eovnu87435ds Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 This is today's XKCD comic, and I have to say, not only was it brilliant, but it is something that all of us here can probably relate to. Source: http://xkcd.com/806/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rkiver Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I work as tech support. It's hellish, it's degrading, it's like asking Gordon Ramsey to flip burgers, but I would love customers who actually knew a damn thing ringing up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okiwan Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 that was good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I work as tech support. It's hellish, it's degrading, it's like asking Gordon Ramsey to flip burgers, but I would love customers who actually knew a damn thing ringing up. I can relate to that Bro, I used to work in a helpdesk job and it was a nightmare. Most of the time, they have no idea what you are asking them or what you are talking about. They get so frustrated on the phone, that they start blaming you for nothing. Best way to deal with a client like that, is to log a job with field technician or remote into their PC if you can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BattZ Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I did tech support for a hospital, and holy god doctors get pissy when they don't understand something simple. The 2 most memorable calls were a receptionist who pulled out her PS2 mouse and couldn't figure out how to put it back in, after 2 hours on the phone with her, I still had to have a tech run out and do it. The other was a doctor with a simple problem with a simple solution, but he wouldn't try it and yelled at me till I sent a tech out to do the "menial tech work". Ah good times... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 lol :) vcool ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtr3m3 Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I work as tech support. It's hellish, it's degrading, it's like asking Gordon Ramsey to flip burgers, but I would love customers who actually knew a damn thing ringing up. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gt9j80Jkc_A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sorrow Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 I work for a phone tech support center as well...one that recently is going away from being customer centric and shafting customers....not fun.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
justapeon Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 (edited) Until we finally dumped comcrap, we went through the same thing when problems happened. Ironically I used to be a tech so I have seen both sides. What happened in the industry was that a lot of tech people did not have people skills, so companies started hiring sales type people for the help desk, but those people did not have a clue about computers. Customer still loses out. The story even gets more interesting than that, but I will reserve comment for some future point. Edited October 15, 2010 by inventoman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 I did tech support for a hospital, and holy god doctors get pissy when they don't understand something simple. The 2 most memorable calls were a receptionist who pulled out her PS2 mouse and couldn't figure out how to put it back in, after 2 hours on the phone with her, I still had to have a tech run out and do it. The other was a doctor with a simple problem with a simple solution, but he wouldn't try it and yelled at me till I sent a tech out to do the "menial tech work". Ah good times... I've been there myself once, now I am doing something totally new and enjoyable. Man, there were times I felt like putting my hands through the phone and strangling the client. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3TeK Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 (edited) If you guys think that's bad...I do tech support for one of the companies we own. We do VOiP, WiFi and Internet for 75-80 hotels in Kansas. Every single hotel is owned by an indians (from india). So I do tech support for Indians and i'm white. None of them can speak english and the ones who can, do know the difference between a modem and a power adapter. I could go on and on about it. I'll try and record some calls, lol. Edited October 16, 2010 by 3TeK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 (edited) If you guys think that's bad...I do tech support for one of the companies we own. We do VOiP, WiFi and Internet for 75-80 hotels in Kansas. Every single hotel is owned by an indians (from india). So I do tech support for Indians and i'm white. None of them can speak english and the ones who can, do know the difference between a modem and a power adapter. I could go on and on about it. I'll try and record some calls, lol. I know this from experience, but no matter if Indians have a black or white color skins, and no matter if they do or don't speak English, they are very smart people no offence. They are highly skilful from an engineering perspective and they know their shit. They can come from a third world country but they know how to make business. The may speak funny when they talk, but I have my respects for them. And I myself used to offer onsite IT support for a private owned Indian company. Edited October 16, 2010 by Infiltrator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtr3m3 Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 I wish I had your job 3Tek.. I would be able to communicate with Indian people, as I know Punjabi and Hindi. The may speak funny when they talk, but I have my respects for them. And I myself used to offer onsite IT support for a private owned Indian company. lol my family isn't Indian, but my dad has that funny accent too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wh1t3 and n3rdy Posted October 16, 2010 Share Posted October 16, 2010 There are indeed many smart indian engineers, the issue is the one that man call centres. It's not their fault, they