Dealing with tech support--is lying OK?
A number of incidents recently illustrated just how poorly trained most tech support people are.
I suspect that they have the jobs they do because they are willing to work cheap. Period. It seems that companies offer very little training to tech support personnel whose main job boils down to reading from a script and being polite.
If you are dealing with a technical problem where you understand the concepts involved, you are likely to be frustrated talking to someone who does not understand the concepts, but is mandated to do step 1, then step 2, then step 3, and not let the facts get in the way.
In this situation, is lying OK?
Hard to say. On the one hand, when script-reading support persons tell you to do x and then y, they may be lying to you. That is, they may have no clue what x or y does or how it might solve the problem. If you know that x and y won't fix the problem, is it OK to lie and say you did it?
I recently had a problem with a standalone VoIP unit the first time I plugged it into a router other than my own. The unit plugs into the Internet on one end and a normal telephone on the other end. The Internet connection was fine, the lights on the router were all normal, but there was no VoIP dial tone. So I called the vendor of the VoIP box.
The tech support person said to first turn off the router, the VoIP unit, and the cable modem and then turn them back on again. This is a reasonable starting point, assuming you have no interest in gathering any additional information about the problem. In my case, I couldn't turn everything off because the Internet connection was needed for something more important than this VoIP problem. That was the end of debugging. If I didn't do step 1, they wouldn't go to step 2 in the script. The fact that the Internet connection was fine, never made it to the radar screen.
I stewed on the problem some more and narrowed it down a bit. Then I called back to provide my additional information about the problem and another support person said the same thing: turn everything off first. Neither support person had any interest in understanding the problem beyond the simple fact that there was no dial tone.
Apparently, they can't handle a full problem description that requires understanding what's going on. For example, neither person asked about the status lights on the front of the VoIP unit.
Eventually, I figured out the VoIP problem myself (it had to do with DHCP vs. static IP address on the LAN) and fixed it without turning off the router.
Update May 23, 2008. Clarified that in the example, I was talking to the vendor of the VoIP unit, not the ISP.
See a summary of all my Defensive Computing postings.
Michael Horowitz is an independent computer consultant and the author of several classes on Defensive Computing. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
There are times when following their silly little script DOES actually help. I've had it happen once or twice where I forget one little thing and it ends up working. But, most of the time you can just tell them you've done all the steps until you get closer to what your real problem is, or get them to escalate it. (Since most won't escalate unless you've gone through the script)
First of all, not all people simply "work off of a script". Most companies do, yes, but many people do have knowledge outside of the script. The scripts are put into place as common fixes, and I can't count the number of times I've spoken with technical professionals, whom of course *knew* what the problem was and *knew* that the steps I was taking were pointless...and *gasp* the script ended up fixing the problem!
I'm currently employed at an internet support site, where we do not use scripts past an opening script when answering a phone call. Otherwise, it's all based on knowledge. There will never be a change in the tunnel-vision technical aspect of large companies, but I believe that companies providing overall support for products across the office, be it corporate or at home, will end up becoming the new way for end-users to receive support.
As for the "lying" aspect, why? These scripts companies use are proven as an overall fix. Sometimes a combination of steps fix the issue, and one of those steps might just be in that script. After all, if you absolutely know what the fix is, why did you call to begin with?
When I was in a scripted environment, I've got to tell you, receiving your call probably would have been the highlight of the day. I enjoyed making people that believe they know so much more than the tech suddenly start to realize that, as I said, if they were so incredibly intelligent and knew the issue so well, they wouldn't be on the phone to begin with.
most companies simply offer script readers for tech support. A number of incidents prompted
this posting. Beside the VOIP provider, there was one at a cable ISP, the maker of a high
end telephone/PDA, an MP3 player and a PC manufacturer. In each case the company was supporting its own product, which is not at all what you do. You ask why lie. In the case I described it was because without doing step1 in the script, the tech support people refused to do step2. Michael Horowitz
Oh, and madtecrep, I hate to be so martinet, but it's annoying to see people using "there" when they should be using "their". Still, your point is made, and it's a good one.
