Killer pet peeves ...

I love when customers call to see if something is done when I told them the part won't be in until next week. That's my absolute favorite. Then if I am a little late I have to resist the urge to say, "Sorry it took longer than expected, but I spent all day answering the DAMN PHONE."

They just don't realize that one person isn't a big deal, but when all 20 of you do it, it can easily waste an entire work day.

On a side note, I've noticed that the ones who stop by in person either have a Cricket phone that they haven't paid for in a while or are illegal aliens and didn't want to give you any real information.
 
jft135 said:
I love when customers call to see if something is done when I told them the part won't be in until next week. That's my absolute favorite.
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Definite pet peeve. We have this all the time. We tell a customer that it is going to be several days (running 4-5 lately because we are swamped) and that we will call them when it is ready. A day or two later they are calling to see if it is ready. I really want to say "Have we called you?" but I usually remain calm and explain once again that it will take several days and we will call when it is done. Even worse when they drop by every day to check on it. Huge waste of time!
 
Client that lie. They know they did something wrong but will not tell you.

No sir I didn't spill anything on this laptop. Maybe my kids did.

Ok so why is it filled with beer?

Uh um uh.

Right.
 
Nice to see I'm not the only one suffering with stupid user syndrome.

I've experienced a lot of these. One that I didn't notice (may have missed it) is:

The Hoverer​
That person that thinks they can either learn your secrets or speed up the service call by hanging over your shoulder and attempting to watch everything that you're doing.

First - if you're gonna be all up in my stuff, at least eat a Tic Tac :eek:

Second - Hovering over me will NOT speed up the service call. It WILL have the opposite effect.

Third - if you continue to point, ask questions, maintain idle chit chat, etc. I will take as long as I can to complete your call AND charge you a hidden "personal space violation" fee.

Just saying.
 
nlinecomputers said:
Client that lie. They know they did something wrong but will not tell you.

No sir I didn't spill anything on this laptop. Maybe my kids did.

Ok so why is it filled with beer?

Uh um uh.

Right.
Click to expand...

Seriously, I have one today and the notes say "WAS IN A HUMID AREA AND SOME KEYS STOPPED WORKING. "

riiiiiiiight.. I'm not going to scold you for spilling on your laptop, just tell me the truth so I can figure out what the hell is wrong with your laptop!
 
Had a good one today ... a laptop I ordered for a client was having issues where the network cable wasn't staying in the laptop properly. So I said ok the cable is probably worn down from plugging/unplugging ... So I unplug the cable from his laptop and swap the worn down end to the switch and the switch end to the laptop.

Same problem.

Grab a new cable ... Same problem.

Look inside... the top part of the NIC is busted on a brand new laptop. (This guy is notoriously hard on his laptop, which I find hilarious considering he's a dentist.) So I ask him, you didn't happen to grab your laptop and start walking away with it while it was plugged into the wall, and then the cable ripped out did you?

"Uh no I dont ... hey secretary do you ... no I dont remember ever doing that, I wouldn't do that ... Well maybe ... no I didn't do that I'd remember".

Lol K so the NIC which is made of steel is just magically busted.

Also funny that he wanted to offer dental work for a few jobs here or there ... uhhh no thanks bud.
 
My next pet peeve:

ISP Support - Abdule seems to have lost his flip book or someone else borrowed it. Abdule says the warranty ran out on the DSL modem that the customer is renting (WTF?). Abdule searches for an alternate phone number for me to call (15 minutes on hold--???) for support.

I think Ill start advertising about dealing with ISP support so the customer doesnt have too. They call me now anyways to do it.

Sometimes I get the feeling that support from ISPs are actually in africa in a straw hut with a cell phone@!:D
 
I get this alot...
Customer...my printer won't print!!!
Me..I have to ask a few basic questions...please don't take offense to them!!
Customer... OK.
Me... is the printer turned on? Is the cable connected to the PC ?
Customer....of course it's on and connected...you must think I'm an idiot.
Me...no I don't think you're an idiot...just trying to save you a service call.
Customer... I'd be a jerk if it wasn't plugged in and called you wouldn't I?
Me ...no comment...
Me... is the printer connected to a surge suppressor?
Customer...of course!!
Me... Is the surge suppressor on?
Customer...yes of course it is....uh oh..wait...this is embarrassing...OMG the suppressor was not powered on.
Me... turn it on...I think that may have been the problem...
 
AdvancedTech said:
Me... turn it on...I think that may have been the problem...
Click to expand...

Had a guy do exactly this only swear up and down the entire time that their tower was plugged in. Guy had this huge floor to ceiling desk which was just about as wide and had a tiiiiiny hole in the back where the cords went through.

I kept saying while I was poking around on it that it seemed like there wasn't any power coming in but he stood there taking offense to it so I just moved on troubleshooting.

Finally after an hour of him getting ****** about it, I finally pull the huge desk aside to find... It's not plugged in. Surprise, surprise. Gave him a bill for 3 hours of time at the full rate.

Of course, he balks, says why so much? It was such a simple fix? I said, that's my stupid fee. You dragged me out for something that you could have fixed while I was over the phone. You then had me pulling apart your computer and testing each individual thing. All because you were too prideful that you would "never" do something so stupid (his words).

