You fail at being a tech(long)

[Akasa]

A little back ground. I don't currently do tech support anymore but my last job was resolution team for a large well known DSL carrier. That means we took only calls that were related to the physical line, called the mco(maintinence control office) and scheduled a tech to look at the physical line.
When the customer had a problem tier 1 would trouble shoot them then if it was found to be a problem with the line THEN they would send them to my team.

SEVERAL TIMES A DAY one particular tech would send us people with no dial tone. Of course the DSL isn't working! DSL has to have dial tone to work, just like the phone!
(And then some how this tech made it to a mentor position, which meant she got paid more than me... WTF?!)

Then there was the rule of take them off any network they have their computers on before you trouble shoot them. Our first question is always "Are you on a network?"
Guess what? When they say yes, you get to start all over.

We have a data base for a reason, use it. We ask you for the same steps every time. It shouldn't come as a suprise. So if you don't do the steps don't call me and get mad at me for not takeing the call from you.
(I've actually had a guy stand up in the middle of the call center screaming at me cause I wouldn't take the call he'd spent 45 min on, he was missing *5* steps!!)

There is no such thing as bad synch, if their lights are on, they have synch. Do your job and figure out what's on their end that's affecting their interwebs.

If you cold transfer to me I will find you and make your life miserable. Your notes you made just a few minutes ago on the callers account finger you. Not only will my entire team be notified of your behavior nd not want to take any of your calls, my manages and yours will gt a fully detailed account of the call, what was going on with the customer, and how much of my valuable time I spent doing your job.(Because its never a problem with the line, its always on the customer's end. I fix it, but its not my job.)

Sweet talking me does not get me to take your caller.

Don't argue with me when I tell you that the problem is xyz and to fix it you do xxx. I have this position cause I know what I'm doing. In fact they approached me for the position as opposed to me applying for it. I rarely come up against something I can't place or fix. And the symptoms of what I actually deal with are pretty clear cut. Be glad I'm even telling you what needs done instead of sending you to the mentors for advice.

Yes I'm female, that does not in any form or fashion mean I don't know what I'm doing you little prick. I've been dealing with computers longer than most people in this call center, and those who have been in computers longer than me know I know my s**t. So take your superior attitude and get your head out of your ass.

If I catch you pouring the whole pot of coffee in your gigantic mug I WLL make you make a new pot. On the spot. I didn't make a new pot of coffee so you could drink it ALL!!!

Little built up angst? Yeah.

[Samaliel]

Looks like someone needs a swift kick in the rear parts...

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Looks like someone needs a swift kick in the front parts...

Corrected for my amusement.

[Polenicus]

I remember dealing with Tier 1 techs.

Be glad you CAN push them back. When our call center got bought out, the parent company decided the Tier 1's needed to be coddled and dealt with LIKE CUSTOMERS by the Tier 2's, while simultaneously slashing their training budget.

Our entire call score in Tier 2 was based on how we dealt with the Tier 1's, not anything to do with our tech support or dealing with the customers. I could SWEAR at the customer on the phone while being monitored, and it wouldn't affect my score. (It would get me fired, just not affect my score

So naturally the entire Tier 1 floor turned into a bunch of entitlement whores. Every time a Tier 1 complained about a call we pushed back... management would enact new procedures to make us take that type of call. We ended up with a list that looked like this, and I'm not exaggerating.

1. We had to take any call that was over 8 minutes in length
2. We had to take any call where the customer asked for Tier 2, regardless of whether their issue was Tier 2 or not.
3. We had to take any call where the customer had asked for a supervisor. But we could not identify ourselves as a supervisor. Nor could we provide one when they asked.
4. We had to take the call if it was the second time the Tier 1 had phoned Tier 2... even if they had just been pushed back, and hadn't so much as verified the account.
5. We had to take the call if the customer needed to be referred to the OEM or some other place... such as AoL customers that had dialled the wrong number.
6. We had to take the call if the Tier 1 was having difficulty, was having trouble understanding the customer, was near the end of their shift or scheduled break, was upset, didn't want to take the call anymore or if they plain felt like it. (No, I'm not making this up. I had a Tier 1 who did this to me all the time, and management always backed her)

[XXDarrienX]

So basically if I am understanding this right, they could technically get a call and immediately transfer it to Tier 2. So they got paid to technically not do a single thing? WoW

[Akasa]

We required soem extra steps that weren't in the walk through and I even made a suplimental walk through and made sure everyone on the floor got it, and the new hires got it as well.
Well the teir 1's got testy and it came down on high that we accept and put through the tickets that did everything on the very short walk through. So we rebeled and put through EVERY ticket we got.
Then those on high were like that's not what we meant! Our reply was, that's what you did to us so why shouldn't we do it to you? Either you make them ts properly or we'll put through everything. They decided to let us have our way.

