On Wed, Nov 24, 2004 at 09:59:49AM -0800, Richard Miller wrote: > There was a Mozilla Firefox icon on the Desktop, on the Start menu, > and in Programs, but since he couldn't find a Blue E anywhere, he > said "Where's the Internet?" This is the Cox Cable Internet repair > man talking!
You'll find that many of these repair people are trained to do a very specific set of tasks. Click this, click that, enter this number here, load this software, plug the cable into that port, and you're done. Rinse, later, repeat as necessary. It actually works to reduce costs. If Cox had to hire generally computer literate field technicians, then they would be more expensive, and hence your cable modem bill would be higher. By hiring trained monkeys, Cox can pay them like trained monkeys, and pass the savings on to you! Most companies have an effective hierarchy in place to balance cost and competency: support levels. ``Level 1'' support people tend to be nothing more than inefficient database front-ends. My conversations with them used to go like this: --- Tech droid: ``Thank you for calling SBC. What seems to be the problem?'' Me: ``The ISP forgot to re-enable my user account when I moved. Please contact them and tell them to re-enable my account.'' Tech droid: ``So you're Internet doesn't work? Do you see any lights on your modem?'' Me: ``My connection to the access concentrator is just fine; the ISP is rejecting my authentication credentials because they have neglected to re-enable my user account. Please contact them and tell them to re-enable my account.'' Tech droid: ``What does DSL Connector say when you click 'Connect'?'' Me: ``I'm not running DSL Connector. I'm running a standards-compliant PPP Over Ethernet client to connect to the network. It is reporting that the ISP is rejecting my authentication credentials. Please contact the ISP and tell them to re-enable my account.'' Tech droid: ``You need to be running DSL Connector. Insert the CD that came with your modem into your CD-ROM drive and click on 'Install'.'' Me: ``Your software will not run on my operating system. I have everything set up correctly on my computer, and I am connecting to the access concentrator. The ISP does not have my account enabled, which is the problem. Please contact the ISP and tell them to re-enable my account.'' Tech droid: ``I'm sorry, we only support Windows. Please call back after you load Windows onto your computer. *click*'' --- I find that For ``Level 1'' type problems, you just need to get creative about what you are running on your computer. Pretend that you are doing everything they ask you to do, until they make it all the way down their flowchart to the bubble that tells them what to do. Hopefully, it says, ``send customer up to Level 2 support.'' It's a fun game to play, but luckily, I do not have to play it very often. Mike
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