Okay, i’m the only tech here, i’m working as hard as i can to get the backlog of machines down to a managable number, i’m only one man, i’m only human, working as fast as i can…
Just because i haven’t called you with a status update DOES NOT mean i’m ignoring you (although i’d sure like to…don’t tempt me), it simply means your machine HAS NOT HIT THE BENCH FOR DIAGNOSIS YET!, and calling me bellyaching about it will NOT make me sympathetic to your cause…
If you piss me off enough (and being verbally abusive definitely qualifies), you may find your machine may not be as ready as quickly as you want, i may just decide to run some more …intensive (and much, much slower) testing suites which will add time to the repair
Don’t piss off the guy trying to fix your machine, contrary to what you may believe, i’m trying to help you out (even if you clearly don’t deserve it)
No, i DON’T CARE that this machine is your only machine and your business runs on it, if you’re that dependent on computer hardware for your daily business operations, wouldn’t it make sense to have some, oh, i don’t know…BACKUP HARDWARE!, y’know, like that machine you just sold to get your new (now broken) machine?
Remember, a lack of planning on your part, DOES NOT constitute an emergency on my part
Finally, pissing off the tech is not a good way to get your machine back faster…
oops, sorry, it just seemed longer because these morons…err…customers DON’T LEARN!
anyway, to add a little more, to the rant…
Mr. self-important customer, it would help if you gave a more descriptive problem description than “problem at shutdown”, what kind of problem, a lockup, Kernel Panic, the machine insults your family, green pea soup shoots out of the CD slot?, what??
especially considering that the machine in question appears to be running flawlessly, i’m sure the problem wasn’t that the machine was lonely and wanted to go on a vacation to scenic Coastal New Hampshire…
yep, right now i’m running Apple Service Diagnostic (ASD) 2.5.7 in an 8 hour loop test…
he hasn’t pissed me off to the “unrecoverable hard drive errors” stage yet…
actually, the only time i ever used that excuse was 10 years ago when a customer had some very offensive porn on his desktop in plain view, it was his desktop pattern, i didn’t even need to search for it, sadly, that machine came down with “bad blocks, total data loss” and i had to reformat it…
so far, all tests passed, i’ll call the jer…errr…customer sometime before close-of-business today to get a better problem description than “broken”…
Reminds of one user who kept bugging me about her computer (she was overloading the mobo on it, amongst other things, requiring that we ship it back to Dell for repairs).
She once was talking about “lighting a fire under me,” at which point I informed her that no matter what kind of fire she lit, it was not going to make Dell fix her computer any faster, and that I had no control over it.
Well, while I empathize with the OP, I’ll offer a counter rant against technicians. Machines break, computers, cars, washing machines, that’s a fact of life. When they do we need to have them fixed by those who know how. If you are in the buiness and fixing those machinies and I come to you, I assume oyu want my business and will treat me accordingly. Now with something like cars there is very little problem, because the place I bring it to knows that if they don’t treat me nicely I’ll just go down the street to another guy.
Problems arise when one has limited options for those that will do the repair, or, the worst, when the broken machine is covered under warranty. There is no incentive—in the short term—for the company, or the self-important asshole technician—to provide good service. Now most people know that at this point they are fucked, so their expectations are greatly lowered in terms of stellar service. But while they may accept that the actual repair will take a non-negotiable amount of time that is commensurate with the problem, they do not assume that the company (of which they are a customer) would not be more than willing to provide them with the two things they can: Information and an understanding, pleasant attitude.
Even if someone has a backup machine or second car, people need information to make wise decisions. If the computer is going to be back in two days, maybe I should check my email at Kinko’s. If it’s going to be two weeks, I might want to buy or rent something. What I need is information. You MAY have it. I know I don’t. So, I’m going to call you. Not because I like going through phone trees or because I like listenting to the annoyed tone of your voice, but because you have information that I need.
So, to the uppity delf-important technician I offer a hearty FUCK YOU. Do you not realize that I bought a product from your company and its failure is your fault and not mine. And if I didn’t buy that product, or don’t in the future, that you will be out of a job and your hollier-than-thou ass willl be pounding the pavement for another company you can hide within with your shitty temperment.
