Helpdesk Calls... Can you feel the pain tonight?
There is this one particular recording I ran across that is truly horrible. I mean, it's funny in some way, but it's very sad at the same time. You might want to check it out for yourselves... it's <a href="http://www.zaan.be/2_years.html"; target="_blank">here</a> (340 kb).
Comments
Is that real?
I am guessing this by the sound of his voice (slight shakeness etc)
i once had a conversation with a women who had saved extremely important voicemails for YEARS, assuming they'd never go away. her first conversation with her birth monther, the last conversation she had with her dad before he died etc.
then there was a glitch, and it all went away. man, she was PISSED.
I used to work on a tech support desk and the amount of assholes you get is unreal. It's not the people that are clueless that make that job hard, it's the people that think they already know everything and then blame you after they feck up their machines.
This call is real by the way, I know that for a fact.
"I paid x amount for this machine and now it's broken!"
Yes...machines break...that happens.
It's awful.
It's incredibly funny.
So of course, she ran fdisk after she got off the phone, and lost all of her data. she called back Dell, and the case number she had been given was fake, as was the name of the support representative. Absolutely no way to trace who told her to do it.
I don't know what Dell is doing to remedy the situation, but I think that is just awful....
Having worked as a technician for about a year, there are a lot of things that get done that piss off customers. Some of it is the tech's fault, but sometimes it isn't. I had this PowerBook 140 come in, and it wouldn't boot. Obviously, it had no warranty on it. I told the guy it could be any number of four different parts, and I gave him prices on each component and an estimate as to how long it would take to get them. Basically, we started with replacing the cheapest part, and after that didn't solve the problem he continued calling me, and my boss, and just yelling and raising hell.
Still, I wouldn't erase the guy's data, but I can understand why someone would want to...
what is the cheapest/easiest way to backup data? <img src="graemlins/embarrassed.gif" border="0" alt="[Embarrassed]" />
Easiest: RAID, bizzatch.
Yeah, you could use a mirrored RAID array... but it isn't really for backing up. As the name suggests, it is for maintaining redundant access to your data in case a drive fails.
If you're happy with the amount of space on a CD, you can back up to it. The most popular tried and true method is backing up to high quality data grade tape. AIT is one of the fastest and largest formats available. I backup critical data to an AIT drive, and can hold 50GB of compressed data on it. Current AIT drives can hold over 100GB of compressed data.
It isn't just enough to back up to a tape. You have to discipline yourself to cycle tapes so you don't wear them out. And where do you store the tapes? What if there is a fire in your house? Do you have a fireproof safe for them? Even those can't outlast a REALLY big blaze. Are you going to discipline yourself to drop off tapes every week at a safe deposit box at the bank?
It's all about how much time and money you have... and just how important your data is to you. Nothing is ever truly secure
1) As per contract law they are NOT respondsible in any way shape or form for anything you put on the sucker after it leaves the box.
2) What company would service it after 2 years and replace the motherboard? Think about it, even if he were paying for it, a machine that had to have been made about 2.5 years ago is gonna be out of date and a replacement motherboard is hard to find for laptops. Plus who gives a 3 year warrenty for such in depth work? Very few businesses...
I dunno, the validity of this seems questionable. Partially because what major firm takes messages from customers instead of putting them in touch with a rep. Also... they bleep out his name, but he never leaves his number. Odd? Sure, the FIRST thing you do on an answering machine is leave you name AND number.
Even if this were a mom and pop computer shop, why would they bother to format the hard drive? They would want to get out with as little work as possible.
All of this adds up to... even if it is real, the guy is dumber the a stack of bricks to send his laptop off for service with no backup etc. Even if he WAS that dumb, they shouldn't even return his call. We have a 'curse' and hangup policy at our company. We simply do not have to tolerate a disrespectful customer. That isn't part of 'helping' them.
Besides... @ Apple if you want data saved, they tell you there is a charge, and they always tell you up front before you are even off the phone.
So lets just say this guy paid the stupid tax. The tax which pays back the folks who deserve it more.
[ 12-07-2002: Message edited by: Not Unlike Myself ]</p>
<strong>Whait just a sec folks. He has TWO years of data stored on a laptop, and then has it fixed (presumably under warrenty). Um.... two problems with this.
....
So lets just say this guy paid the stupid tax. The tax which pays back the folks who deserve it more.
[ 12-07-2002: Message edited by: Not Unlike Myself ]</strong><hr></blockquote>
Well, I completely disagree with a lot of these points and beliefs.
What company would service it after 2 years and replace the motherboard? If you have an extended warranty with the manufacturer (I once replaced a motherboard on a Quadra back in 1998 because it had an extended warranty). Furthermore, places like CompUSA will actually sell you an extended warranty through them that will last up to five years. A lot of people buy machines from CompUSA, and a lot of people buy the extended warranty as well. This warranty would indeed cover replacing a motherboard.
In regards to finding a part for a machine that is two years old... it is no secret that companies like Apple, Compaq, Dell, etceteras are required by law to stock replacement parts for the products they sell for a certain number of years. Somewhere around 10 if I recall correctly, but I honestly cannot remember. Computer manufacturers do stock parts for a long time though, so this shouldn't be a surprise.
In regards to a firm taking messages... when I was a technician with CompUSA, we had an answering system that would record calls from customers after hours. The tech shop manager's phone number was usually given to customers and a lot of them left voicemail as well. And if I were pissed off, I might just forget to leave my phone number as well. But when I was working, I'd service about 50 machines a week, and I would remember a customer's name if he mentioned it on the answering machine.
Why would someone on helldesk duty bother to tell some computer moron to run fdisk? If there is anything I've learned, IT people will often go to great strides to ruin someone's day when they get pissed off. I wouldn't be surprised if they did format the guy's drive if he was being a prick to them.
Finally, I wouldn't call someone a moron for not backing up their machine before sending it in for service. 90% of computer users out there probably wouldn't even let the thought of data loss when sending their machine in for repair cross their mind. And for good reason, because there shouldn't be any data loss unless there is a direct problem with the hard drive. At check-in at CompUSA, it was never mentioend to customers to back-up data before bringing their machine in. Most users won't even ponder it if it isn't mentioned.
I was the senior apple technician at my location. If I got, say, a laptop that I had to send into Apple for repair, I was told by Apple to make sure I had a back-up of the customer's hard drive prior to sending the machine to them, just in case. We'd charge people to do a data transfer from one drive to another... but under no circumstances should we ever lose a customer's data. Sure, they signed a form when they checked the unit in saying we weren't responsible. I've never seen a customer read it, and again, we shouldn't be losing their data in the first place.
If the problem was regarding a hard drive, I would always ask customers to back up their data, or ask them if they would like me to do it for them. Failure to tell a customer to back up their data is a failure on the part of the technician. I think it is incredibly trite of you to call someone a moron for not thinking of backing up their data when sending their machine into a tech shop for support.
I don't know if the call is real or not, but I've heard things like it before. It results from malicious technicians or incopmetant technicians that didn't call the customer to let him/her know that their hard drive was going to need to be replaced or formatted. Legally, sure, it is the customer's fault. But if technicians and shops would just remind the customer. beforehand to backup their data, a lot of this confusion could be resolved.