Heck, for the average person, tech support is like throwing darts at a dartboard blindfolded. Recently, I did a couple of tech support jobs for family members, and it drove home the hit-and-miss nature of this enterprise.
One of the jobs was to help my wife’s uncle, who had a rather old system that had ceased connecting to the Internet. His PC started life as a Windows 98 system and had made it only as far as Windows 2000. Still, my uncle’s needs were simple: e-mailing and Web browsing, some document creation—that was about all. Interestingly, he had made the surprising decision to switch this clunker from cable broadband access to Verizon’s edgy, new FiOS fiber-optic online service. That’s when his problems began…
In the end, I empathize with companies like Dell that are trying to support millions of users, with limited success. It’s a huge burden to guide people effectively to the best user experience. However, the solutions that Dell and others have turned to—scripted responses and outsourced help—is not really cutting it. Even if you know the people, speak their language natively, and have a vested interest in helping them, your best intentions and efforts can be thwarted. Apple’s been atop the support heap for years, but if my predictions about the company’s market share come true, it, too, may soon learn the harsh realities of massive user bases and tech support.
We have to face the truth. Tech support as it currently exists is broken.
While I empathize with the writer’s personal support examples and understand that many large companies essentially provide tech support that begins and often ends with low-level techs regurgitating scripted responses, I cannot yet agree that “tech support is broken”. It’s too broad of a statement. Certainly, tech support lacks when calling certain companies but tech support can also be a mildly pleasant experience with others.
Like any other service or product you are seeking, you do your research and make the best decision for your own personal needs. If, for example, you do not like Dell’s technical support and technical support is very important to you then look around some more. In certain cases, a local computer building business may be the better decision as the customer base is smaller and the business may often “do what it takes” to get and keep your business. Also, you are more likely to get a face-to-face with the technician. This can be a plus. In other cases, your local computer building company can be a nightmare and you continue to look online for reviews of businesses, search tech forums, read articles and ask co-workers and friends about their tech support experiences with a certain company you are considering doing business with. Good service and good tech support is out there. Seek it out and demand no less. If you buy from the large companies and do not appreciate the level of tech support let them know. If they do not listen then let them know with your wallet and take your business elsewhere. Don’t settle and don’t believe you only get what you get. If you simply accept the subpar service then you may deserve what you get.