Tech Support Lately

[JR2ALTA]

From time to time I call tech support because that's my company policy to escalate a problem.

I never relied on them for their brilliance but rather their DATABASE of problem tickets, bulletins, QAs, etc etc.

But lately (Sharp, Kyo in my world) it seems like they their main focus is getting you off the phone as soon as possible. They don't even give a ticket # unless you ask.

in the past they would give you undivided attention, research the problem, walk you through ideas, create a ticket and follow up with you.

I know a lot of you don't call tech support at all, but for those that do let me know your thoughts and I also encourage everyone to CLOSE THEIR TICKETS to help us all just like we do on CTN!

[FrohnB]

[KenB]

Re: Tech Support Lately

My favorite is when they have no reasonable reply to whatever I call for, but then finish with “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”

Yeah, howzabout answering my original question. Sheesh.

[copyman]

Re: Tech Support Lately

I deal with Ricoh mainly, and have seen about the same. Before - you would call, and wait on hold, and then get a rep that generally would stay with you while you worked things out. Now - you call in (or their preferred method of text or email), and get your case entered, then wait for a response from someone. They say “15 minute response time”, but I’ve had cases where they’ve called hours after the fact.
I can live with the waiting, but what I hate is the questions like, “Did you check for jammed paper?” or “Have you updated the firmware?” or whatever extremely basic troubleshooting question they can think of, and when all those are confirmed, they jump straight to replacing NVRAM or boards!
I’ve only had to call a handful of times, and it has ruined manufacturer’s support for me. I get quicker and more logical insight and possible solutions from this community, and for that I thank you all!

Ha-ha. I agree. How would you like to have a job making probably 60K+ yr where you sit at a computer screen and put symptoms into a knowledge base and read the answer, then if all else fails blame the main board! They have been blaming the main board for everything since I went to Sharp SF-741 school 40+ yrs ago !!! Seriously stopped calling them years ago because to be honest I don't think they ever help one time! Rather talk to a tech that is in the trenches like me not some IT kid that has never worked on a copier!

[joeh]

[Zeldaman]

[Bix]

Re: Tech Support Lately

Yeah, even I can't stand banal answers.


Here are 90% of the solutions that are provided to me:
- Is the firmware updated? Yes? Rewrite the firmware.
- Change the motherboard.

[blackcat4866]

Re: Tech Support Lately

The great thing about the hotline is that it gives you an hour or so of quiet time, listening to the hold music. I take a pad of paper and start writing all the things that I know about the problem, all the things I'd like to know, list firmware levels, things I've done ... then I start re-arranging the things on the list (and doodling). Before my call is answered I usually have thought of something and hang up the phone.
=^..^=

[guitar9199]

Re: Tech Support Lately

I worked in a call center for a while (DSL Internet Tech Support).

The main focus in a call center isn't so much customer "support". as it is "Call Metrics". You're at the mercy of bean counters and middle managers who are great at running an office, but know jack-squat about technical matters. You're judged on how many calls per hour you get, and handling the calls in a timely manner. Whether or not the customer's issue is resolved isn't measured.

I used to get "coached" all the time over my per-call handle time. I would always counter with a question... "How many One-Call Resolutions do I have?". I told them I would much rather spend a little more time on fixing the customer's issue, instead of worrying about how many calls per hour I was logging.

The call center I worked at closed after 2 years. They're still in business... just not in that state anymore.

[srvctec]

Re: Tech Support Lately

We sell and service only KM and I dread starting a ticket with the call center, simply because they rarely ever solve anything for us. They are super picky about being trained on the machine but allow us to call and start a ticket using our service manager's credentials if we aren't trained on the machine with the major issue, since we are the one actually in the field working on the machine.

It's just like already mentioned above- "Latest F/W?", "Try clear all data and if that doesn't work, start replacing boards." Well, no kidding. Could have figured that out myself.

[rspicer]

Re: Tech Support Lately

I rarely call tech support, because they are never helpful. I was actually told by Toshiba tech support once, "Gosh, that's a tough one. Call us back when you figure it out, so we can tell everybody else."

[KenB]

Re: Tech Support Lately

Ha-ha. I agree. How would you like to have a job making probably 60K+ yr where you sit at a computer screen and put symptoms into a knowledge base and read the answer, then if all else fails blame the main board! They have been blaming the main board for everything since I went to Sharp SF-741 school 40+ yrs ago !!! Seriously stopped calling them years ago because to be honest I don't think they ever help one time! Rather talk to a tech that is in the trenches like me not some IT kid that has never worked on a copier!

To the best of my knowledge, help desk folk are typically paid nowhere near that amount. There may be a few specialists who do, but they would be very few and far between.

[fshead]

Re: Tech Support Lately

Ha-ha. I agree. How would you like to have a job making probably 60K+ yr where you sit at a computer screen and put symptoms into a knowledge base and read the answer, then if all else fails blame the main board! They have been blaming the main board for everything since I went to Sharp SF-741 school 40+ yrs ago !!! Seriously stopped calling them years ago because to be honest I don't think they ever help one time! Rather talk to a tech that is in the trenches like me not some IT kid that has never worked on a copier!

holy shitttttttt
when i saw that Sharp SF-741 school 40+ yrs ago..
my first school for Sharp in nj was SF 810...
Remember there was a small Japanese restaurant they would
take you for lunch and had great times at the hotel bar at nite,,,,
and i remember doing the SF 730 turd that was a total POS............

[tsbservice]

Re: Tech Support Lately

I rarely call tech support, because they are never helpful. I was actually told by Toshiba tech support once, "Gosh, that's a tough one. Call us back when you figure it out, so we can tell everybody else."

I actually worked for our Toshiba dealership as a service tech long time ago. Part of my duties was dealers support answering claim reports and talking to the dealer techs with their problems...good times. My main support nowadays are few old colleagues and CTN.