Knowing when to give the hook to tech support

How long should you let them string you along unproductively before hanging up and trying again?

The trick to using tech support over the phone is to quickly size up whether the alleged tech support expert on the other end of the line actually knows anything.  If not, think of a reason to end the call.  Any reason.  Then call back and you’ll likely get another person.  My recent experiences confirmed the wide disparity in competence among those who allegedly do tech support.  I’ve learned my lesson, I think.   I need to stop being too patient.  I’ve renouced my willingness to sit there waiting for the “expert” to flip through endless knowledge base screens, for instance.

This weekend was a long weekend, tech-support-speaking.  I needed to help my mother install a router and help her set up her new HP notebook computer.  I assumed that these tasks would take about an hour, so I allowed myself three hours.  As it turned out, it took about six hours.  Plus, I had tech support issues of my own when I got back home. Things often aren’t what they purport to be when it comes to upgrading and improving one’s gadgetry. 

The Linksys router came with lots of warnings: “Insert CD-ROM first.”  So that’s what I did.  I put the disk into my mom’s old desktop computer and followed the instructions meticulously until I came upon a screen that requested a lot of information I didn’t have or didn’t understand.  By that point, …

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Please Allow Me To Introduce Myself

But what’s puzzlin’ you is the nature of my game... That’s about the only song I can stand to listen to the Rolling Stones do.  Musically, thematically, it all comes together for them.  It’s perfect.  Beyond that, while I certaiinly like a lot of their songs, I cannot abide listening…

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My (belated) introduction to the world of iPod

Last week, a dear friend asked me if I had an iPod.  I told her I did not.  She knows that I like to listen to lectures and interviews and so does she.  She told me that numerous interviews can be downloaded for free through Apple’s iTunes site. She gave me a tour of the site and convinced me that you can, indeed, download thousands upon thousands of intriguing sounding interviews from NPR and numerous other sources. 

She saw that I was intrigued with this possibility.  She also knew that I ride a bike to work and I therefore was not able to listen to live radio during my commute.  She suggested that if I had an iPod, I could listen to all kinds of interesting things as I pedal to to work.  In fact, she went so far as to ask me whether I would promise to use an iPod if she gave me one.  I said “sure.” She ducked into the next room and emerged with a small box containing an iPod Shuffle, a device that is about as big as a postage stamp.  The shuffle holds 20 hours of music or interviews in its 1 GB memory.  The tiny kit comes with a charger/USB port that allows you to drag tunes and interviews into the Shuffle through the use of the iTunes interface.  It is all incredibly slick and easy to use.  I accepted this tiny though generous gift, only half-expecting it to work when I …

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Would you like to go to a good college for free?

You can now attend lectures at the University of California, Berkeley, for free. Here's the site to visit to attend the courses. "UC Berkeley on YouTube will provide a public window into university life: academics, events and athletics," said vice provost for undergraduate education Christina Maslach. The University plans to continually add…

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National Geographic Magazine: a treasure trove of relevant information every month

I just finished reading the October 2007 issue of National Geographic.  I've been subscribing to the National Geographic for more than ten years. As I read the October issue, it struck me what an incredibly informative magazine it is.  Truly, in a single issue of that one magazine there must…

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