Technician: "Hello. Tech Support; may I help you?"
Customer: "Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
Technician: "What sort of trouble?"
Customer: "Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."
Technician: "Went away?"
Customer: "They disappeared."
Technician: "Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"
Customer: "Nothing."
Technician: "Nothing?"
Customer: "It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
Technician: "Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?"
Customer: "How do I tell?"
Technician: [Uh-oh. Well, let's give it a try anyway.] "Can you see the C:\ prompt on the screen?"
Customer: "What's a sea-prompt?"
Technician: [Uh-huh, thought so. Let's try a different tack.] "Never mind. Can you move the cursor around on the screen?"
Customer: "There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
Technician: [Ah-at least s/he knows what a cursor is. Sounds like a hardware problem. I wonder if s/he's kicked out his/her monitor's power plug.] "Does your monitor have a power indicator?"
Customer: "What's a monitor?"
Technician: "It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like aTV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on?"
Customer: "I don't know."
Technician: "Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find wherethe power cord goes into it. Can you see that?"
Customer: [sound of rustling and jostling] [muffled] "Yes, I think so."
Technician: "Great! Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall."
Customer: [pause] "Yes, it is."
Technician: [Hmm. Well, that's interesting. I doubt s/he would have accidentally turned it off, and I don't want to send him/her hunting for the power switch because I don't know what kind of monitor s/he has and it's bound to have more than one switch on it. Maybe the video cable is loose or something.] "When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?"
Customer: "No."
Technician: "Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."
Customer: [muffled] "Okay, here it is."
Technician: "Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer."
Customer: [still muffled] "I can't reach."
Technician: "Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?"
Customer: [clear again] "No."
Technician: "Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?"
Customer: "Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle-it's because it's dark."
Technician: "Dark?"
Customer: "Yes-the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window."
Technician: "Well, turn on the office light then."
Customer: "I can't."
Technician: "No? Why not?"
Customer: "Because there's a power outage."
Technician: "A power--!?!" ...[AAAAAAARGH!]..... "A power outage? Aha! Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?"
Customer: "Well, yes, I keep them in the closet."
Technician: "Good! Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
Customer: "Really? Is it that bad?"
Technician: "Yes, I'm afraid it is."
Customer: "Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"
Technician: "Tell them you're TOO STUPID TO OWN A COMPUTER!"
[slam]
.
Customer: "Yes, well, I'm having trouble with WordPerfect."
Technician: "What sort of trouble?"
Customer: "Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away."
Technician: "Went away?"
Customer: "They disappeared."
Technician: "Hmm. So what does your screen look like now?"
Customer: "Nothing."
Technician: "Nothing?"
Customer: "It's blank; it won't accept anything when I type."
Technician: "Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?"
Customer: "How do I tell?"
Technician: [Uh-oh. Well, let's give it a try anyway.] "Can you see the C:\ prompt on the screen?"
Customer: "What's a sea-prompt?"
Technician: [Uh-huh, thought so. Let's try a different tack.] "Never mind. Can you move the cursor around on the screen?"
Customer: "There isn't any cursor: I told you, it won't accept anything I type."
Technician: [Ah-at least s/he knows what a cursor is. Sounds like a hardware problem. I wonder if s/he's kicked out his/her monitor's power plug.] "Does your monitor have a power indicator?"
Customer: "What's a monitor?"
Technician: "It's the thing with the screen on it that looks like aTV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it's on?"
Customer: "I don't know."
Technician: "Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find wherethe power cord goes into it. Can you see that?"
Customer: [sound of rustling and jostling] [muffled] "Yes, I think so."
Technician: "Great! Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it's plugged into the wall."
Customer: [pause] "Yes, it is."
Technician: [Hmm. Well, that's interesting. I doubt s/he would have accidentally turned it off, and I don't want to send him/her hunting for the power switch because I don't know what kind of monitor s/he has and it's bound to have more than one switch on it. Maybe the video cable is loose or something.] "When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?"
Customer: "No."
Technician: "Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable."
Customer: [muffled] "Okay, here it is."
Technician: "Follow it for me, and tell me if it's plugged securely into the back of your computer."
Customer: [still muffled] "I can't reach."
Technician: "Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?"
Customer: [clear again] "No."
Technician: "Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?"
Customer: "Oh, it's not because I don't have the right angle-it's because it's dark."
Technician: "Dark?"
Customer: "Yes-the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window."
Technician: "Well, turn on the office light then."
Customer: "I can't."
Technician: "No? Why not?"
Customer: "Because there's a power outage."
Technician: "A power--!?!" ...[AAAAAAARGH!]..... "A power outage? Aha! Okay, we've got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?"
Customer: "Well, yes, I keep them in the closet."
Technician: "Good! Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from."
Customer: "Really? Is it that bad?"
Technician: "Yes, I'm afraid it is."
Customer: "Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?"
Technician: "Tell them you're TOO STUPID TO OWN A COMPUTER!"
[slam]
.
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