I had to call MS support today..........

and this is who i got. http://www.geocities.com/ericn1300/support.jpg

LOL...probably the same guy my friend got when he called Dell Tech. Support.

Ever notice these tech support people from India have American names??? Just doesn't sound right, "Hellooo, MY name is Mike, Hoow may I help yooouu?" His real name is probably Sanjay or Ashkar :lol:. Same thing happens to me when I call Tracfone.

Ever notice these tech support people from India have American names??? Just doesn't sound right, "Hellooo, MY name is Mike, Hoow may I help yooouu?" His real name is probably Sanjay or Ashkar :lol:. Same thing happens to me when I call Tracfone.

LOL...probably the same guy my friend got when he called Dell Tech. Support.

well, at least he got the employee of the month.

Yeah, I wish there was some magic trick to be able to undestand them or a button on the phone to translate them, I hate calling tech support.

tech support is horrible to use. the "technicians" barely know how to speak english. after using their advice twice my computer is still brain dead and i need to deal with them again to find out where to send it for repair. i think the only company that has not out sourced their tech lines to other countries is Apple.

tech support is horrible to use. the "technicians" barely know how to speak english. after using their advice twice my computer is still brain dead and i need to deal with them again to find out where to send it for repair. i think the only company that has not out sourced their tech lines to other countries is Apple.

Dell directs their customers with business computers to Texas. The home user gets directed to India.

Horrible you guys but so true. I work for tech support in "America" and so many customers call and say WOW an American and they begin to explain how they hate calling these other countries. One of my classes just dove into this subject of outsourcing and it was interesting to see why company do this and the effects it causes here and also over there. I for one do not agree with it.

What gets me mad is when I call Tech Support and they use obviously scripted answers. They don't vary from this script, and when I tell them I already did what they told me to do before calling, they seem befuddled and then go back to their script and try to find what to say next. Gone are the days when you could "talk" to an individual and they don't rely on a script for answers but rather delve into your problem and try to solve it in different ways with knowledge they have learned . It's obvious they don't know as much and have to rely on scripted answers to help you. It even seems that the scripts instruct them how to start the conversation or their answer to your question. It would be better to throw the script out and deal with each individual problem with "learned knowledge" to troubleshoot your problem.

We have to use a script so there is a standard to base everyones performance one. We cannot be individuals or personable. We have tons of scrips for every scenario. We know as techs it annoys the customers but we are required to do this we don't have a say. This goes for most tech support jobs. Get this for my closing I have to ask the customer if I provided excellent service to them today. You have no idea whats its like to ask that when you didn't help the customer or they didn't get the answer they wanted. 3 more months here thank god then I am off to a new career in a new state =).

Well I'm glad not all Tech Support uses "scripted answers". I helped my wife install a VPN client on our computer so she would be able to work at home on some days from her job. I ran in to some problems installing certain parts of the whole program and had to call her Tech Support at her place of work. She works for a health insurance company with 5 regional offices and at least 1000 employees at her location alone. They have their own IT dept to cover all the offices. When I called it was obvious they don't use the scripted answers but got right in and asked what the problem was and what I had done already.They solved the problem after leading me through a bunch of actions done through instructing me on my computer. They solved the problem rather quickly and I think as many times as I have used other tech support in the past that has used scripted answers I would have solved my problem a lot sooner with those if they had gone the route that my wife's company used. I'm not against scripted answers when you call but if you already have done those steps before calling, and they don't seem to understand that, it takes that much more time to solve the issue. It's like they are not listening to the customer but rather they have "their own way of doing it" and that's the only way to do it. Too bad they don't give you the option for an "advanced" form of support where you know more about computers and have tried to do a bunch of those steps beforehand and you don't have to start at "square one" going over the steps you already have done.

Too bad they don't give you the option for an "advanced" form of support where you know more about computers and have tried to do a bunch of those steps beforehand and you don't have to start at "square one" going over the steps you already have done.

Here's the opposite end of the spectrum...
I work as tech support for a large law firm. Occasionally one of the lawyers here will have trouble with their home PC. The words I dread to hear from them are: "My husband (or wife) is a computer genius and he'll work with you on the phone to fix my home computer..." because that always means I'm going to be dealing with someone who thinks they know more than I do...

