Telephone Support By Script - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 04:04:55 pm
content: We have all heard stories of computer support where the person at the other end of the phone just reads through a script. Regretably I must report that this method of support is spreading to other industries.Our cable set top box has been displaying various strange problems for the last week and this afternoon there was a brief puff of smoke from the port at the back before it finally died. I telephoned the cable company and reported everything that had happened including the smoke and guess what their first suggestion was?"Please disconnect the box from the mains, wait thirty seconds, then plug it back in again and see if the fault clears"I swear, there is no hope for humanity.

author: jadew
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 04:10:42 pm
content: did it work?

author: grumpydoc
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 04:11:09 pm
content: 1st line support are not paid to think - that is forbidden until 3rd line and it's optional there.

author: dfmischler
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 04:12:55 pm
content: Play along a little. Wait 30 seconds and tell the support-droid that, "It is still smoking."I remember working for a company that received a bad vehicle identification scanner from the field with a note that the unit was smoking. As a joke, I asked the tech who was supposed to fix it if we could just throw in a pack of Marlboros and send it right back out...

author: jadew
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 04:14:08 pm
content: It's not that they're not allowed, they just don't have the necessary knowledge to understand the issue and offer suggestions.Phone support people usually have very low wages. If they were able to understand issues over the phone and offer custom solutions, they would have a very different job, earning a lot more.

author: MikeW
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 04:29:31 pm
content: Quote from: jadew on July 14, 2015, 04:14:08 pmThis might be true up to a point but you don't need an electrical engineering degree to know that when something gives off smoke and dies, 'power cycling' (as it is called these days) will not fix it.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 06:24:15 pm
content: One other thing (before anybody else asks). The box is sealed by the cable company and if I break the seal I may have to pay for the replacement box. There will therefore NOT be a teardown.Sorry about that, but at least I escape German TV for an evening or two.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 06:33:31 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on July 14, 2015, 06:24:15 pmWell, there i snot too much you will miss.I have stopped watching TV completely for a few years already and don't miss it at all.Once in a while I read the headlines of what was shown and I am glad I do not watch TV anymore.

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 07:07:07 pm
content: Most support lines are that way, but a couple of months ago I had an Adaptec RAID card start acting up (saying the drives were all present and healthy but the array was gone, and repairing/reinitializing it was failing). I called up their support line and got what sounded like a 65 year old woman..."oh great" I thought, but boy was I wrong. She was on the freaking ball, knew everything about the card and everything about their interface software. We were on the phone for a solid hour, and managed to get it all back up without any data loss or corruption. She never had to transfer me to anyone or put me on hold while she looked up the issue, she just dove right into debugging. It was pretty impressive.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 08:00:50 pm
content: Thats why you should always answer their question before they ask it. Always start with your customer number and address. Don't start with the stupid questions.If you pretend to be a smart customer, they often skip the easy questions and the scripts will lead to "ship new device" or "send installer".If you start with, "hi with John, my tv doesn't work". Your a dumb customer, scripts starts at the top.If you start with, "hi, this is John of customer number ####. My settop box is not outputting any video on any port.", You'll make a much smarter first impression.At least here in the Netherlands. The customer support of big companies and municipality offices have been thoroughly slated by several TV-shows in the public domain.One of them is "kanniewaarzijn" (literally "cannot be true") where cases are exaggerated in a theatrical sketch.Somehow, the real problems the people were having always suddenly disappear if the company of government institution receives 1 call from them.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 08:40:05 pm
content: This is probably a know classic but always great to watch again:The Website Is Down - Sales Guy vs. Web Dude

author: nctnico
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 09:07:12 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on July 14, 2015, 04:04:55 pm10 years ago I had a similar experience with a Linksys device (a wifi router) which didn't work out of the box. I returned it and never bought a Linksys device since then.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 09:23:31 pm
content: Quote from: German_EE on July 14, 2015, 04:04:55 pmdisconnect cablesopen windowshoveclose windowcall tech supportclaim the machine crashedif they ask where it is located : tell them on the pavement in front of my house , you can come pick it up ...

author: suicidaleggroll
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2015, 10:37:34 pm
content: Quote from: wilfred on July 14, 2015, 10:18:21 pmYeah I don't really get the logic behind boycotting an entire brand because of one DOA purchase. It happens to every company.

