Tech Support Hell
So, I was just bragging about the latest edition to the family. Well, let me tell you a couple of things -- my brand new baby doesn't like to speak to my in home network system. So, since the main reason I purchased the laptop is so that I can be mobile, this was really a bummer. But, like all new mommies, my newest baby was so darn cute, I was prepared to go the extra mile and find out what was wrong. I was even smiling about it.
Then I tried to fix the network myself. Mistake. Big Mistake. After about an hour of trying to figure it out alone, I called Network Magic, the company that I used to setup my home network. The technician had me do a couple of diagnostics, but their software was working perfectly. So he told me I should call HP, especially since my computer had just arrived the day before. So I go to the HP website and setup a chat session with a technician.
The first technician needs some serious retraining. She was courteous enough, but totally ineffectual and annoying. I told her my problem and that I suspected my wireless modem was malfunctioning. So, to "help" me she copies the entire help section (you know the Help section contained within each Windows OS?) and won't answer my questions until she's done. So that takes about 45 minutes. Thank the tech gods that somehow our chat session got disconnected somehow (she probably disconnected it herself!)
So, I go back to the website and setup another chat session. Now, this guy was good. He understood English and addressed my questions immediately. And he didn't do any cut and paste any of his information. He actually knew what he was doing and tried to do things that made sense. Unfortunately, after 4 hours (yes, 4 hours) he was unable to get the two modems to speak to each other. So, he suggested that I contact Verizon since they control my DSL.
So, off to the tech chat at Verizon. The first tech was very patient and knowledgeable, but after 3 hours, we still hadn't fixed the problem. Someone had changed the passcode that they normally use to access the routers, and she didn't have the experience to figure out how to work around that. She told me to reboot and when I did I didn't have any internet connection in the whole house. And of course she couldn't tell me how to fix it, because she was on the online chat (wonderful paradox).
So, then I call Verizon and speak to one of those dumb voiced prompts (which needs its own ranting section) and keep getting disconnected because it can't understand what I'm saying and/or didn't give it the answer that it wanted to hear. So, finally I get in touch with a real live person (whoo hoo!). Her name was Gladys.
Well, she called herself Gladys, but we all know that customer service comes from India, so who am I fooling. Anyway, I love Gladys. She fixed my internet connection, secured my home network (something I hadn't figured out how to do in 2 years) and made my life wonderful. And to think it only took 4 people and 8 hours to do it. So, now I am happy to report that I am working wirelessly from my laptop. Now, if I can get the laptop to access the files on the main computer I'll be tickled pink. But that's a job for another week!
Then I tried to fix the network myself. Mistake. Big Mistake. After about an hour of trying to figure it out alone, I called Network Magic, the company that I used to setup my home network. The technician had me do a couple of diagnostics, but their software was working perfectly. So he told me I should call HP, especially since my computer had just arrived the day before. So I go to the HP website and setup a chat session with a technician.
The first technician needs some serious retraining. She was courteous enough, but totally ineffectual and annoying. I told her my problem and that I suspected my wireless modem was malfunctioning. So, to "help" me she copies the entire help section (you know the Help section contained within each Windows OS?) and won't answer my questions until she's done. So that takes about 45 minutes. Thank the tech gods that somehow our chat session got disconnected somehow (she probably disconnected it herself!)
So, I go back to the website and setup another chat session. Now, this guy was good. He understood English and addressed my questions immediately. And he didn't do any cut and paste any of his information. He actually knew what he was doing and tried to do things that made sense. Unfortunately, after 4 hours (yes, 4 hours) he was unable to get the two modems to speak to each other. So, he suggested that I contact Verizon since they control my DSL.
So, off to the tech chat at Verizon. The first tech was very patient and knowledgeable, but after 3 hours, we still hadn't fixed the problem. Someone had changed the passcode that they normally use to access the routers, and she didn't have the experience to figure out how to work around that. She told me to reboot and when I did I didn't have any internet connection in the whole house. And of course she couldn't tell me how to fix it, because she was on the online chat (wonderful paradox).
So, then I call Verizon and speak to one of those dumb voiced prompts (which needs its own ranting section) and keep getting disconnected because it can't understand what I'm saying and/or didn't give it the answer that it wanted to hear. So, finally I get in touch with a real live person (whoo hoo!). Her name was Gladys.
Well, she called herself Gladys, but we all know that customer service comes from India, so who am I fooling. Anyway, I love Gladys. She fixed my internet connection, secured my home network (something I hadn't figured out how to do in 2 years) and made my life wonderful. And to think it only took 4 people and 8 hours to do it. So, now I am happy to report that I am working wirelessly from my laptop. Now, if I can get the laptop to access the files on the main computer I'll be tickled pink. But that's a job for another week!
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