There's stupidity and then there's stupidity

[Moirae]

First post here. Great place to come and complain about the serious morons that I see in my job.

I'm a computer call center tech for a major cable company in the United States (though I actually live in Canada. Out sourced).

The sheer level of stupidity is sometimes shocking. And only some of it is from my coworkers (though they are another story altogether).

This particular call was from a woman that had dropped a coke on her modem.

Ick right? Well yeah. And most of us would just take a wet cloth with a bit of soap on it and wipe the modem down, then put it back.

But, not this woman. No, this woman decided to unplug the modem, fill the bathroom sink with water, then immerse the modem in the water. To clean it.

Then the idiot wondered why it wasn't working anymore.

And this isn't an old lady. This is a woman that you can tell is in her 50's. Someone that should have known better. Heck, even my 84 year old grandmother knows better and was shocked when I told her this story.

[mircea12345]

ya gotta love the older crowd who always does the craziest things with their computer equipment, next she will wash her monitor in the dishwasher...lol

[cpux]

Yeah, it's gotta be that generational thing.

(which I think is a myth, since it was my grandmother who got me interested in computer science in the first place)

[phillippbo]

Reminds me of a couple of calls...

But, not this woman. No, this woman decided to unplug the modem, fill the bathroom sink with water, then immerse the modem in the water. To clean it.

This reminded me of two calls when I worked at a certain outsource company for the defunct @Home.

Call #1
C= Customer
Me= Well, me

Me - **Opening stuff**"... how can I help you?"
C - "Uhm, my modem is smoking and spitting sparks very bad, what do I do?"
Me - (After only skipping maybe half a beat) "Er... unplug it?"
C - "Okay, now what?"
Me - "Let me see when I can get a technician out for you..."

*What I wanted to say*

"Sit there and wait until the sparks ignite the curtains. Then as all your worldly possessions are going up in flames, run to the neighbor's house and call the fire department."

Call #2

Me - **Opening stuff** "... how can I help you?"
C - "My modem fell in the aquarium, can I just reach in and get it out?"
Me - "Erm, no. I would suggest unplugging it from the electrical outlet itself first, and then removing it from the aquarium by pulling on the cable line. Then, let it completely dry out over the course of a couple of days before trying to plug it back in."

*What I wanted to say*

"Sure you can, Tex. Just reach right on in there and pull it out. If you feel a sting, that's healthy for you."

To add insult to injury, he wanted to know if we could do a warranty swap on it.

Sheesh. Some people shouldn't be allowed to operate a telephone...

[Titi]

hey. Moirae, it sounds like Phonejockey has sent some of her customers to you! watch out for the others.

[AmericanZero8503]

My favorite SC tech support story was about the lady who couldn't get her printer to print yellow.
So the calm tech support guy walks her through installing drivers, checking ink cartridges, and restarting the computer several times.
On the verge of sending this SC a new printer, she says "Do you think it has something to do with me printing on Yellow paper?"
I don't know if this is an urban legend, but given the tech support stories I read here, I don't think so.

[NightWolf]

At least the lady didn't try and stick it in the microwave, turn on the microwave and claim she was trying to dry it out. We've now had 2 cases in the cellphone store of idiots doing this very thing.

[Rapscallion]

C - "My modem fell in the aquarium, can I just reach in and get it out?"

So, how were the fish?

Rapscallion, an enquiring mind

[Primer]

So, how were the fish?

Rapscallion, an enquiring mind

Quite tasty! I love fried fish!

[evilhomer]

So I recently left my keys is my jeans and ran them through the washing machine, now my keyless remote doesn't work... can I get it replaced under warranty?


Geez, water - electronics... bad. How hard of a concept is this to grasp?

[phillippbo]

So, how were the fish?

Rapscallion, an enquiring mind

If memory serves, the customer told me the fish were all floating upside-down. I don't remember what I told him then, but I'm pretty sure it was along the lines of "I don't doubt it."

[Tito]

hey. Moirae, it sounds like Phonejockey has sent some of her customers to you! watch out for the others.

LOL. I was thinking the same thing!

[Moirae]

Yeah, I think she and I do too. Wait until you hear my next doozy. I'll post it right away.