author: nuno
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 03:24:39 am
content: Two smoky talesMe and my brother, we were playing some games on my 1st computer (ZX Spectrum+2!) for a couple of hours. I suddenly noticed that there was smoke coming out from the monitor's top, but it was still working. After a second or 2 looking at that, I quickly stretched out an arm to grab the power cord and pulled it out of the wall socket by the cable.I connected everything on my 2nd new PC, powered it on and was happily (yeah, right) seeing Windows 95 booting. When it was almost done, I noticed my room getting entirely filled with smoke, the PC was shooting smoke from the back (psu fan powered) like a disco smoke machine (but darker smoke). Had to open the (room) windows before being able to go hunting for that power cord again (the PC did actually work normally after this event, but I returned it).Funny thing these boxes today, stop working when smoking.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 05:33:49 am
content: The smell would have been awful.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 09:24:04 am
content: 09:05 Doorbell rings and there's an engineer standing on the doorstep with a new set top box.09:06 Engineer doesn't even bother testing the old box, he just sniffs the box, wrinkles his nose then starts plugging in the new one.09:10 Two hundred channels and nothing on.09:11 Paperwork signed, engineer departs. He didn't even want a coffee.

author: HighVoltage
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 10:18:36 am
content: Impressive German efficiency !

author: Towger
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 10:29:30 am
content: Must be lots of overqualified engineers in Germany.

author: Jeroen3
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 10:48:49 am
content: No. It's cheaper to just replace the unit. Done within seconds. More efficient than fully troubleshooting hoping to find some random issue.Only until the third or firth engineer they'll start spending more time. Because they might improve their service if they find an new rare issue.

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 01:18:35 pm
content: Quote from: mojo-chan on July 15, 2015, 12:39:40 pmoh fuck .. Cable modems... Cant tell you how many of those ive seen burn out after 6 months.I use a motorola surfboard. Works like a champ and stays cool. Most of the cable modems self destroy because they run hot hot hot

author: c4757p
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 01:40:01 pm
content: Funny, I'm on my third Surfboard now.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 02:19:19 pm
content: The cable modem has never failed, solid service for two years without an issue. The problem was with the set top box that supplies our TV 'entertainment'.

author: kingofkya
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2015, 04:38:31 pm
content: Quote from: nctnico on July 14, 2015, 09:07:12 pmWhats sad is is mainly the shitty psu they come with throw a good delta or meanwell supply on it and they stop crashing... Often also applies to modems.Linksys/cisco:2 psus with cut cords one or both cables cut.4psu that produced noise that i could see before i even had the scope connected.Never had an issue with older linksys transformer based supplies but the new switch mode ones suck.1 dead router out of the box it was referbished so they get a pass kinda.Modem:I had a wonderfully scientific Atlanta one that came with a unregulated supply, and it would crash nearly every night. Then i finally put it together, at night the ac voltage goes up a bit due to load, over heating the regulator. on the modem.After replacements of the supplies i have up times in the 100+ days, on most of stuff assuming i don't unplug then for some stupid reason.

author: CatalinaWOW
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 04:30:17 am
content: Scripting has funny consequences. There has been a phone scam going on for a couple years that is based on a script. The callers are clearly low skill southwest Asians. It starts with "Hello, the is Microsoft Technical Support and we have been receiving error messages from your computer".Their eventual goal is to get you to give them remote access to your computer, but their responses are really interesting when you give a non-scripted answers.Try:"Lordy be. My windows have computers?""My windows computer speaks Linux.""My computer is already running. How can a use a "Start" button?"A dumb sounding response is perfect, it lets them think they will eventually be able to talk you into doing what they want, but their language skills and scripts are limited enough that they can go strange directions.

author: Deathwish
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 06:14:39 am
content: Reminds me of that scene in star trek when scotty tries talking to the mouse to get the pc to do something

author: Derick Freese
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: July 16, 2015, 07:41:35 am
content: Back when I worked DSL support, I would turn the port on our side on and off while making you powercycle, since the CPE needed to be cycled after anyway. It fixed a lot of issues. Often, it brought the comment of "It never does it like that when I do it myself." Of course not, I just reset the line.Powercycling equipment, especially home telecommunications equipment, is part of the troubleshooting process and the front line can't get the issue escalated, even if it's obvious that the issue is the small equipment fire.I once had to do full troubleshooting when the guy told me that the boundary box in his neighborhood had been involved in a car crash. At the time, I had some clout, so I just sent that in as a ticket and it was worked as soon as the crash was cleared.