It is just me, or is this crazy world a little weirder than usual these days?
Twice today, I needed technical support. I try my best to answer my problems by reading and researching. I Google around to see if anyone else has the same problem. And, I look to see if there is an option or setting or widget or something I should have set because I’ve been known to miss the forest for the trees. But when all else fails and it is important to me, I ask for help.
Such was the case this morning. I knew I would need help last night, but decided to wait until this morning. I didn’t see the need to stir up some poor soul late at night for something which isn’t critical in the least. So, this morning, I write an email to support. I succinctly described my problem, told them where it was happening, showed them an example with a screenshot, and told them I read their blog entry describing the issue. I was in no hurry and figured I would receive a reply sooner or later.
A while later, my reply came in. Yea! I had some time to deal with the issue, so I was excited. I opened up the email. It wasn’t a long email, but it wasn’t a complicated problem. The first line apologized for the issue, which I pretty much expected. The second line told me to read their blog, and more specifically, the very blog post that I told them I just read. The third line informed me that I needed to do the very same steps that I told them I did as well as install one more piece of software.
Interestingly, this was the very same software that I was needing support for in the first place. In other words, they told me to do the very things that I told them I just did. Sigh. The person responding didn’t read an inch of what I wrote, other than the topic.
Helpfully, there was a Rate My Experience link at the bottom of the email, which I did. You can guess how that went. Perhaps this is the new normal in our too-hectic crazy world?
Then, later this morning, I started an online chat with another company. It was such a simple problem, or so I thought. A link on their website wasn’t working for my account, and I figured it was probably a simple solution. I also thought it would take five minutes, maybe less. How wrong I was.
The agent came online quick enough and asked what the problem was. I told them and pasted in the error so they could see. They asked where I saw the error. I responded that it was on their website. They asked me if I was logged in. I replied that I was indeed logged in. So far, this is pretty routine, but then we came to the circles in the conversation. They next asked me what the problem was, to which I repasted the error message. Then they asked me what website it was on, to which I responded it was their own.
For the third time, they asked me what the error was, and for the third time, I paste the error message. We went round and round, verifying the information time and again. Each time the replies came slower and slower, and if I had to guess they were juggling multiple people. It’s a pity they didn’t glance at the current conversation, though, to see what question they should ask next.
The result? They said that there was an error and I should try again. But, on the bright side, they would be happy to escalate the issue for me.
I merely thanked them for their time and ended the conversation. What else could I do? They didn’t ask me to rate their support, though. More’s the pity, I guess. However, I will be looking for alternatives to them, that’s for sure.
Anyway, is it just me, or is our crazy world just a little weirder than normal these days?