If I were a CEO, knowing how much easier and cheaper it is to keep a customer as opposed to acquiring a new one, I would call tech service every month posing as a customer. I’d even send in a machine under someone else’s name. And if I was not handled politley and helped as much as I could be, that technician would be out of a job within a week.
That said, last year my Mac crashed. The Apple store quickly (one or two days) was able to establish that they could not fix my machine and recommended I go to DriveSavers for data recovery, which I did. Although the work they did took longer than I had anticipated, and longer than they told me, they were VERY polite and communicative, which made the whole experience as pleasant as possible.
My fantasy when I’m dealing with one of these asshole technicians is that I’m a plumber or something and the person calls me for help. I go to their home and give them the same shitty treatment they give me. “But it’s my bathroom. I neeeeed it.” “Well the part I orderd for it da\idn’t come in yet. When it does it does. Until then, just chill out.”
Magellan, i will never be verbally abusive to a customer or treat them with disrespect, i just expect the same courtesy to be extended to me, i know the customers are what keep me in business, i have a problem with customers that drop off a machine are told the expected queue time, how long it takes to get parts, estimated completion date (emphasis on ESTIMATED), all of that is told to the customer when they drop it off, yet they insist on calling two days later asking if it’s ready yet, when it hasn’t even hit the bench…
warranty and out of warranty repairs are given the same priority, attention and care, i don’t perform substandard repairs, everything is done to (and slightly above) Apple spec, doesn’t matter if Apple is footing the repair bill, or if the customer is paying out of pocket, nobody gets a shoddy repair job from my shop, it’s not an option
which they get, case in point, i called the customer referenced in the OP yesterday around 2 PM, and was very pleasant and cordial, he didn’t know i was annoyed with him, i treated him no differently than a customer i was happy with, i got the needed information and advised him on the status of the repair, and he wasn’t abusive, this time, wonder why he was in the initial call…
information that was given at the time of drop off “there is an “X” BUSINESS day (M-F) backlog, and parts will take “X” number of business days to come in from Apple”, nothing had changed from when he dropped it off, and when he called with his irate temper tantrum (which he never apologized for…)
well, actually the problem is NOT mine, i didn’t build the machine, we are NOT Apple Computer (we are an independent vendor that sells Apple products), the failure is the fault of defective manufacturing, it’s Apple’s fault
if you read the OP, there is nowhere where i am confrontational to a customer, it’s just not done, these people pay my salary, that said, it does get annoying when a cstomer has selective hearing and doesn’t hear the word BUSINESS in business days, if your machine was dropped off on a Friday, do not call, expecting it to be ready on a Monday, as the store is closed on weekends and nobody is here, every customer is told that our business days are M-F, some just don’t hear it or process it.
every customer is kept updated to the status of their repair even if it’s just “i’m still waiting for parts, i checked with Apple and it’ll be an additional “X” day(s) before the part is in”, most people are understanding, the ones who aren’t, i try to “kill with kindness”, empathize with them and tell them that i want to get their machine back to them as much, if not more than they do, after all, it’s (don’t take this the wrong way ) taking up space on my waiting for parts rack and not doing either of us any good
instead of taking it out on a customer (which i will NEVER do, even for those who deserve it), i usually come to the Pit to vent
for some strange reason, the customer that’s verbally abusive on the initial status request call usually calms down dramatically when they realize i’m just as frustrated as them at the situation (having a broken machine) and that whining/griping at me won’t do any good, and certainly won’t get the parts here any quicker…, by the second or third call, i’ve usually turned the situation around and the customer is, if not happy, at least not throwing a temper tantrum
there’s no reason for them to be verbally abusive in the first place though, it doesn’t do anyone any good, the only reason i can think of for their temper tantrum is that to the non-tech minded, their machine is “dead” and it’s the end of the world for them, they’re extrapolating all kinds of worst-case scenarios where they lose their data, their dog runs away, their wife leaves them for someone with a working computer, their truck gets reposessed and they [Chris Farley] end up living in a VAN, down by the RIVER![/C.F.]…
the tech, on the other hand knows that almost all machines are repairable, it’s usually no big deal, and certainly nothing to panic about, they’re blowing it way out of proportion…
Sorry if I was unclear, but my counter-rant was more general in nature. I did not intend it to apply 100% to your particular situation.
