shouldn't have access to computers, I'll bitch that some people in, so called, tech support shouldn't have a job.
There now, everything's all even and fair again! hehehe
And in all fairness, this is the rant board, so Sullidog has the right to have a bad day, but be careful what you say, or they might find your corpse with walker tracks all over it. (((Moderators, I'm not threatening sullidog, just ranting.))). <grin>
bob
hahaha Dan and Bob.
Lol. If I didn't need the money I would not be there right now. Here's another reason I'd like to strangle a customer. The customer calls in saying there internet has been down for a week or so, now here's the kicker, they tell me they are really behind on their bills and banking because of this. I'm sorry, but there's more ways then one to bank and pay a bill rather then doing it online.
Troy
True, but that's neither here nor there. You aren't there to take their guilt, you are a professional data proccessor, and it is your business to get them back up and going as soon as is possible. Forget all the other crap they try to unload on you. You didn't cause it, but you have it in your hands to cure their data processing problems, so cheer up.
It might be frustrating. Though seriously: If my grandma started trying and working on the computer ... I would be proud of her. Cause it shows that she (or he, could also be my grandpa) is always willing to cope with modern stuff. So why not? And, I'm sorry, but if one person is not patient enough, then dammit, let someone else do it. Lol
Yeah,i'll allways help someone if they kno less than me, but some ppl really piss me off at the same time.
My grandparents have a computer, which is fine, the only thing that pisses me off is that its like 3.2 ghz with 1 gb ram and some 120 gb drive, which is better than my setup!! and they just gamble and use word!
BEN.
Hey Ben, why don't you trade with them?
Actually, some computers like my laptop don't have an ENTER key, no read on, they don't have a key that on it says ENTER instead the key has a sideways pointing arrow. So if someone is looking on the keyboard to find a key that says on it enter, then obviously they will say there is no such key... Also if someone is using a computer doesn't mean they have to know how parts that are on the screen are called. They just look at what is there, point with the mouse and click. They don't need to know that wat they clickedon was a pull down menu on the address bar. Like one doesn't need to know the parts of an engine to be able to drive a car. I am sorry Troy, but yoy do need to show some patience with your clients since they are willing to learn or they would not have called you for help!!! Star
Troy you have a good point about other ways of doing things, however as was said, that's not anybody's business but the caller's. Ben, I know where you're comming from. I play music parttime, and I'll play for parties occasionally doing what I call "wallpaper" music, which is just background music while people talk, socialize, or whatever. Anyway, I've been to houses with these realy nice grand pianos just as showpieces. It makes my blood boil sometimes. I hate to rant on another topic, but I've called tech support and the person on the other end is very condescending. They also have the attitude that says "Oh, never mind about your problem. Let me impress you with how much I know."
well, from someone who is 47, and getting there in the older people range, I learned computer and jawsbasics with practically no help at all, and my mom is 71, but she was in her late 60's when she set her computer up by her self, and she set mine up, which was a pain, because this hp had very little in the way of instructions, since the instructions are in the manual, and there isn't even any print manual, because its on the computer. The only trouble she really had was when she tried to hook the jack up for th emodem, and there wasn't even a plug in th eback for it to go in to, and the tech support at our isp was very smart mouth with her and wouldn't let her get a word in. She told him we would've switched isps a long time ago if it weren't such a hassle. he told her he would switch us to another isp, and he told her in such a way that made me think jhe'd be glad to be rid of us. Some times younger people can be frustrating to have to ask for help. Its not very easy for me to ask help from people who are 20 or so years younger than i am. I'd much rather ask someone my age, but i have to face the fact that most younger people know more about computers than we do, and certainly most of them know more than i do, so what's an older person to do?
wonderwoman
I don't think there's anything wrong with old people using a PC or laptop. My grandad has about three or four different laptops he uses, including this pocket organiser thing with a qwerty keyboard and a palm pet/pocket PC thing he uses in the evenings in the living room when Gran can dislodge him from his incredibly cluttered office to keep her company. He, like me, is never off his computers.