Have you ever purchased an item because of a television advertisement for the
product? You watch the commercial the first time thinking nothing of it. Then you
see the same ad again and again and again. Before you know it, you're calling that
toll free number and ordering the 'object of your desire'. In my case, it was a
computer - because the commercial promised 'round the clock' support with friendly
agents who were willing to help you with any problem you had. You know the company
I'm talking about, right? They have since pulled these ads from the rotation and are
running every conceivable 'push' for their product to try to hook you in. But it's
been a while since I've seen the ad touting their great technical support. And I
know why...
Little did I know that when I dialed the 800 number for fast, free, friendly technical
support and answers to all my questions, the call was not going to the southwest portion
of the US, but half way around the world. Okay...I thought, 'What the hell'. As long as
they can get me through this problem and fix my computer, everything will be all right.
It should be a painless procedure. They deal with these problems all day long. Think again.
After four calls and six hours of wasted time in the course of a week, I was no closer
to getting my computer fixed. My patience was wearing thin and my nerves were about to
snap. So after all this time on the phone, one of these so called 'experts' told me the
problem was in the tower and they would have to replace it. Of course, the new tower would
not have all the programs that I currently use and my files would be lost forever.
Why not burn my files and programs to disc, you ask? That's there was the problem was.
The CD writer that came with the computer was not working correctly. To put it bluntly,
it wasn't working at all. I'm not sure if it was the language barrier that the agents and
I had to overcome or something entirely different. I thought that I was expressing myself
in a manner that they could understand. Maybe not. I did know that I had no choice in the
matter. After all the time spent on the phone with no real answers, I did what any normal,
upset, irate consumer would do...I hung up.
Now, you should realize, that I know as much about computers as all the all the members
of the BS Boys and 'N Stink know about rock music. Nil, nada, nothing. I know how to turn
it on, access my files and programs and get my work done. As far as the workings of the
computer...Forget it. I also refuse to take it to a 'repair shop' and let it be held for
ransom for a couple of weeks until they can get around to 'looking' at it.
I know what you're thinking. 'Richard, call back and complain. Get that thing fixed.'
I did something more feasible. I called a friend who knows computers. He works at a call
center where he 'troubleshoots the customer's issue' and tries to find 'a resolution or
a workable fix'. Guess what? In about twenty minutes he walked me through a quick,
painless and satisfying conclusion to my problem. I was 'up and running' and burning
all those programs and files to disc in no time. Not only did he solve the problem but
also advised me on how to keep my computer in tip top shape. Then he told me I should
consider purchasing another computer...One with English speaking support.
Before I hung up the phone, I asked if he'd like to get together later. I needed some
answers to other questions I had about technical support. He agreed. With my list of
questions in hand we met and discussed his thoughts and mine on the issue at hand.
Getting reliable answers to questions on computers and other high devices.
Want to know what I found out? I'll let you know next time.
* Richard Blaine's views and opinions do not necessarily
reflect the views and opinions of the staff at Twin-Music. |