Compaq is considering changing the command “Press Any Key” because of the
flood of calls asking where the “Any” key is. AST technical support had a called
complaining that her mouse was hard to control with the dust cover on. The cover
turned out to be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in.
Another Compaq technician received a call from a man complaining that the
system wouldn�t read word processing files from his old diskettes. After
trouble-shooting for magnets and heat failed to diagnose the problem, it was
found that the customer labeled the diskettes then rolled them into the
typewriter to type the labels.
Another AST customer was asked to send a copy of her defective diskettes. A
few days later a letter arrived from the customer along with Xeroxed copies of
the disk.
A Dell technician advised his customer to put his troubled floppy back in the
drive and close the door. The customer asked the tech to hold on, and was heard
putting the phone down, getting up crossing the room to close the door to his
room.
Another Dell customer called to say he couldn�t get his computer to fax
anything. After 40 minutes of trouble-shooting, the technician discovered the
man was trying to fax a piece of paper by holding it in front of the monitor
screen and hitting the “send” key.
Another Dell customer needed help setting up a new program, so a Dell tech
suggested he go to the local Egghead. “Yeah, I got me a couple of friends,” the
customer replied. When told Egghead was a software store, the man said,”Oh, I
thought you meant for me to find a couple of geeks.”
Yet another Dell customer called to complain that his keyboard no longer
worked. He had cleared it by filling up his tub with soap and water and soaking
the keyboard for a day, then removing all the keys and washing them
individually.
A Dell technician received a call from a customer who was
enraged because his computer had told him he was “bad and an invalid.” The tech
explained that the computer�s “bad command” and “invalid” responses shouldn�t be
taken personally.
An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn�t get her new Dell
Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer was plugged in, the technician
asked her what happened when she pushed the power button. Her response, “I
pushed and pushed on the foot pedal and nothing happens.” The “foot pedal”
turned out to be the computer�s mouse.
Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her brand-new computer
wouldn�t work. She said she unpacked the unit, plugged it in, and sat there for
20 minutes waiting for something to happen. When asked what happened when she
pressed the power switch, she asked “What power switch?”