And, DrollTroll, I really did call for help as I wasn't familiar with the VOIP box at all. A little reading of the manual for the box got me going in the right direction. Michael Horowitz
1) Just about EVERY person that calls in to tech support will presume that they've "tried everything". They have not, or the problem would be fixed.
2) Generally speaking, tech support people don't get paid very well and, because of it, there is high turnover. Even if people don't leave because of burnout or boredom, they are outsourced to India or other places. This makes for "young", unexperienced techs that essential HAVE to follow the script.
3) It would not be cost effective for any company to spend long periods of time training every agent from the ground up to superhero. I have been on both ends of the spectrum here - from Dell (a couple weeks of training to support a very large number of models of laptops - all with their own "known issues") to Anixter (who sent every one of their employess to different parts of the country for extensive training 3 times a year). To answer the question of "Why can't Dell afford to properly train and pay their techs?" - maybe consult with Michael Dell. Or better yet - pay increasingly higher prices for the products you purchase, without complaint.
4) Is lying ok in other parts of your life? Certainly it is, or you wouldn't ask in this instance. Then why ask? You live your life the way you see fit and others will do the same. I would say, in this case, if you haven't done the steps they want you to and you, effectively, refuse, then you aren't allowed to complain when they can't fix your problem.
Tech support needs to be done in a methodical way, much like life, or the results will always be random. Until you can be mature enough and patient enough to understand that, expect things to not work as well as they could. Until then? Maybe don't give advice about subjects that you haven't seen from both sides of the table.
I'm sure you're right that tech support people don't get paid well and everyone loses in such a system. The tech support people, the customer and the companies that generate ill will. Perhaps, hopefully, someone will offer expensive but good tech support (think money-back guarantee). My guess is that many people would pay for this. Certainly Apple's tech support has to be part of the reason Macs are doing well.
And, not that it matters, but I have been on both sides of tech support, nice of you to assume otherwise without knowing what you're talking about.
Tech support does have to be done methodically, but only after gathering all the facts. Script-readers can't deal with gathering all the facts. Michael Horowitz
Buy a low-cost ($200-300 Vista Special, anyone?) computer, and you get what you pay for, both in hardware and support (Likely a breakdown or compatibility issue that sends you across the pond to some damn 3rd world country that pays their support $2/hr).
Buy a system built and spec'd out to actually last and perform as you want it to (Gee, should have listened to that Sales Engy after all!), then you'll talk to someone that knows what to do for you, and they'll likely have the authority to make things right for you w/o having to "talk to their manager".
Yep, TechSupport can suck. Believe us, we don't like you consumers much either with your attitudes b/c you didn't want to pay for a more robust/reliable system with the support to follow it up with. We're here to help you out of the predicament you put YOURSELF in, within certain contraints placed upon us by the manufacturer or service provider.
Don't take it out on us for your screwup. If the product or service seems too good to be true, it likely is. Use some common sense.
the steps provided for customers, when followed, they rule out many things,
in your case, you simply plugged in a device to a new LAN,
if you did reload, you would have negotiated a new IP address if you are set for DHCP and would not need to re-assign it yourself.
so a reoald as suggested would have fixed it, or at least ruled out it was not a dhcp, then they would look into your layer 3 configurations, including IP address.
these guys work remote, and deal with many issues, you called them for help, so follow the steps, however made these steps had no intention of tricking you, or confusing you to start with.
my two cents,
regards.
- by c|net Reader May 28, 2008 6:44 AM PDT
- Why would lying be OK? That you asked the question means that your moral code is relative; you judge right and wrong based upon the situation. Given that, why do you care what others think of your decision? I judge right and wrong differently: lying is wrong, so I wouldn't do it.
- Like this Reply to this comment
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(22 Comments)Others have noted that following the script might well have resolved your DHCP problem. Fixing your problem with as little cost as possible is the purpose of tech support, and following the script would have done that. However, since you weren't willing to follow the script, you could try escalating the problem: ask for a supervisor. The supervisor will have more authority to listen to your story and judge whether to permit your skipping steps in the script. Finally, as others have suggested, you can find for-hire tech support to work with you. With those options, lying isn't necessary, though avoiding it might cost you some money.