The tech support you deserve
by Douglas E. Welch
October 12, 1999
© 1999, Douglas E. Welch
Eventually it happens to all of us. You are having trouble with your computer
and need to call technical support in an effort to get it fixed.
To some, the very idea of talking to "tech support" makes their
skin crawl. They have heard all the stories about spending hours
on hold listening to Musak?, surly support people who treat them
like idiots and problems that go unresolved after 4-5 frustrating
calls. While these horror stories certainly shouldn't be the norm,
there are ways to make sure you get the tech support you deserve.
Don't play dumb
Too often the first words spoken to a tech support representative
are these; "I don't know anything about computers." This is the
single worst thing you can do when calling tech support. Even
if you aren't feeling particularly adept at using your computer
you should present an air of confidence and calm. Appearing knowledgeable
will prevent the support person from immediately treating you
like an idiot and stepping through all the basic troubleshooting
items that you have already checked yourself.
Present your problem in a clear and concise way. As much as you
might like to vent, spending 10 minutes complaining about lost
work and frustration only puts you 10 minutes farther away from
a solution. Allow the support person to ask you the typical questions
about your computer without trying to rush them or bypass the
process too much. Since they can't see your computer you have
to act as their eyes and ears. When they ask you to do something,
do it as quickly as possible and follow their instructions exactly.
Help yourself
 Another way to help yourself when calling tech support is check
all the basic items before you ever pick up the phone. If your
computer or printer will not turn on, check the wall switch or
the switch on your power strip to insure it hasn't been turned
off accidentally by your cat or your kids. I can guarantee that
the support person will ask you this. If you can replicate an
error message, write down the exact steps that cause the error
and the error message itself. Again, the support person will need
to know this information.
 If your computer can still get on the Internet there are a wide
variety of online sources for troubleshooting information. Microsoft Knowledge Bases allow you to search through thousands of tech support notices
for your problem. In many cases, you might find the solution on
your own. Apple Computer provides similar resources for Macintosh users.
I personally recommend another source, Macintouch, to all my Mac using clients. This daily update of Mac-specific
information is invaluable, especially whenever new hardware or
software is introduced. Early users are quick to report any problems
to Macintouch so you can learn about issues before you buy that new computer or software.
Major computer manufacturers such as Gateway, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard also provide support resources for their computer hardware through
their web sites.
 
 
Take a few minutes before you call tech support to get your computer
ducks in a row. You might find it will help you avoid the tech
support horror stories like those you hear from your friends and
neighbors.
Douglas E. Welch is a freelance writer and computer consultant
in Van Nuys, California.He also writes Career Opportunities, a weekly column on high-tech careers and A Gardener's Notebook. You can find more of Douglas' writing on his web page at: http://www.welchwrite.com/
He can reached via email at douglas@welchwrite.com
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