Timeline for How to handle incompetent/aggressive customers incapable of describing a problem?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
18 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2018 at 17:05 | comment | added | Hannah Vernon | And if they refuse to show me, I just punch them in the head. OK, JUST KIDDING! | |
| Feb 22, 2018 at 20:53 | comment | added | Criggie | @keuleJ VNC is perfect for this situation - it keeps the traffic local for a start, and as an added benefit user's screen could be monitored at any time remotely. | |
| Feb 22, 2018 at 20:02 | comment | added | Beofett | This is a generally helpful answer, but it does sound like the customers visit the OP's physical location to discuss the issue, which makes "show me" a problem if they're asking about anything related to the desktop computer they have at home (or the laptop the felt they didn't need to bring in, because a professional "computer person" should obviously know how to properly implement the uploading of the algorithm without any additional prompting). | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 12:25 | comment | added | keuleJ | Maybe something like TeamViewer could help? | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 10:52 | comment | added | user60393 | @ToddWilcox Having people send me MMS messages of errors has saved me many wasted trips and a lot of frustration. Almost everyone carries a camera now, so asking for an image is not really so totally insane. | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 10:26 | comment | added | Peter Taylor | @Tim, that's my preference, but it's not always possible. | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 9:58 | comment | added | Tim | @PeterTaylor what about a remote control application installed? | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 9:34 | comment | added | Peter Taylor | @ToddWilcox, no joke. The simple practical way for someone to show what's happening on a remote computer. It's not ideal, but there isn't an ideal solution. People are more likely to know how to take a photo with their phone and bring it to the helpdesk than to take a screenshot and print it or transfer it to their phone. | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 9:11 | comment | added | Todd Wilcox | @PeterTaylor I guess that's a joke? I can't find the word "camera" in the question or the asker's comments. | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 8:48 | comment | added | John-M | This is actually worse than 'needs to work over the phone,' it sounds like they need to work in person, in a place where the problem is not occurring. This answer and even remote support won't do much for the OP | |
| Feb 21, 2018 at 8:41 | comment | added | Peter Taylor | @ToddWilcox, that's what cameras are for. | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 23:08 | comment | added | Todd Wilcox | The asker specifies one of their constraints being “Not being able to leave the help desk and check the problem on my own most of the time.” Maybe I misunderstood what that means. | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 22:59 | comment | added | HopelessN00b | @ToddWilcox seems to be in-person... I don’t see how security would need to be called to remove someone from a phone call. | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 22:58 | comment | added | Todd Wilcox | This is excellent advice in general but if I understand correctly wont help the asker because they can’t go look at the problems first hand. They have to work over the phone | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 21:40 | comment | added | IllusiveBrian | @HopelessN00b Just make sure not to ask whether they've turned "it" on. | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 20:50 | comment | added | HopelessN00b | @Wildcard Sounds like that pronoun usage is just begging for a sexual harassment lawsuit, to boot. :) | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 20:49 | comment | added | Wildcard | Overheard office conversation: coworker 1 says, "It's not working, can you help?" Coworker 2 says, "I'm not good with pronouns, can you please show me exactly what 'it' is?" ;) The key, as you say, is show me. | |
| Feb 20, 2018 at 20:01 | history | answered | HopelessN00b | CC BY-SA 3.0 |