I highlighted the last part of your reply because I think it gets to the crux of the issue. For YOU, it’s not a big deal. You’ve been through it a thousand times, And that is precisely WHY it is not a big deal. For someone else (me, for instance) I was in super panic-mode. My computer with ALL my personal info AND business documents (a lot) were on that computer. Let’s say there’s a fire in your home. No one is injured by theres some pretty bad damage to the first floor. Now the insurance adjuster has been through that situation ofrten, so it’s no big deal to him (it’s also not HIS stuff), so he can be very calm. But you are wondering about what is covered, what’s not, to what extent, how much work has to go into the claim, trying to foresee the degree to which the insurance company will fuck you over, how to get back to normalcy. That’s is a more extreme example, granted, bu the ind set I think is the same. I’m sure that the next time I have to go through a crashed computer I will be more calm because I now know what to expect. And I now back up religiously.
My little rant was in part directed to computer support in general and in part to the overall degredation of customer service that I’ve seen in my life time. I think it’s a shame. I’m old enough, barely, to remember the Texaco guy coing out to the car in a uniform, pumping the gas and cleaning the windshield. We’re heading in the wrong direction.
If you took personal offense to my counter-rant, my apologies. It was not intended.
no problem, i think we had a mutual misunderstanding here (isn’t jumping to conclusions fun? ), no offense taken
good point, this also exhibits that a tech can also suffer from myopia, as you stated, I know that 90% of the time, the “failure” that has the end-user in a panic is probably not a big deal, but i forget that the customer does not know that and to the inexperienced user, it is a major problem for them, i’m looking at them in their panic, and looking at it from a technician viewpoint, i mean what’s the big deal, it’s just a <component failure>, just swap out the <component> and it’ll be good as new…
and at least you came out of your experience looking at it as a learning experience, you learned the value of regular backups, i appreciate customers willing to learn and evolve their knowledge, you wouldn’t believe the sheer number of customers that not only never learn, but almost seem proud of the fact their being willfully ignorant…
Not that I don’t sympathize with your situation. I know it gets painful to communicate the same thing over and over—in baby steps—to one person after the next. Hang in there. And take comfort in that you are in a position to be someone’s hero.
I did some work a ways back on customer service. And the companies who handle it the best are the ones who view a customer problem not as a “problem”, but as an opportunity to create a company evangilist. Once they’ve gotten emotionally involved, there either gonna hate you or love you. Love is better.
If I need an operation, I expect them to give me an appointment. I know they are busy and that sometimes that return visit to the OR may not take place for several weeks, but in the mean time I can go about my business, to the extent that I can function, and when I do show up for my appointment I expect them to wheel me in and get to work without too much delay.
When my PowerBook is sick and needs work, I don’t want to leave it off and have it sitting on Shelf #5 for 10 days. I want a bloody appointment. Maybe it needs a PRAM battery or the damn AC-in port is broken again, or the screen hinge needs replacing, or the CardBus carrier is fucked up. It needs your attention. Fine, you tell me when to bring it back, and I will and I will sit there in your shop reading magazines and chewing my fingernails and refraining from making a nuisance of myself until you’re done. But when I leave your shop, I want my Mac to leave with me.
If my computer has been taken completely out of working order so I can’t use it, that does change things. I will want a rental unit to use in the mean time. I do not want some vastly different and/or underpowered iBook though, I want to rent something pretty close to the make and model of what I turned in, and I want my own hard drive back to put in an external enclosure to boot the rental unit from while you’re working on mine.
Yeah I know. But hey, look, you knew Mac owners were like this before you got into the field, didn’t ya?
Foaming, it was 10 years ago when i was younger, stupider and far more reactionary, i’ve mellowed with age, now, unless it’s kiddie porn (thank Og i never encountered that), i ignore it, it’s not my data, i could care less now
and no, i do not wreck machines on purpose, calm down, you seem to be foaming at the mouth
Back in the day before I made the leap to admin, I had to call the cops on a guy that child porn on his Performa 5200. I replaced the CRT, fired it up, and clicked on a random item from ‘recent items’ to make sure it wouldn’t crash.
I was out on a call when they busted him, which was kind of a bummer. I think it would have felt good to see that.
