Many things that you buy today push the fact that they have a help center you can contact if you need any assistance with the product you just purchased. Tech products use this line to promote their products.
A couple of weeks ago I noticed that my printer wouldn't work. I delayed doing anything about it for a couple of weeks. Then I checked to see if there was anything obvious that I could fix. Then I checked my product information. These two things did not help. I have a small Brother printer which I like.
After looking for a phone number I ran across a live chat site offering help. I hate live chat when it's email and all conversion has to be typed.
Well what could I do. It was the only option I had. I had discovered that my computer did not have my printer as an option to choose. So I thought that because I had a good idea what was wrong that it would be easy to fix by using Live Chat.
I got on Wed morning with Aya. He had me reprogram my wireless even after I told him that when I checked the connection was termed OK. The next two things I couldn't follow so He got on my computer and put my printer on the list. He also left updated driver being downloaded. I asked if he was sure that this would work and ,"Oh yes . It'll print." Later in the day I checked the printer and you guessed it! It wouldn't print.
So Thur I was right back on live chat with Christine. She seemed to know what she was doing but she had me do the same thing over again. Her excuse was that she wanted to check the connection. I did a test page and it printed. So I was really happy! I've got my printer back again I thought!
Well later in the day I tried to print the document I wanted and you guessed it , it didn't print.
Well since I thought I knew what was wrong I decided to look around.
The first thing I bungled in to was choice of printer. My printer was not the choice. There was a drop down menu that I clicked on and voila there was my printer. I clicked on it and went back to the print page. I tried printing the document and hey it printed.
So I'm not very pleased with the help center. Next time I will risk trying some options before I look for help. Does this sound familiar to anybody?
Oh, yes!
ReplyDeleteI could have written this whole adventure lol' my husband went through this very same experience with the same outcome lol,
ReplyDeleteI think ,many people will have the same experience.
DeleteI have never, ever, EVER dealt with a help center and hope I can live the rest of my life the same way :)
ReplyDeleteOur son worked in a call center for about a year and the stories he told us of people who had called in pretty much balance the stories I've heard about tech center employees. He also had a script he had to follow, starting with very basic steps, and calls were taped. They were expected to write up the call and be back answering the phone within 30 seconds of hanging up. Needless to say he got extremely frustrated as an employee and quit that job as soon as he could. The whole call center idea just doesn't translate into a good experience for either the caller or the helper.
I realize there are two sides to the story. However the whole system has to be changed.
DeleteVery familiar! I hate those help centers where you type back and forth and I hate the ones you call on the phone too. I recently had trouble with my email and had to call my internet carrier. The first time he said I had to hang up and he would call me back to check the line and he never called. Then I tried again and got some one that kept calling me by a different name and obviously had someone else's information and not mine. It took forever just to convince them they had the wrong person pulled up!
ReplyDeleteAs a customer we get frustrated but the staff do have a tough job.
DeleteIf you and The Micro Mama have a party you should invite Aya and Christine round for drinks. They sound like fun people. While nibbling Micro Mama's finger food you will be able to chat to your heart's content about printers, set up menus, The Far North and fun times in call centres.
ReplyDeleteA visit like this would probably be very unpleasant.
DeleteSounds exactly like something that would happen to me.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that many people have the same experience.
DeleteAt least you got it to print, finally. And a good blog post out of it as well. All's well that ends well. :-)
ReplyDeleteNext time I'll try harder to fix it myself.
DeleteOh, absolutely! I only call a help center as a last resort! Glad you got your printer working. At least they came through for you in the end.
ReplyDeleteThe call center is a very inefficient way of doing things.
DeleteWhen "help" isn't helpful. :-(
ReplyDeleteThe fix was actually too simple so it was not the expected solution.
I think they had a set way to to do things but it didn't work.
DeleteHelp centres drive me nuts, whether online or by phone.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you William.
DeleteGlad you got the printer to work. I hate calling a help line, when I do need help, I always choose Live Chat simply because you can get a copy of your chat sent to you in an email and it can be helpful for you if your need wasn't taken care of.
ReplyDeleteYes, I've had copies of the chats. They were helpful.
DeleteHelp centers aren't always helpful! It depends on who you end up hooking up with. Some people are better at solving problems than others.
ReplyDeleteFortunately I'm pretty tech savvy but I recently couldn't get my printer to work and was convinced that they had sent me a faulty cartridge (I use HP Instant Ink). I rang the help line. Immediate response. Did a few tests. Faulty cartridge diagnosed. New cartridge sent. Happy costomer.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you figured it out and were able to connect to the printer. Help Centers aren't always helpful, and I really hate giving people access to my computer.
ReplyDeleteAfter all that I'm glad you got your printer working. I have never had to call a help center because husband likes to do all that, and my hearing is not that great on a phone. He puts it on the loudspeaker and I just listen, and hopefully learn something. Occasionally he has run into what you have but for the most part people have been able to help. Fortunately we don't have to call help lines that often.
ReplyDeleteyes, i have run into similar situations and I too have a small Brother printer as well (which I also like for its smallness). I called the support line a couple of times and found no resolution, until like you I solved the issue myself. There was also a bit of a language issue because the support was located in another country. I am happy when I call Apple support because if the issue cant be resolved, I always get a call back and all the support centers are located in the U.S.
ReplyDeleteYes help centers are idiots or cannot speak English well. I usually just Google my problem:)
ReplyDeleteThank goodness I can call my brother to come and help me. Phew!
ReplyDelete