This has got to be one of the funniest things in a long time. I think this guy should have been promoted, not fired.
This is a true story from the Word Perfect Helpline, which was transcribed from a recording monitoring the customer care department. Needless to say the Help Desk employee was fired; however, he is currently suing the Word Perfect organization for ‘Termination without Cause’. The following is the actual dialogue of a former WordPerfect Customer Support employee. (Now I know why they record these conversations!)
Operator: ‘Ridge Hall, computer assistance; may I help you?’
Caller: ‘Yes, well, I’m having trouble with WordPerfect.’
Operator: ‘What sort of trouble?’
Caller: ‘Well, I was just typing along, and all of a sudden the words went away.’
Operator: ‘Went away?’
Caller:’They disappeared.’
Operator: ‘Hmm So what does your screen look like now?’
Caller: ‘Nothing.’
Operator: ‘Nothing?’
Caller: ‘It’s blank; it won’t accept anything when I type.’
Operator: ‘Are you still in WordPerfect, or did you get out?’
Caller: ‘How do I tell?’
Operator: ‘Can you see the C: prompt on the screen?’
Caller: ‘What’s a sea-prompt?’
Operator: ‘Never mind, can you move your cursor around the screen?’
Caller: ‘There isn’t any cursor: I told you, it won’t accept anything I type.’
Operator: ‘Does your monitor have a power indicator??’
Caller:’What’s a monitor?’
Operator: ‘It’s the thing with the screen on it that looks like a TV. Does it have a little light that tells you when it’s on?’
Caller: ‘I don’t know.’
Operator: ‘Well, then look on the back of the monitor and find where the power cord goes into it. Can you see that?’
Caller: ‘Yes, I think so.’
Operator: ‘Great. Follow the cord to the plug, and tell me if it’s plugged into the wall.
Caller: ‘Yes, it is.’
Operator: ‘When you were behind the monitor, did you notice that there were two cables plugged into the back of it, not just one?’
Caller: ‘No.’
Operator: ‘Well, there are. I need you to look back there again and find the other cable.’
Caller: ‘Okay, here it is.’
Operator: ‘Follow it for me, and tell me if it’s plugged securely into the back of your computer.’
Caller: ‘I can’t reach.’
Operator: ‘Uh huh. Well, can you see if it is?’
Caller: ‘No.’
Operator: ‘Even if you maybe put your knee on something and lean way over?’
Caller: ‘Oh, it’s not because I don’t have the right angle – it’s because it’s dark.’
Operator: ‘Dark??’
Caller: ‘Yes – the office light is off, and the only light I have is coming in from the window. ‘
Operator: ‘Well, turn on the office light then.’
Caller: ‘I can’t.’
Operator: ‘No? Why not?’
Caller: ‘Because there’s a power failure.’
Operator: ‘A power…. A power failure? Aha, Okay, we’ve got it licked now. Do you still have the boxes and manuals and packing stuff your computer came in?’
Caller: ‘Well, yes, I keep them in the closet.’
Operator: ‘Good. Go get them, and unplug your system and pack it up just like it was when you got it. Then take it back to the store you bought it from.’
Caller: ‘Really? Is it that bad?’
Operator: ‘Yes, I’m afraid it is.’
Caller: ‘Well, all right then, I suppose. What do I tell them?’
Operator: ‘Tell them you’re too f — ing stupid to own a computer!!!!!’.
bravo!!! i think the should be owning the company any day now!!!!
Yo… That is the funniest, yet on point, phone conversation I’ve ever read about a Customer Service agent. He aught to be applauded. I would have patted him back on the low, if I was his manager.
Man… They need to give dude a bonus just for calling dude all sorts of other names.
That is funny. Wasn’t expecting that ending. The truth hurts, both ways.
Ahhhh… the perennial situation. We refer to those as the I.D. 10-T calls.
The real trick comes when you must keep a straight face – not laugh, squint, cringe, clench teeth, sigh or otherwise show a sign of annoyance reaction while baby sitting people that whilst they’ve been ‘working’ with computers for a long, long looong time, some still haven’t figured out where the freakin’ power switch for the monitor is.
May I suggest http://members.iinet.com.au/~bofh/index.html ?
OK, that was funny!! Makes you wonder about people sometimes….
It was funny – unexpected ending.
I’ve read something similar on NowAlwaysRight.com sometime ago.
But I admit that If he was my employee, I’d reprimand him too.
If he sued me, Í know I’d still win.
Some people are too stupid to live…I know not nice.
wicked, and totally believable. I once had someone waving a mouse in mid air complaining it wasn’t working properly!!
I used to work tech support for computer companies; that customer was one of the smart ones. I had a customer once who was illiterate; she spelled everything on the screen to me because she couldn’t read. I’ve also had customers who had the mouse upside-down and were trying to use it as a trackball. And these were not the dumbest, not by a long shot.
Nice one
what a dope!
@ bob she spelled everything on the screen to me because she couldn’t read. ROFL!!!!
i would have hung up by mistake
I love stupid people!
He was absolutely right! Why do they always fire people who are right!
LOL! That was a good one!
ROFL!!! Oh, that’s so funny!!!
I guess the guy got fired because he said the f-word, but I’d cite provocation beyond what a reasonable man could be expected to endure!
Hahahahaha! Still laughing!
DEFINITELY something I would be willing to do–some people just should NEVER reproduce.
Haha. Years ago, when I worked at the bank, a young woman in the loan department said her new mouse didn’t work…she was holding it up against the side of the monitor. Duh!
lol
Those “Hire the Handicapped” initiatives will get the best employees!
That is awesome. I would fully respect an operator that could be honest like that.. if you say something stupid, it should be pointed out.
Great post.
This PC (Personal Clown) Joke always cracks me up, no matter how times I read it
late night typo error corrected:
This PC (Personal Clown) Joke always cracks me up, no matter how many times I read it
I work in IT so I truly appreciate the humor here! LOL!
Hahaha. My boss thought the fax machine was broken. She carried on like a maniac. Turns out it wasn’t plugged in. I can so relate. Great story!
Sadly, that sounds like something I’d get fired for!
I once had a woman call because she was missing some icons on her screen and wanted to know if I could fax her some new ones.
FRACKING BRILLIANT!!!
I can SO totally believe this! I work in a call center and I’ve become very skilled at sounding professional and sypathetic while giving the finger to the phone and motioning like I’m hanging myself.
LOL!! I could never work on a computer help desk….lol
We called an electrician in one time … only to find out we had to hit the reset button on the power cord.
Yep, everyone in my office, we’re that stooopid! LOL
I am the PC tech in the family and amongst friends. I hear this kind of stuff all the time. Funny stuff but frustration for the support person!
Thank god we’re smart!
A BBC comedy based on IT workers. You can find the episoded laying around if you look.
http://www.channel4.com/entertainment/tv/microsites/I/itcrowd/index.html
Thanks HOMER. I can always count on you.
Thanks for the laugh. I also have a boss that had a problem with the fax machine, but it was that he could not fax more than one sheet at a time.
Here, on beknown to me, he was faxing multiple pages one at a time. One day I was at home and he needed to fax 20 pages. After the first 5 pages, he called me to ask if there was any way he could fax all the pages at one time instead of hanging up after every page and redailing.
After I gained my composure, which took a long time, I told him how to fax all pages on one call.
To this day, we are still friends and I still laugh about it when I run into him.
last night i had to walk my mom through starting up a gmail account and downloading skype. oh my bob i am exhausted. “how do i delete something?” “push the delete button.” “where is that?” “um. it’s on the keyboard.” “oh. oh yeah.”
OY!!!
I am glad ya’ll found this as amusing /funny as I did.