On the phones....

Tech support via phone is a challenge.
You basically try and diagnose problems described by someone who has little knowledge of the computer.
Lots of guessing goin' on.

One tech likened it to a doctor diagnosing a patient over the phone.
I don't agree.
Doctors only have to deal with two models (male/female).
And those models haven't been upgraded in millenia.

One big hit to the ego is you know every call is going to be a complaint.
No one calls 'cuz they are happy.
It does tend to put the techs in a bad mood.

For example:
TG (You'll hear about TG a lot. I asked him to contribute to this but he won't. So I'm going to not only tell his stories but tell stories about him).

Anyway....

We all had scripts to use when answering the phone.
Basically: "Thank you for calling Compaq Technical Support. My name is XXX. How may I help you?"

There are a few things wrong with that:
1. It's too long. Our calls were timed.
2. The customer doesn't want to wait for you to finish.
3. They didn't want to call, so they didn't like being thanked.

So I shortened mine to "Compaq Tech Support."

Then "Tech Support"

One day, for reasons still unknown, I answered it "Taco Bell."

The customer never noticed.