"A secret about tech support
Let me tell you a secret, most companies deny this, but if you think about it, it does make sense. Picture this, a tech support department has many techs, some have been there for many years and really know their stuff. Other techs are fairly new and don't know much. Here's what happens when you call for help. A level one tech takes your call (he's the newest dumbest tech they have), if he can't answer your question he's supposed to bump you to a level two tech, and so on up the ladder. The reality is, if that level one tech bumps too many customers up the ladder he'll be fired! Since he's not any good why keep him? This means that (unless he's really dumb) if he doesn't know the answer he'll fake it to get you off the phone. Either he'll make a guess (and not tell you he's guessing), or he'll tell you to try something that doesn't have a chance in hell of working and tell you to call back if that doesn't fix it. Meanwhile he's praying that you'll get another tech when you call back!
This is a simple fact! Only geeks who do nothing but mess with 'puters both on and off the job can be any good at their job! Many of the techs I talk to don't play games and some hate 'puters so much they don't even have one at home. How can they possibly stay current with all the changes and problems 'puters have if they only think about them during working hours? They're too busy giving wrong answers at work to study!
Well, after having to learn how to reinstall Windows 3.1 due to mistakes made during tech calls I got so mad that I left that laptop at home for almost two months! If I could have returned it I would have. I then decided to learn how to solve my own problems so I wouldn't have to call... ahem... tech support any more.
Fast forward to today, I spend so much time learning, practicing, taking care of the website, and answering "helpme" emails that I rarely play games anymore!
Here's an example... When Win98 came out I bought it and started playing with it. I bought Windows 98 Secrets by Brian Livingston (great book and series) and the Windows 98 Resource Kit from Microsoft. The Secrets book has 1207 pages, and the Resource Kit has 1766 pages to it! That's a lot of reading! Now add the seven magazine subscriptions I had at that time, all the email newsletters I read, and don't forget the Listserv groups I belonged to that netted me 30-120 emails per day. That's what I did to learn about Win98 and that doesn't count the multiple wipes and reinstalls I did for practice! Now how can a tech who doesn't even have a 'puter at home hope to learn all of this well?"
This is something I just read about the great tech support all these places offer, your best bet is to learn your self and save the bullshit for a later date...
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