Tech Support

T

TahoeHorn

1,000+ Posts
My dad just received free six months of AOL with his new Dell PC. So I get to install it.

I just got off the phone with a series of (racial slur for Indians) who know less than I do. And I'm no expert. These (another racial slur) just know how to read me the damn instructions. When I ask them a question about the result they say they're not an expert on that package but ... No ****. I know why that Dell commercial says they're there on US holidays - because they don't have those holidays in India.

They wanted me to call Microsoft.
 
It's not like it's rocket science. Oh, wait, never mind.
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Your first mistake was even considering AOL for anything. It is a total waste of money. Use Earthlink if you must use dial up. If he is on cable or DSL then aosmell is absolutley unnecessary.
 
Many of those Indian outfits aren't that bad.

I know it's fashionable to poo-poo them now, but for the money you often get Indians with the equivalent of BS and MS degrees. For the same money in the US, you get a 28 year old who never went to school and just won't ever amount to anything. Not only that, Indians have much less turnover than you'll ever see in America. Even if you do get an American who is capable of carrying on a conversation with an adult, odds are they have only been there for two weeks and don't know how to do their job. Once the Indians settle in and learn their jobs, they'll be awesome.

It's funny, most people would rather talk to a clueless idiot who speaks English as a first language than a bright and knowledgeable Indian who speaks English with a thick accent.

With tech support calls, it can be really hit or miss. As these Indian companies mature, you'll hit a lot more than you will with Americans.
 
dustin,

I agree. But these guys were not good technically. The only thing better about the two Indians was that they weren't the one who told me to call Microsoft. That moron was ... well I don't know, maybe South African or Australian or something. Maybe American.

Brand new computer. My dad wanted to have Microsoft Office with Outlook Express. He set up something wrong and I couldn't find it. The problem wasn't Microsoft and they should have somebody who knows at least as much about configuring Outlook Express on AOL as I do about doing it on Earthlink (not much). The Earthlink guys I have used were great. We just call up the settings, look at them, change the wrong ones or try a new one. These guys just knew how to use the Internet Connection Wizard.

But, hey. My previous experiences were before the dotcom crash.

The quality of service repairmen is fading fast. Vendors are getting much better about diagnostic equipment and programmed troubleshooting, but they think thisis an excuse to get worse and worse technicians. Maybe it is. Now the diagnostic equipment says part 256XYZ is defective so the guy puts in a new 256XYZ and never had a clue what was wrong. Or you just buy a new unit. Who would repair a CD player?
 
I have about 7 years experience in this business. The reason you were referred to Microsoft is simple.... limited training.

When call Dell for support you are calling to get support on your OEM version of Windows and the other proprietary programs that Dell has.

AOL and Outlook Express do not fall into this category. The technicians are trained to reinstall windows, copy files, and troubleshoot the PC. They are not trained to troubleshoot a internet connection. Why you might ask? Well, two reasons.

1. It costs more money
2. Why train a employee to fix something you don't support.

Just like AOL won't troubleshoot your PC (outside of the network settings), Dell won't troubleshoot your network settings. The program came with the computer, but that is a marketing relationship, not a support agreement.

It's just the way it is. If you received an HP printer with your new Dell.... you're still going to have to call HP to get support for the printer.

As far as the indian go, I would bet if you called a support center located in the US you would find the same situation. I called SBC support to install my mom's DSL because I was having problems. The women just really had no idea what she was doing. She was just reading directions. I told her I had to go, I called back and got someone who was awesome.

That is way it goes when you are hiring $9-$11 an hour employees. It's not like these people have engineering degrees.
 
You are correct. For the record it was AOL I called. Their security requires special settings in Outlook Express to use it. I didn't know what they were.
 
speaking of Dell they cancelled my order placed two days ago without reason. Their explanation...uh..oops, Do you mind placing the order again (nevermind losing out on the discounts and add ons I got the night of the order). An hour plus later jumping from department to department, it was finally resolved. Sheesh...I never want to hear about how great Dell's service is (as if they're the best out there) for a home user.
 
Tahoe,

Did you get your issue resolved? Give me some specifics and I probably can help get you going.

YChang,
Dell has gotten to be a really, really huge company. Glad you got your deals figured out. What did you end up getting? XPS Gen4? or the just a step lower that was really, really on special?
 
I ended up comparing the 8400 and XPS and other than the case, power supply and two extra fans I can't see a difference. So I configured the 8400 since there were more discounts on it and a free 19" flat panel upgrade. The Dell cases and cabling (for both model) was not very inspiring either way and I could always pop in a better power supply, extra fans myself. Disregarding the pw and case...the XPS came out $100 more and did not have the flat panel upgrade nor a free upgrade to Office 2003 SBE.

So what the heck I'll try out the 8400 and see how well it goes. If not maybe next year I'll give this one away and try another brand, especially the gaming boutiques(Alienware..almost went with them, ABS, Velocity Micro)
 
zork,

Thanks for your offer. I got the send part working and my dad will use AOL e-mail to receive. He only wanted Outlook Express send because he uses Word and likes to send stuff from Word/Outlook Express.

I posted as a commentary on service in our society.

But I will remember your name when I have a REAL problem.
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The 8400 did seem to have the best overall price/performance deal that night. How much ram did you go with and what other extras?

Tahoe,
No problem. I'll help if I can.
 
Zork:
Uh..let see 1Gig ram was a free upgrade, but I paid a bit more for the faster ram. Highest video card that would go on the 8400 and Raid 0 setup with 2 160 GB hard drive.
 
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