I used to do tech support. Now I’m a pastor, which may very well be the spiritual equivilant of tech support. Today I came across this post over on Crunch Gear about what tech support people really mean. Basically, it nails us. It made me reflect on the tactic I usually had to utilized to get a panicked person up and running. My converstation would often go like this:
User: The kids are coming in soon and I need this for my class and it’s not working. I need it to work. Please help me get it working.
Me: OK, no problem, let’s work though the problem, ok?
User: OK, because I need it to work but it’s not working and the kids are coming and…
Me: I understand, can you tell me what you mean by “not working?”
User: I need the get on the internet and the computer isn’t working. I’ve tried everything and it still isn’t working.
Me. OK, would you do be a favor and open up Netscape for me so I can just confirm that you’re not able to get to the internet?
User: What’s netscape?
Me: OK, you know those little pictures on the computer screen?
User: Uh, yah I see”harddrive, trash can, and a bunch of other ones that don’t look like anything. shopping list, class schedule, report cards…
Me: OK now I need you to find….
User: iMovie, file server, e-mail…
Me: Alright you’re in the right place I just…
User: I just don’t know how to get my computer to work. The kids are almost here and I…
Me: OK, we CAN fix your problem, but I need you do me a big favor, OK?
User: OK, do you want me to reboot my computer.
Me: No, no please I just want you to stop touching the computer for a moment.
User: OK, but I could click on file server…
Me: No, please. Here’s what I need you to do.
User: OK what…. (sound of random mouse clicks).
Me; I need you you to stop thinking. I’m going to ask you do some actions to get your problem fixed – and when I do I need you only pass on what I ask for in return. OK?
User: So stop thinking?
Me: Yes, I need you to be my hands – I’ll be the brain for right now, ok?
User: OK.
Me: Great, now all of our computers have a little picture named “Netscape” on the desktop on the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Would you find that and click twice on it please?
User: I’m not…oh wait there it is. Netscape
Me: OK, click twice on it.
User: OK, oh wait – it opened! And the Internet is fixed, I can see the school web-site now. Thank you.
Me: No problem, thank you for helping me out.
User: OK, the kids are here I have to go. Thank you!
Me: OK, have fun. Bye.
Yes, that’s right, I actually asked people to stop thinking. Probably breaks every rule in book, but it was sometimes the only way to cut through the panic and get people settled down.
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That’s fantastic. I liked the way you said you’d be the brain. That let’s them know it is ok to stop thinking. It gets them to stop clicking all over the place.
Well done.
Now, how can you get them to think like us?
There is no getting an end user to think like a geek. We are the secret order of the digital age!
Now if only there was a way to get in touch with the next level of tech support. Where you as the user knows how to do 90% of the fix but needs that one critical piece of info to solve the problem. Aka tech support for level 1-2 geeks.
There are ways, I haven’t figured it out for Comcast yet though. I’m not sure they have level two support – largely you just need to coax the help desk tech to go “off script” and then things can happen. Sadly, a lot of folks are scared to go “off script” because they’ll get fired if they do.