Well, guess what? You did. And because you could've solved this at many points today without paying a dime, you get 3 hours to pay: 1 for my time dealing with you on the phone, 1 hour for dealing with his and you here, and 1 hour for how ****** I'm going to be for the next hour not believing you dragged my butt out for this. Will that be cash or credit card? (He paid with credit. lol)

He called a couple times later to which my opening question was, is it plugged in? He hung up, I giggled. Fun times for all. Eventually he stopped calling. Told him not to call after the first time because he was irate about it to begin with when I showed up.

I fire irate people on the spot if I get that attitude over something simple. Those aren't the kind of clients I want for my business. :)
 
A few have already been mentioned, but here are mine, not in any kind of order.

1. Customer does not understand that we will call them when it is done or if we have an update. Instead, they keep calling to get an update or asking if it is done yet. Some times this is done every couple hours, some times every day.

2. Customer does not comprehend that something will take more than a day. I had a customer drop their computer off for a virus removal and then ask "How long will this take, I got to get my hair cut and do some errands . . . "

3. Customer does not understand that they have to pay for a service.

4. Someone else's customer calls and asks for an update on their computer . . . and then we have to waste time trying to find them in our system only to find out they are not our customers.

5. Customers calling to have us troubleshoot or help them fix their computer over the phone.

6. Calls from ghetto, drunk, or illiterate people who are barely able to string together comprehensible words in order to form a full sentence or a complete thought.

7. People asking how much a computer cost to fix without actually describing the problem.

8. People who tell us their whole life story (which has nothing to do with their current situation) only to finally get around to asking how much it will cost to repair their computer or if we even do those types of repairs. When this happens, its usually a yes or no answer or something that would have been relatively quick to answer.

9. People who ask "are you the cheapest." I immediately answer "nope" and then they usually hang up.

10. People who think they know more than you and that their computer could not possibly have some other issue that they did not already per-diagnose themselves.


I know there are more, maybe I will add them as they happen.
 
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PCX said:
10. People who think they know more than you and that their computer could not possibly have some other issue that they did not already per-diagnose themselves.
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The "I'm in IT too" or "I've been repairing computers since I was a kid" customers.

Late last week a guy brings in a DV6000. He also brings in a bag with all his software DVD's, his original sales slip and tons of notes he has taken plus printouts of about a dozen web pages. He spreads all of this out in front of me and starts to tell me that when he powers on the machine, the caps/num locks blink twice repeatedly. He says this is a BIOS failure and he has tried doing the WIN+B key USB flash but no success.

I start to explain to him I will do a top to bottom diag and let him know but he cuts me off and tells me thats what he's been doing for the past three days. He keeps yammering on about all the websites he tried and all the web pages he referred to. I cut him off about 2 minutes in and tell him I will do the whole diag and get back to him. He makes more notes on the printouts about the BIOS stuff, circling things and then hands it all to me. He starts asking me how I do a BIOS removal, burn and reinstall, but I tell him let me do the diag first and we can talk about that if that becomes the issue.

Later that day I do a few simple boot up tests, then I start the diagnostic process. TWO MINUTES in I determine he has a bad stick of ram, not a bad bios. You can't assume that a bad computer can always properly diagnose itself so a "corrupt BIOS" message can be other things and not the BIOS.

So tomorrow I will tell him he needs new ram (and a fan clean, its really hot). After that I will continue diags, but I think his ram just went bad from the extreme heat, we see this alot.

I am sure he will be shocked because he is an "IT professional too" and did all the diagnostics (or so he says).
 
NYJimbo said:
The "I'm in IT too" or "I've been repairing computers since I was a kid" customers.

Late last week a guy brings in a DV6000. He also brings in a bag with all his software DVD's, his original sales slip and tons of notes he has taken plus printouts of about a dozen web pages. He spreads all of this out in front of me and starts to tell me that when he powers on the machine, the caps/num locks blink twice repeatedly. He says this is a BIOS failure and he has tried doing the WIN+B key USB flash but no success.

I start to explain to him I will do a top to bottom diag and let him know but he cuts me off and tells me thats what he's been doing for the past three days. He keeps yammering on about all the websites he tried and all the web pages he referred to. I cut him off about 2 minutes in and tell him I will do the whole diag and get back to him. He makes more notes on the printouts about the BIOS stuff, circling things and then hands it all to me. He starts asking me how I do a BIOS removal, burn and reinstall, but I tell him let me do the diag first and we can talk about that if that becomes the issue.

Later that day I do a few simple boot up tests, then I start the diagnostic process. TWO MINUTES in I determine he has a bad stick of ram, not a bad bios. You can't assume that a bad computer can always properly diagnose itself so a "corrupt BIOS" message can be other things and not the BIOS.

So tomorrow I will tell him he needs new ram (and a fan clean, its really hot). After that I will continue diags, but I think his ram just went bad from the extreme heat, we see this alot.

I am sure he will be shocked because he is an "IT professional too" and did all the diagnostics (or so he says).
Click to expand...

Yeah, those guys are always lots of fun. That makes me think of another pet peeve

11. Customers who bring in their computer savvy friend or family member (who was unable to fix their computer) in order to make sure that we know what we are talking about and that we can actually fix their computer. These computer savvy people usually interject their thoughts and dominate the conversation, making sure that you are unable to explain anything to the actual customer.

12. Customers who bring in their computer savvy friend or family member to look at laptops and make sure they are getting a good deal. These are the same types of people who say stupid things like "oh, don't get a (name your brand) . . . . " and then have some half baked reason that probably happened as a result of misuse or a defect or problem that is common to all computers like a failing hard drive. My favorite is when someone said not to get a Dell because they always get viruses, but to get the HP instead.
 
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