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How To Get The Most Out Of Tech Support

Everyone has had an interesting experience with technical support. Whether it’s a failing operating system or trying to change a mobile phone’s voicemail password, at one time or another we’ve all picked up the phone and dialed the 800-number provided to us in case we need it. But the experience can be very different depending on how you approach the situation. It’s important to know how to go about your attempt to solve a cell phone or computer crisis through communicating with tech support if you wish to get the best possible result. Simply put: be polite. A few things to expect when calling tech support include:

Cynicism

Domestic-based tech support workers deal with dozens of people with problems everyday. Within a six month stint, most of these people have been through it all. Don’t be offended if they sound unenthusiastic. They’re as stimulated by their line of work as a fast food cashier is by his. With that said, you’re going to get your problem solved just like you’re going to get your hamburger no matter how moody the lady at the counter can be. Getting worked up over evident apathy is unfair to the person who otherwise is going to help you.

Be Polite With ESOL

Those working from outside the country take their job seriously. When you hear them speaking to you, they’re trying their hardest to communicate clearly in English. Repeated requests for the tech support worker to clarify themselves should be said calmly and without spite. From personal experience, I’ve learned most overseas tech support workers are extraordinarily good at what they do, you just have to have patience and pay attention.

Unplug, Re-plug, Restart, and Research If Possible Before Calling

In order to speed up the process, preempt the experience by making sure you’ve already tried all the obvious troubleshooting strategies. Tech support will begin with these suggestions and it might seem like a waste of time, but over half of all computer tech call ins for example for solved by simple fixes such as these. Make sure they aren’t the problem so that when you call you can immediately inform the tech support worker and can move on to more meaningful solutions.

Lose The Sense Of Entitlement

It’s not that you aren’t entitled to free support for a product or digital service, it’s that you aren’t entitled to boss another human being around because you can. Computer sciences are studies learned by individuals with no shortage of intelligence. The person on the other end of the line likely reads vociferously, takes their expertise seriously, and is probably someone who in another situation you’d be having a beer with. Respect that and they’ll respect you. They’ll be less stressed and therefore focus more on ways to help you.

Having manners when you’re in a position of anonymity is a sign that you’re a genuinely good person. To genuinely good people on the other end, that doesn’t go unnoticed.

Written By

This guest post was written by Jessica Wagner, a freelance writer from San Diego, CA.

7 Comments

7 Comments

  1. kevin

    July 29, 2011 at 5:15 am

    Tech support is very useful.. sometimes it’s the only way out if your in big trouble with your hardware.. you can also relate this to managing websites.. it is therefore emperative to give them what they deserve, respect is definitely one to give…

  2. jorge

    July 30, 2011 at 11:06 am

    and that goes for all kinds of people you meet too.. 😉

  3. Nawaz

    July 30, 2011 at 4:37 pm

    All technological matters must be solved tech support. Any system without tech support is nothing.

  4. Frans

    July 31, 2011 at 5:22 am

    in fact if there is a problem with the hardware, while he remains in support of the warranty period will not be a problem. thanks

  5. Jon

    July 31, 2011 at 8:23 pm

    I usually don’t call tech support for things that don’t require a service provider to fix (say, for example, having a digital cable provider send the signal to your house). I find it is better if we learn how to fix things ourselves. That way, we can keep tech support lines free and improve QoS.

    Some people really call up for the dumbest reasons…

  6. terry

    August 2, 2011 at 12:58 pm

    Tech support really is a vital part..

  7. Sandra

    September 7, 2011 at 8:38 am

    I don’t have much experience with tech support. Only tech support I have to call every now and then is from my hosting at hostgator. But their support is Top-notch.
    When I call tech-support, I will be nice and respectful. Even though it is their work to try to help me, I will still approach them like I’m asking a favor of them.

    I have been angry to tech-support once though. But that was because I was losing money because of them. Even though I was angry I still told the guy it was not personal and explained the situation. That made it easier to understand why I was being a bit bad-tempered.

    Tech-support is there to help you fix your problems. They are there to clean up the mistakes that the company makes. So there is no reason to be angry at them.

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