It should be noted we tried for YEARS to get certian steps added to the walk through but the guy in charge of it just wouldn't add anything more.

[sld72382]

Last week I had to field 2 calls from customers because the onsite techs couldn't do their jobs properly. These techs are supposed to be "really talented" and "the cream of the crop" of the company.

The first one reloaded windows after replacing the hard drive. Right after he left, the client realized she had no sound. Of course she waits until her warranty is up, but we decide to help her out as a courtesy. I log in to her PC, and the freakin' sound driver is not installed. As I said in a previous thread, that's the first thing a tech should do after reloading the O/S. I was able to use the update driver wizard to find a driver and install it nice and fast, but that's not the point. The client should NOT have to call in about an issue like that in the first place.

The second one was a client needed her encryption key for the network we set up. Now onsite techs are REQUIRED to put the network info in the case notes, but this guy did not. So had her use a wired PC to log into her router, and what do I see? The onsite tech set the security to use a WPA pre-shared key that was would be hard for even ME to get right (He set it to a news headline or something). I reset the security to WEP and put the new info not only on her computer, but in my notes as well. Afterwords I was able to connect to her wireless network without issue.

[Mango]

The first one reloaded windows after replacing the hard drive. Right after he left, the client realized she had no sound.

Back when I did rent-a-geek, I got a lot of business from people who had warranty techs out who didn't do their job properly. I showed up to one lady's house and discovered a Dell computer with Windows installed...and that was it. No drivers, other than the generic ones. The 19" display was set to 640x480x16 - painful, and impossible to claim oversight. Modem, ethernet, sound, USB, you name it, I had to set it up.

This is not to bash warranty techs - I've met some great Dell techs at my current job. They were outsourced, but weren't allowed to tell me their company name. Too bad as I'd have sent plenty of business their way.

[TechChick1]

I remember dealing with Tier 1 techs.

Be glad you CAN push them back. When our call center got bought out, the parent company decided the Tier 1's needed to be coddled and dealt with LIKE CUSTOMERS by the Tier 2's, while simultaneously slashing their training budget.

Our entire call score in Tier 2 was based on how we dealt with the Tier 1's, not anything to do with our tech support or dealing with the customers. I could SWEAR at the customer on the phone while being monitored, and it wouldn't affect my score. (It would get me fired, just not affect my score

So naturally the entire Tier 1 floor turned into a bunch of entitlement whores. Every time a Tier 1 complained about a call we pushed back... management would enact new procedures to make us take that type of call. We ended up with a list that looked like this, and I'm not exaggerating.

WOW! Do you work for the same company I do? They pulled the same BS on us in Tier II. Then, they removed the names Tier I and Tier II, to just technical support and customer service. Mind you, EVERYONE basically received the same mediocre half-a$$ed training. Guess who got off easier? The ones "chosen" for customer service. Now, I will admit, the ones chosen for customer service basically were because they don't really know their own heads from their a$$es, and those of us who got "chosen" for technical support, well, we are overworked, not too much more in extra pay and whose call queue do you think remains at an all time high?

[Polenicus]

WOW! Do you work for the same company I do? They pulled the same BS on us in Tier II. Then, they removed the names Tier I and Tier II, to just technical support and customer service. Mind you, EVERYONE basically received the same mediocre half-a$$ed training. Guess who got off easier? The ones "chosen" for customer service. Now, I will admit, the ones chosen for customer service basically were because they don't really know their own heads from their a$$es, and those of us who got "chosen" for technical support, well, we are overworked, not too much more in extra pay and whose call queue do you think remains at an all time high?

It's possible. The company still exists, but they primarily deal with outgoing (i.e. unwanted spammy telemarketing) calls, this was one of the few incoming support centers they had bought out.

I don't believe that center exists anymore. The bought it, changed everything, and ran it into the ground at a speed that caused sonic booms. The client dropped us so fast it made our heads spin.

Anyway, as I don't work for them, and haven't for several years, I feel safe with the names. the center was a company called RMh, which was then bought out by a company called NCO. If those names sound familiar... find a new job.

[sld72382]

NCO sucks ass, they don't train their employees properly and don't pay them enough to actually care about getting stuff right.

I know this because some of their centers are the ones I'm been complaining about in previous posts.

[PepperElf]

2. We had to take any call where the customer asked for Tier 2, regardless of whether their issue was Tier 2 or not.

i knew one guy who'd always request to be transferred to Tier 2. Then again this guy was a freaking genius at computers, so if HE needed help it really was a Tier 2 issue.