Out of Scope

[Anriana]

I work for an ISP. We are not general tech support, we are not computer support, we are not software support, we are internet connection support. Most of us do not know how to troubleshoot things outside of our support - computer experts don't do tier one support for a cable company. Even those of us who do know how to troubleshoot things outside of our support are not allowed to, due to liability and creating false expectations in the customer ("The last tech did it!") However, as it is free to call us and most of our customers are computer illiterate, we get quite a few customers who call us for any computer related issue they have and think that it is our fault.


Here are some of the calls I've gotten:


"How much longer does my Microsoft Office and Power Point trial last?"
"Ummm... that's not really something your internet company could answer, let me give you Microsoft's number."
"Oh, they came with the computer so I thought you guys would know, /sigh."


"I dual boot OSX and XP and I can only get online in OSX, why is your service so inconsistent?"


"I get pop ups whenever I use your service, I want a credit!"


"My computer can't find Internet Explorer, give it back."


"I can only get online when I connect to your webstar but not your linkskis, fix it for me!"


"I can't log into my gmail/hotmail/yahoo account, what's my password?"


"I can get online with Firefox but not Internet Explorer."


"Where's my word processor?


"My monitor ain't showin' no picture."


"I can get online but my daughter can't, why are you blocking her internet?"


"Why are you blocking www.pokersite.com?"
"Umm... www.pokersite.com says it's down for maintenance."
"Maintenance? Again? God, you guys are always doing that! Give me a credit! *click*"


"I can still surf but my Vonage is broken."


"My printer isn't working."

[BravoOrig]

I feel your pain, I do the same job you do. Whats worse is the company is pushing us to sell stuff to. Not what I signed up for 2 years ago. Do you know Ace?

[Pedersen]

Well, first off, let me also point out another site Tech Tales. It doesn't seem to be updated much anymore, but it still has lots of unbelievable stories in it.

That said, I do have to comment on some of the issues you listed, as they do seem like issues that the ISP should be able to help troubleshoot (at least, to me).

"I dual boot OSX and XP and I can only get online in OSX, why is your service so inconsistent?"

"I can get online with Firefox but not Internet Explorer."

"I can get online but my daughter can't, why are you blocking her internet?"

To me, those are internet connection issues. All of them sound like configuration issues with the user's computer, but still internet connection issues.

Oh, and don't think I'd be harassing you with mine. I've been known to be running Windows XP in VMWare Fusion running NATed off the host network connection under OSX to connect to the wireless network to connect to the wired network to hook up with the proxy server to test the internet connection for our sales floor.

Hey, I never said I didn't have issues. Just that I wouldn't bother you with them. I don't believe in making others suffer for my issues

[Anriana]

Ooh thanks for the link!

All we support is access to our service. The support that we do for configuration is only to confirm that our service is working; if some of their software or devices can connect and some can't, it's not our issue.

The metaphor we give is "if one shower in your house works and one doesn't, it's not the water company's fault."

I feel your pain, I do the same job you do. Whats worse is the company is pushing us to sell stuff to. Not what I signed up for 2 years ago. Do you know Ace?

I hate the sales! And no, I don't know Ace.

[BravoOrig]

Asking if you know Ace was just a test to see if you worked for the same company as I do. Ace is a starfish shaped cartoon guy with a blue shirt and headset on that greets us when logging into one of our internal sites.

[Eric the Grey]

"My computer can't find Internet Explorer, give it back."

Ok, this just made me giggle like a little girl.

I take tech support calls off-hours for the company I work for, and I can readily believe the calls listed. I sometimes get remote access problems from users at home who just received their company laptops and have no idea how to configure their home network/wireless so they can connect. Unfortunately, we don't support that part of things, all we can do is ensure that the laptop is working...

Beyond that, I mostly get people with application problems. Although there was the one guy who shut down his PC and couldn't find the power button to turn it back on...


Eric the Grey

[Bright_Star]

My computer can't find Internet Explorer, give it back."

Did you hide it in the trash can?....lol.

[gunsage]

Wow. A lot of those are pretty bizarre. Not that they sound unbelievable or anything, but man. We offer a pretty decent amount of support, but customers often try to take advantage of it. Despite the fact that we assist with voip phone and Internet service, we often get people asking for...

- Fax machine assistance.
- Online gaming.
- X Box Live.
- Music downloads (yes, illegal ones).
- File sharing in general.
- WAY complicated wireless router setups that go far beyond our scope.
- Third party equipment, third party equipment, third party freakin' equipment.

What really annoys me about the X Box Live deal is that some of our guys know how to set that up and will, despite it being outside the scope. Look, I'm sure XBL is fine and all, but I don't have it and I'm really not interested in it currently. Is that any reason to further burden me with troubleshooting the customer is expecting me to do because, as you stated as well, "THAT THAR LAST TECHIE HELPED ME OUT WIT IT, Y'OUGHTA TO, DUMBASS."