On Tech Support and People

I have just spent almost 40 minutes on a tech support line this afternoon. I have no idea where in the world my call landed? From the accent and voices that I heard in the background, it could well not have been the US (where I live)…..And I have to remember that my accent is in no way a native US accent. Even after living here for almost 19 years, I still detect a slight pause in some people if they are meeting me for the first time and an accent comes out of my mouth that they were not expecting.

Anyway, the point of this is not accents but simply people. There was a lot of scripted talk to sit through and being led through processes that I had already done (because to do otherwise would throw the support trajectory, or so it seemed?). I can see how people can get tired of having to sit through a support process that seems unnecessary - “Why can’t your product just work?" or ” Why can’t you just fix my problem?!" However, I reminded myself that the person who I was speaking to on the other end of the phone was just another person like me, navigating life, doing a job and trying to be helpful. When I hang up they have another person to speak to and help. The problem that I had experienced might be an inconvenience to me that I would prefer would just go away, but I feel that I should not let my frustrations ruin a day for them.

I write this still not knowing what the outcome of my call will be? I am waiting on an email from tech support as the person who I was speaking with was still waiting on a response from someone higher up the ladder before she could help me further. And that is probably who I should keep my frustrations for if things don’t work out to my satisfaction - those further up the stream of command.

Unless someone comes across as truly not caring, those in support I’m sure just want a good day at the work with as little stress as possible. So I try and treat them as I would appreciate being treated, try and catch their name and use it, and save any real frustrations for those who have more control over the system…and me.