Despite woes, tech support often best option

So there I was on hold waiting for tech support to come on the line. I had bad music to keep me company along with a robotic voice that kept telling me my call was way so important to the company. It became increasingly hard to believe the robot’s assurance of my importance after 15 minutes of waiting.

But when the telephone was finally answered the fun truly started. I even got to where I missed the robot. He seemed a lot smarter than the human I got.

I was asked to try stuff I’d already tried unsuccessfully. Telling the guy I had tried them did no good. He wanted to try them all again. So we did — with the same results.

Finally as often happens I was told the whole thing was someone else’s problem. That shifting the blame thing is not uncommon. If you call to complain about balky software you are likely to be told that the real problem is hardware related. Hey, they say, not my problem.

I tell you all this to make sure you know I understand why you aren’t thrilled to call tech support. But sadly, it’s still your best shot at getting help for a problem you can’t solve yourself. After all the company that made the product is likely to know the most about it. And if the problem is a fairly common one, they’ve likely dealt with it many times. So, despite all the flaws, it’s still the way to go when you need help.

I can’t take away the horror of making that call but I can offer some steps you can take to make it less painful.

Before you call, start by writing down – in a single short paragraph – a description of the problem. Be as detailed as you can, if there were error messages write them down, if the computer made a sound or if the screen flashed, note that.

Here’s why that single paragraph will make things go smoother. Your brains may become scrambled by the long wait and the bad music. When the tech guy finally gets on the line you will want to relay all the symptoms as clearly as possible. And it’s easy to forget some clue. If you write everything down in advance and then read over it, you may spot something you failed to mention.

It’s still not time to make the call. You may be asked all sorts of questions about your computer and the software you are using. I strongly recommend downloading Belarc Advisor (http://www.belarc. com/free_download.html). It’s a free and safe program that takes a detailed inventory of both computer hardware and software. I can almost guarantee it will provide the answers no matter how specific the questions asked by the tech support specialist. Heck, you’ll sound like a danged genius.

I’m going to take a wild guess and say that you’ll soon become frustrated while talking to the tech. But don’t show it, don’t complain. If you can establish a friendly sort of rela- TECHNOBUDDY’S BIG Q&A tionship with the tech person you’ll increase the chances of getting good help. If, on the other hand, you sound like a jerk you’ll probably be treated like one.

If you are very lucky the tech guy or gal will finally offer a solution for your problem. He assures you that if you follow his instructions all will be great, flowers will bloom, trumpets sound. Maybe so. But insist that the support person stay on the telephone while you try the fix. Nothing is more frustrating than hanging up the phone, trying the guaranteed fix and finding that it doesn’t work. Then you have to get back on the phone again, although a recent survey shows that many – faced with that exact situation – don’t call back and instead kick their dog.

Let’s say that you aren’t lucky and that it becomes obvious that the tech can’t fix your problem. Ask to be transferred to the next level of customer support. Not all companies have tiered support. But some do. The least experienced handle routine calls and the best experts only come into play with the first tier of support can’t fix the problem. So it does no harm to ask.

Finally, you may end up without a fix for the problem. Here’s something that has worked for me. I’ll simply get off the phone and call the help line again in a few minutes. You’re likely to get another tech support person. And if you are lucky they’ll be more helpful. Don’t underestimate dumb luck.

I wish I could tell you that following these tips will always result in fixing a problem. I could easily tell you that if I wasn’t afraid that my nose would grow to an unseemly length. But you know better anyway — there’s a decent chance that you won’t get good help.

If you reach that ugly branch in the road you may well want to consider getting out the best tool I know for fixing a computer problem. It’s a tiny tool made of plastic – your credit card. Take the machine in to a good shop and pay to get it fixed.