Working in a computer support environment sometimes has its moments. At times, it's difficult to envision what the person on the other end of the phone is looking at or doing. When taking support calls from users who have no computer knowledge or experience you have to be aware of how you're using technical terms. It is imperative to use every day language to explain things or they will become even more confused and frustrated.
One of the first calls I got when starting in computer support was a woman having trouble with her computer. She said she couldn't enter anything on her computer. After an hour and a half, I asked her to check the keyboard connection on the back of the computer. She asked me to hold on a second and I heard her yell to another employee, “Hey! Do I have a keyboard?”
Another call came from a woman in Kansas; she was having trouble with her computer not wanting to turn on. I kept hearing this "wild" screaming in the background like cats being tortured. I asked her, “What is that noise?” She said, “It's cat races! It's driving me crazy! They strap these cats into these remote controlled motor cars and race around the mall with them. I'm going to bring a bee bee gun in and start shooting the friggin' things!” I thought, “Okay! Cat races? Must be something done only in Kansas.”
One of my favorites is when we replaced all of the mice on the computers with track balls. A woman called to say her track ball wasn't working. I knew it wasn't dirty since they were brand new. I asked her to check the connection to the computer to make sure it was plugged in securely. She did that and said it still wouldn't work, she said, “I'm moving it across the screen but it just doesn't work”
Another incident with the trackballs was a person who called and said they didn't like the track ball because it was hard to use and thought something was wrong with it. It didn't take long to find out they were using it upside down. I thought, “It does make sense in a way. The mouse ball was on the bottom so why not the track ball?
While being on call I would have to call IBM to service a computer. Taking the calls from home when you have a Yellow Naped Amazon around can definitely add some humor. During one call to IBM, my parrot was in the other room yelling, “Help! Help! Owe! Stop! That hurt!” I told her, “I have a parrot, it's not someone being abused. “ The technician on the other end of the line said, “You're going to have police show up”
Another time while on a call, I had a store on the line and my parrot was whistling the theme song to “Andy Griffith”. She said, “Your husband needs to practice his whistling.” I told her, “It's not my husband, it's my parrot.”
These are just some of the many incidents while working in a computer support environment. I no longer work in a support environment but occasionally I still laugh at some of the calls I had.
