The Computer Corner
By Charles Miller, June 30, 2006 


Tips for tech support

Sooner or later, almost everyone ends up going through the experience of having to pick up the phone to call customer support. It seems sometimes that everyone who has done this has his or her own horror story to tell. This week, I want to devote this column to some pointers intended to make this experience less of a trauma.

It is now one of those realities of life that when you call customer service or technical support, you are very likely to end up talking to someone in India or Pakistan. Out-sourcing these jobs overseas costs the company less money than keeping those jobs at home. Modern voice over IP communications and the Internet make it technically possible to do these jobs from halfway around the world.

When you are confronted with the need to pick up the phone, please do not dial until you have done a little preparation.
First, I suggest not making your call unless you have time to complete the process. If you know you have 30 minutes before you need to leave to go to dinner, then that is not a good time. In this case, you can be sure you will be on hold 31 minutes.

If you have a speaker phone, this can make those long waits on hold more bearable while listening to music on hold.

Second, be sure to have a pen and paper at the ready, because you will need to make some notes. Write down the number you called. Large companies can have many different numbers, and you cannot guarantee you will later remember which number you called.

Make a note of the date and time you called. Make note of the keys you press so you can quickly get back to the same place if you are disconnected.

When you do get through and speak to someone, the first thing you should ask is for the name of the person to whom you are speaking. Sometimes the person who answers will say he or she is not permitted to give out his or her name, so in that case ask for an employee number, a telephone extension number, or other identification. It is not very often I get an answer to this question, but I always ask whether there is a direct number I can call back “if we get disconnected.”

Ask the location of the call center. Be prepared to ask them to spell names such as Jayalaxmipuram or Thiruvananthapuram as you learn more about the geography of the Indian subcontinent.

Ask the tech assistant for a date by which your issue will be resolved. This is a subtle way of letting them know you will call back on that date if the issue is not resolved.

It is sometimes hard, but please try to remain pleasant and courteous at all times. The people at the call centers get a lot of “screamers,” and you can be sure the rude callers are not the ones getting any help. It is all too easy for them to just hang up on you if you are not polite.

After making the call and keeping good notes, remember to keep those notes handy if you need to call back.

I cannot leave this subject without warning everyone of “voicemail jail.” Some companies deliberately structure their phone systems to prevent your ever being able to talk to a live human being.

To our rescue comes a neat website at “http://gethuman.com” (no www). This website lists the “secret” codes for many companies. This is a good place to learn that, for instance, if you have a Dell computer you can simply select option 1, dial extension 7266966, select menu options 1, 1, 4, 3 and be connected to a human.

Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant, a frequent visitor to San Miguel since 1981 and now practically a full-time resident. He may be contacted at 044-415-153-8528 or email FAQ@SMAguru.com.