BrodyP, you know what I'm talking about...
'97ventureowner, I am not impugning your computer skills, this is just a typical example of what I deal with...

(Keep in mind my IT dept isn't obligated to support our users home computers. We only support the computers bought, configured and installed by the firm. So I am doing this as a favor to the lawyer having trouble...)

Me: "Please click START, then click RUN then type CMD in the window that opens".
Computer genius: "Oh you want me to ping my router? I did that, it works."
Me: "No, I need to find your IP address, please type IPCONFIG /ALL at the command prompt".
Computer genius: "What's a command prompt?"
(my tension level is rising...just do what I asked you to do you f*ckwad)
Me: "Click START then RUN then type CMD...that brings up a command prompt"
Computer genius: "Oh, my IP address? I thinks it's Verizon.com."

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Me: "No, that's your ISP. Your IP address is something different. Please click the START button..."
Computer genius: "I think the problem is happening because yesterday I installed a new mouse."
Me: :disappoin :screwy: :banghead: "That's probably not it. I really need your IP address, can you click the START button please?"
Computer genius: "...you know, I bet if I defrag my computer that will fix things right up. Hold on a second while I run defrag..."
Me: :banghead: :popcorn: "That will take a hour, and it won't fix anything...Can you just click the START button please?"
Computer genius: "Where's the START button?"

At that point I say "You need to call the manufacturer of your computer, because I think the problem is hardware related." (the problem is actually user-related, but I'm too polite to say that).

^^ :lol: :lol: :lol: excellent

I get this..

My monitor says I have no signal whats wrong how come the internet is down is somthing wrong in my area I'm not paying for this kind of service!!

.........Sir please plug your monitor in :banghead:

I'm so glad I don't work in the IT dept. or in tech support. I do work behind the scenes with computers but I'm more of a database user/programmer. I would've jumped out my window a long time ago if I had to deal with customers/clients. It wouldn't matter though because my window is only 3 feet off the ground... :banghead: :lol:

I would've jumped out my window a long time ago if I had to deal with customers/clients.

It's not like that if you work for in a private IT dept. All of the users that I support are internal to the law firm. I know them personally and they know me - which means they know they are the lawyers and I am the techie - so they usually just answer my questions and do what I ask them to do. It's the occasional "outside job" being done as a favor that I hate doing - I quit a job that paid $100 an hour because I didn't want to deal with the "general public".

Oh yes, of course, I meant the techies like Brodie. The IT staff here at this firm seem to have it pretty good. They are like you described what your situation is. Actually, I'd almost prefer setting up the hardware/software and fixing network issues etc. because frankly what I do is rather boring. But I'm a database "specialist" so I do what they pay me to do, and conveniently surf AF LOL

- I quit a job that paid $100 an hour because I didn't want to deal with the "general public".

You mind posting where and what this job entailed? I will deal with dumbshits all day long if they wanna pay me that kind of money lol.

I work for tech support on a campus, and I get paid $7.45 to do exactly that...help computer iliterate people. $100 would be quite a treat :lol:

$22 an hour here

I worked on Park ave for a major law firm in Manhattan for a few years but I couldn't handle the commute any longer. It was much better money as well.

I'm going to shoot for an analyst job or internal support when I move in 3 months just till I finish school then I'm switching careers.

I work an analyst job at a law firm now and make substantially less here in SC. However, if I was in NYC the salary would probably equate substantially higher salary, at least 5-7k more a year. I can't complain though. I can't really deal with customer/employee support because I'm hearing impaired and say "what?" all the time so having a nice cushy office with full benefits package isn't so bad. Besides, I'm used to being broke... haha