are just trying to make a living. The issues lies with companies using overseas based call centres. I have had to do help desk support for the last 3 years and after a lot of hard work and showing my skills I have managed to land a sysadmin job, and i have 0 certifications. Never dismiss working at a help desk if you want to go places in iT, as long as you are prepared to do the hard yards. Call centres suck but usually you can demonstrate you know much more than the person on the other end and get it escalated to the next level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3TeK Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 (edited) I know this from experience, but no matter if Indians have a black or white color skins, and no matter if they do or don't speak English, they are very smart people no offence. They are highly skilful from an engineering perspective and they know their shit. They can come from a third world country but they know how to make business. The may speak funny when they talk, but I have my respects for them. And I myself used to offer onsite IT support for a private owned Indian company. no,no,no my friend..you got it all wrong. these people aren't the engineer/doctor class, its the class of indians that clean the streets and take out the trash. all the hotels I deal with are the lowest of the low and the dumbest of the dumb. for example one hotel the indians are straight off the boat (not being racist, my wife is asian :-D) and their kids were born here and the kids can't even speak english. these hotels are $20/night hooker hotels. nothing classy like the Marriott or Hyatt. @White..i wish i could escalate my calls to someone higher, but i'm the only person that works there. Edited October 17, 2010 by 3TeK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 no,no,no my friend..you got it all wrong. these people aren't the engineer/doctor class, its the class of indians that clean the streets and take out the trash. all the hotels I deal with are the lowest of the low and the dumbest of the dumb. for example one hotel the indians are straight off the boat (not being racist, my wife is asian :-D) and their kids were born here and the kids can't even speak english. these hotels are $20/night hooker hotels. nothing classy like the Marriott or Hyatt. @White..i wish i could escalate my calls to someone higher, but i'm the only person that works there. Ohh OK, clear explanation is always good. And how the fuck they get their residence if they don't even speak English, and don't even have a decent qualification. Here in Australia we face the same situation. The new PM is trying to stop all these migrants coming from Asia, no offence to you. But they barely speak any English, barely have any qualification and manage to stay resident. That really drive me off the cliff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtr3m3 Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Here in the UK, we have a tonne of people from Poland and surrounding countries that can't speak a word of English.. I don't understand how they get into the country.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Infiltrator Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Here in the UK, we have a tonne of people from Poland and surrounding countries that can't speak a word of English.. I don't understand how they get into the country.. The question is really simple, do they have any relative or family members already living in the country? If yes than that explains how they get into the country. Here in Australia is the same thing. If for instance I want to bring my cousin from overseas to Australia I can sponsor her and she gets her permanent residency. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaKo Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Here in the UK, we have a tonne of people from Poland and surrounding countries that can't speak a word of English.. I don't understand how they get into the country.. It's quite simple really, they are part of the EU. As EU citizens, they are able to work anywhere within the EU, which is the same thing that allows anyone in the UK to work anywhere in the EU. The only difference was when France and Germany opted for a phased integration, the UK did not, which is why we had an influx of Polish workers rather than a gradual flow as seen elsewhere. Also many of these people are returning to Poland much more well off, and as a result Poland is now doing far better economically than it once was, resulting is far less immigration to the UK. If your really wondering how they get into the UK, then your understanding of basic politics is depressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtr3m3 Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 ^ Actually, you're right.. my understanding of basic politics is rubbish.. Thanks for the info though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plunks Posted October 18, 2010 Share Posted October 18, 2010 Having worked for Telstra a large telco in Australia I dealt with a lot of people from India, Pakistan etc etc who just follow the format required by the company and supervisors. This is where I think it all goes wrong, they want to hold onto the job so desperately they don't think outside the box. For instance I was dealing with a customer who also had net issues. Rather than making them stay on the line and get thrown around for a half an hour I helped them on the spot purely through personal experience. You end up with happier customers and a job well done. If some honest free thinking was more so involved in these tech/sales support roles I think everyone would be happier. On the immigration issue, most of the internationals working in these roles as far as I can tell a more often than not students studying here and working under the student visa. I think that's why we seem to deal with non local people in these areas, because they are the only people willing to work in such a soul crushing area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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