Scene: A busy sales office in Michigan. The Helpdesk team is overwhelmed after a storm caused power outages. A tech support staff member receives a call from a confused and somewhat distressed employee.
Technician: Hello, this is Oliver Bleak at Technical Support. Is this a new issue? Or do you have an existing support ticket in progress?
Customer: Thank God you finally answered! I really need help troubleshooting a new issue.
Technician: Sorry Sir. We are experiencing longer than normal response times due to the big storm last night. How can I help you?
Customer: Well, my computer simply won't turn on. I just see a blank screen. Worst of all, I have an important Zoom meeting at 10 am this morning. So, I may need you to escalate this issue. I believe that sort of thing is covered in our SLA.
Technician: No problem. Let's see if we can diagnose the problem or else find some other workaround like sending over a new machine until we get this one fixed. Loaner machines are covered under the warranty periodCustomer: Great.
Technician: Okay, when did this problem first occur? Have you recently run Windows Update? Did you see the infamous Blue Screen of Death?
Customer: No. Nothing like that. I just came in to work today and the computer wouldn't start. I know there was a power outage last night during the big storm. But everyone else's computers are working fine. So weird. Actually, one guy's PC was stuck for a while, but then he solved the problem with a simple reboot. But that didn't work for me.
Technician: Okay, first things first! Did you check the power plug? Is it placed firmly in the back of the PC?
Customer: Yes. It's plugged in. I'm looking at it.
Technician: Good. Can you remember if you turned off your computer last night before you went home?
Customer: Yes. I always turn it off before I go home. Unless of course I need to connect from home with remote access.
Technician: Okay great. How exactly did you shut it down though? Did you press the physical power button? Or did you do it by clicking the "Power Off" option in the Start Menu?
Customer: Well, I always just click the little square button, just below the screen. That normally does the trick right away!
Technician: Okay, I think I see the problem. The button on your screen is just the power switch for the monitor. The computer power switch is somewhere else. Do you see a large white box under your desk or perhaps under the monitor?
Customer: Yes. There is a large beige hard drive or hanging under my desk.
Technician: And is there a button on the front of the device, similar to the other one you pressed?
Customer: Yes there is. And the light is off.
Technician: Try pressing that button, Sir.
The customer presses the actual power button
Customer: Wow, when I pressed the button on the hard drive, then the computer started making noise and doing something. Now it's booting. Wow, thanks!
Technician: You're welcome. The device you call your computer is just the monitor. And the device you just referred to as your "hard drive" is actually the main computer. It does contain among other things a hard drive, though. When you leave work at night, you should really lock your computer. Otherwise anyone can turn on your monitor and access your PC data. I will email you instructions on how to do that.
Customer: Great! Thanks! I was so worried that I might have lost all my data.
Technician: No need to worry. Your data is kept on the network and backed up regularly. Have a nice day, Sir.
Customer: Thanks again! Have a great day!
End of dialog. Note: Support technicians often have other responsibilities when they're not helping end users. Always check the knowledge base or community forums first—and treat tech support with respect!
- Have you ever worked in a tech support position? If yes, what was it like? If not, do yiou think it would be fun or boring? Why?
- Have you ever contacted tech support? Why? And for what purpose?