I based a lot of what I said in my previous posts from my experiences with AOL ( from 5 years ago), Dell (from both 5 years ago and last year,) and Tracfone. I will say this , Tech support has gotten better in those 5 years.I dreaded calling either AOL or Dell when I bought my computer 5 years ago because of the sniping that went on between the 2 services. XP had just come on the market and there were still a lot of issues with it clashing with AOL's 7.0. Of course AOL wouldn't admit to anything and blame it on Dell and vice versa. I felt bad being in between those 2 whenever I called with a problem, which was frequent back then. Funny how 99% of my problems "disappeared" after I got rid of AOL.
Recently, however, I had a problem when I had FiOS installed. I couldn't get my son's computer online and went back and forth between Verizon and Dell. Whatever Verizon would have me do,(which didn't solve the matter,)Dell would have me do it again. I kept telling them I already did that once or twice and it didn't work, but still they went by their script instead of maybe "looking outside the box for a moment." I guess the problem was the router was not recognizing my son's computer or IP address, something along those lines. Finally after calling Verizon one more time after the request of Dell, while talking to the tech lady I accidently found the problem. It was the MCAfee virus protection installed by Dell on his computer that was not allowing the router to get through to his computer. Dell knew about the virus protection on it because I told them and they saw it on their list as his computer having it installed. I even remember the Verizon installer being on the phone a long time after installation working with their IT dept. trying to get it to work.
As a courtesy I decided to call Dell back to let the tech person who was helping me with the problem know what it ended up being in hopes that this could help them troubleshoot issues similar to this in the future. After my conversation, I received a call back from the head of Dell's IT and an email thanking me for calling back and letting them know. He told me they would "re-train" the individual who helped me and use my information in future training sessions.
Don't get me wrong by the tone of my previous posts concerning this matter. I have a lot of respect for IT people. It amazes me at how much they know and have to know about various systems and hardware/software that is used with it. I can imaginge the schooling that goes along with such a position. My own brother is an IT person who has been in the business since serving back in Vietnam in the '60s. He worked for GE, then worked for Digital for over 25 years, then his job got outsourced and went to work for Microsoft business IT. He recently was layed off from that position,(not sure if that job was outsourced as well,) and I believe the last time I spoke with him he had another IT job lined up. It's hard for someone his age (he's 62) to find work in that field out in Colorado. I've been joking with him to move back home to NY where IT jobs are plentiful and slow to be filled for the lack of qualified personnel.

I work an analyst job at a law firm now and make substantially less here in SC. However, if I was in NYC the salary would probably equate substantially higher salary, at least 5-7k more a year. I can't complain though. I can't really deal with customer/employee support because I'm hearing impaired and say "what?" all the time so having a nice cushy office with full benefits package isn't so bad. Besides, I'm used to being broke... haha

Yea I am sure I'll take a pay cut when I move but it all equals out in the end..God thing the wife graduates law school this semester :iceslolan

The longer warm seasons make you eventually forget about the monetary cost of living differences. If somebody offered me $45-50k to live in NJ/NY all year round I'd tell them to look elsewhere.

The longer warm seasons make you eventually forget about the monetary cost of living differences.

:thumbsup:

You got it, also just want a bit slower pace of living to start a family.

You mind posting where and what this job entailed? I will deal with dumbshits all day long if they wanna pay me that kind of money lol.

I work for tech support on a campus, and I get paid $7.45 to do exactly that...help computer iliterate people. $100 would be quite a treat :lol:

I was working for a friend who was starting his own IT contracting agency - he had several companies and a few home users as clients. He charges the client $175 per hour for on-site tech support. This seems like a lot but that is what agencies charge their clients. Normally the agency keeps 80-90% of that fee and they pay the tech whatever the normal salaries are (between $15-$50 per hour, depending on how good you are). But because my friend is the owner of the agency, he gave me a better rate. Independant contracters make more money but there's no benefits, no 401k. I had to buy my own health insurance, and in April I paid a lot to the IRS since taxes weren't being taken out of my salary.

The job itself was supporting the client's entire network: installing file servers, setting up email servers, running cables thru the walls and installing data jacks etc... - it involved more than deskside user support.

$7.45 is frightening, but I'd rather help some cute young college girl than some smelly old lawyer. j/k - there's some damn hot interns here that will be permanent once they finish law school.

There's more and more IT positions becoming available here in So-Cal as we recover from when all of those dot-com companies crashed in the early 2000's. Headhunters call me all the time asking if I or anyone I know is looking for a job.

luckily i work in the corporate world and each of the corps i deal with have a 24/7 support center staffed with knowlagble peeps as i'm usually going in blind as to their system infranstructure and don't often have to deal with the script monkeys very often.

i get from $250 to $1,500 a night for upgrades and installations for the work i do, but if i leave a store down and they can't open they loose about $10,000 an hour. a lot of pressure, but mony is well earned.