On the Night Shift

So I work the night shift. It's nearly 3 a.m. and, while I am actually sitting here waiting for a call to come through, I am not actually doing anything at this particular moment.

Don't get me wrong: I like the fact that I can sit here and type away about stuff in the middle of the night, but it doesn't happen often, so I am taking advantage while I can. The work I do is not as easy as I long ago thought this type of job would be, so any break that comes along is welcome relief to the drone and drear of doing phone tech support for 10 hours at a stretch (with lunch thrown in, so I am actually "at work" for 11+ hours a day).

I can remember when I thought that people who worked on tech support didn't really have the skills to do anything more, and that it was a low-end job in the high-end field of IT. I used to work as a consultant, and a programmer, and even as a systems analyst, so I was sure that the jobs I did were better than tech support. But I didn't realize just what a difficult job those tech support folks had. Talking to people who don't know much about computers, and guiding them through the process of figuring out what is wrong and then fixing it is not a simple task at times. Then there's the issue of irate customers who want to yell at you because their computer is not working the way they think it should, or it isn't working at all. It's stressful!

Now, granted, not everything that I do is using my full potential, but just as I have a new respect for people in the custodial field (after doing custodial work for a couple of years), I have a new respect for anyone who answers a phone on a technical support line.

This isn't to say that everyone who works as a phone support technician is good at what they do, and I have run into incompetence in both those I have had to call for support, and those I have had to clean up after once they had given bad support advice. But for those who are good at it, and do it well, my hat is off to you (and to myself - I do alright! ;)

For two years, I have taken calls from people who have systems that don't start, whose sound doesn't work, who have just upgraded to a new operating system, who have broken system components, or who have virus/malware issues with their systems. There have been those who are very understanding about the fact that this kind of thing happens sometimes, and some who are completely incensed at the idea that the manufacturer of their computer is not responsible when they go to some site and accidentally pick up an infection on their system. People who fall asleep at the wheel, so-to-speak, and people who don't listen, or who interrupt constantly when you are trying to speak to them, some who swear at you and call you some of the worst names... The list goes on and on, I guarantee you.

The worst part of it is being called incompetent or stupid, or whatever because you can't figure out the solution to the problem. Yet, here I am working my tail off, trying to find a solution and coming up with a blank or coming up with the information that others have found before me that there simply is no fix for the particular situation.

Anyway, that's just my little take on tech support. And, I work the night shift where some of the most... "interesting" people can occassionally reach you. People who are drunk or stoned, or who have forgotten to take their medication should not be calling tech support at 3 in the morning. Seriously. "I'm an IT guy, and I know compluters, and I am an expert and my ssound doesn't work. Fiksh it!" Yes, sir, let's unmute your sound and try again. "Oh... uh... thanksh... how did that happen?"

How, indeed?

So, there, now you know a little more about me. I am a hardware phone tech support person for a large computer manufacturer, and I used to be a programmer. And a janitor. And I work overnights. 10(11) hours at a time.

Next time you talk to someone on phone tech support (internet, phone, computer, cable company, etc.), remember that they are people too, and they are doing their job (hopefully) to the best of their abilities. And if you can do a better job yourself, don't call us and blame us for the world's ills. Please. Just do it yourself, or give us the benefit of the doubt that maybe we know what we are doing and are going to do whatever we can to help you out.

That is all. Thank you.


Cheers!

Slyde