18 Problems Only Tech Support Workers Will Understand

17. People Don't Know How To Work A Computer

Now this a subtly different point to the previous one because many of us don't know how a car works but can still drive pretty darned well. Most users though don't seem to know a start menu from a desktop though, so supporting them over the phone can become a stress inducing experience. In fact, it's likely that the "mute" button on phones was implemented purely so that support workers can shout "it's the one that looks like a f*^&ing envelope!" down the phone without getting fired. Incidentally, high powered, supposedly intelligent people like solicitors, estate agents and even IT directors are the world's worst at these since they expect someone else to just do it for them. Hands up who has had the call complaining that the user can't log in and it's because they haven't read the message on the screen saying "your password has expired and must be changed"? Or getting asked how to attach a file to an email despite the handy skeuomorphic paper-clip with the word "Attach" written on it? The simple fact is that so many people only know the same sequence of clicks and double clicks that they need to do in order to do their job and nothing else. Introduce a new version of the application or change it from being local client to web-based and all hell breaks loose. Techies are used to one thing above all others and that is change. We have to be able to support everything from the newest Windows OS to a mainframe, from mac OS to iOS, and we enjoy doing that. Everyone else just wants stuff to work.