I want free support back, and this is how they should do it.

[kranky]

The primary reason that free support has faded away is because too many people abused it. Newbie users would ignore online help, product tutorials, and manuals and just picked up the phone instead, because they could. There was no incentive for them to try to help themselves first. The example that always comes to mind is the lady who called Dell when her new laptop arrived to ask how to put the battery in. The tech explained that page 2 of the manual had the information she needed. Her reply? "I just spent $2500 on this laptop, and I'll be damned if I'm going to spend my time reading a manual!" So with profits shrinking, most companies (especially software) eliminated free tech support.

Sadly, that also eliminated support for the people who had a genuine problem and had done their homework first.

I want them to establish testing for customers and once again offer free tech support to those who demonstrate their ability to perform basic troubleshooting, follow explicit instructions in the help file, and have a basic knowledge of the operating system of their choice.

The companies who would like to offer tech support (but can't due to the hordes of ignoramuses) could once again do so, knowing that no one is going to call a tech to complain that they can't insert CD #2 as instructed because it won't fit in the drive along with the CD that's already in it. It would also allow calls to be resolved much faster because they won't have to start every call by spending 15 minutes of troubleshooting that begins with "Is the computer turned on?"

 

[kranky]

I'm just not willing to let my thoughtful and interesting thread die without a single response.

 

[TommyVercetti]

So a test for consumers before they can get tech support?

 

[kranky]

Yes, in order to get free tech support.

 

[zephyrprime]

I'm not so sure about your idea but a problem is that the tech support that they used to provide wasn't even so good.

 

[DXM]

How do you propose these companies screen tech support calls to weed out the lazy from the truly needy?

 

[brigden]

Having advanced knowledge of complicated techincal devices is a skill set that not many individuals possess. True, people should read the product's instruction manual before attempting to use said product, but many manuals that accompany consumer products are very poorly written, poorly laid-out, and can be quite intimidating. You and I know our computers and their operating systems well, but I think it's unfair to expect the average consumer to as well.

 

[Kadarin]

There's a big difference between end-user support and corporate enterprise-level tech support. There's also a difference between those who are considered support technicians and those who are support engineers.

Just clarifying..

 

[kranky]

I don't expect everyone to know as much about computers as the average AT member. But I think they can restore free tech support for people who won't be wasting anyone's time.

They just have to get over their mindset that all users have to be treated the same. Maybe one person in 20 would qualify for free support based on some type of evaluation (for the sake of argument, let's say all MCSEs and A+ holders qualify). Those support calls might take 90% less time than the typical users. That would mean very, very little additional demand on support resources, but a much happier customer base for those who qualify.

 

[JEDI]

i do both at the same time.

if i have a problem, i call up tech support. while i;'m on hold, i'll surf their website.

if i find the answer 1st, i hang up. if they answer 1st, i can at least say i did look at the site and couldnt find the answer.

i love speaker phones!

 

[tyler811]

Originally posted by: zephyrprime
I'm not so sure about your idea but a problem is that the tech support that they used to provide wasn't even so good.

:beer: