I Hate #20 - Tech Support Bullshit

I prefer to solve problems on my own, and only use tech support chats or tickets or whatever as a last resort. Usually I do work it out on my own. However, there are those infuriating times that you have no recourse but to talk to a tech support guy via phone or chat or e-mail, or in person, and from there in my experience is where the real pain always begins.

Tech support experiences are usually like pulling teeth... slow and painful. You can be very descriptive of your issue, you can send screenshots, you can sing and dance and still they often don't get it. Also, each additional time I need to repeat the facts makes me a little more annoyed. When you get sent to different reps and have to re-iterate the issue from square one, for example. Or, if the doofus you are talking to just doesn't get it and you have to explain yourself 5 times.

And I realize that they have to assume you don't know much about your situation, but after describing an issue to them intelligently and with obvious computer knowledge, or whatever it is, it should not result in a condescending question such as "do you know how to open your browser?". I had one jackass tell me to look for the little envelope icon if I wished to send an e-mail. I said "seriously?" and hung up on him. And I understand that support guys deal with a lot of morons, but that doesn't explain indifference or incompetent tech support.

Maybe I just dream of a perfect world where the so-called expert you are contacting actually knows what he is doing, and is not just Googling answers or asking a superior. Or that the guy I am talking to on the phone actually knows and understands English. To Dave in Dallas with the suspiciously thick Pakistani accent, you aren't fooling anyone! Another annoying one is e-mail responses in incredibly hard to understand, broken English.

My most recent issue concerned an android game I have been playing, where I did not receive in-game rewards that were promised. After getting only form letters to my first 2 attempts at help (which only suggested I try things I had already told them I had done), I sent them a more strongly worded letter and this time someone responded but gave me completely stupid advice: take a screenshot showing that I am missing an in-game reward... just how the fuck do you show something that is missing??? Infuriating.

So, I lost my cool in a final e-mail and this time they actually looked into the issue. The result isn't what I wanted (they simply blamed another company for the issue and in essence said I was S.O.L.), but at least I finally got some help.

Maybe that's the secret, get pissed off. It's too bad that's usually what has to happen before you get real help or get noticed. I had endless problems with a cable company once with repeated loss of service and indifferent tech support (them missing service calls when I was waiting all morning for them) so I cancelled it. Only then did I get a call from a real person who tried everything under the sun to keep me a customer. I'd already signed on with another company though...