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grammarmancer:
overherewiththequeers:
The worst tech support call I’ve ever had to deal with wasn’t even while working tech support. I was working at a video store, and someone couldn’t hook up a VCR.
To be fair– VCRs were a pain in the ass. It wasn’t so much that it was difficult, per se, but it was awkward, and there were two different methods to do it, depending on your TV. And most people could not tell you what kind of hookup their TVs had, because it was something you dealt with when you first got your TV and never looked at again.
So this guy rents a VCR, and I explain to him how it works. This was the spiel:
“Okay, look on the back of your television, you’re either going to see a plug like this (points to coaxial port on VCR) or a set of screws. Either way, it will be labeled ‘In from Antenna’ or ‘In from ant’ or just ‘ant.’ Anyway, if it’s a plug, you just attach this cable (point to cable). If it’s two screws, you’ll need to loosen them and attach this adapter (point), and then you attach the cable to the adapter. The other end of the cable connects to the VCR where it says ‘Out to TV’ (point to coax port). Then you set your TV to channel three. If it’s not clear, change it to four and flip this switch on the back of the VCR (point).”
See? Not really COMPLICATED, but involved. So the guy gets home, and he’s forgotten it all. So I give him the spiel again, this time without pointing.
Forty-five minutes later, he calls back. Still no luck. I go through it again.
An hour later, he calls back again. This time, I decide to go in the opposite direction.
“Okay, where is the cable connected?”
“On the back of the VCR, where it says out to TV, just like you said.”
“Good. And the other end?”
“I taped it to the side of the television.”
AMAZING.
(Your picture was not posted)
grammarmancer:
overherewiththequeers:
The worst tech support call I’ve ever had to deal with wasn’t even while working tech support. I was working at a video store, and someone couldn’t hook up a VCR.
To be fair– VCRs were a pain in the ass. It wasn’t so much that it was difficult, per se, but it was awkward, and there were two different methods to do it, depending on your TV. And most people could not tell you what kind of hookup their TVs had, because it was something you dealt with when you first got your TV and never looked at again.
So this guy rents a VCR, and I explain to him how it works. This was the spiel:
“Okay, look on the back of your television, you’re either going to see a plug like this (points to coaxial port on VCR) or a set of screws. Either way, it will be labeled ‘In from Antenna’ or ‘In from ant’ or just ‘ant.’ Anyway, if it’s a plug, you just attach this cable (point to cable). If it’s two screws, you’ll need to loosen them and attach this adapter (point), and then you attach the cable to the adapter. The other end of the cable connects to the VCR where it says ‘Out to TV’ (point to coax port). Then you set your TV to channel three. If it’s not clear, change it to four and flip this switch on the back of the VCR (point).”
See? Not really COMPLICATED, but involved. So the guy gets home, and he’s forgotten it all. So I give him the spiel again, this time without pointing.
Forty-five minutes later, he calls back. Still no luck. I go through it again.
An hour later, he calls back again. This time, I decide to go in the opposite direction.
“Okay, where is the cable connected?”
“On the back of the VCR, where it says out to TV, just like you said.”
“Good. And the other end?”
“I taped it to the side of the television.”
AMAZING.
(Your picture was not posted)
