INFOWORLD GRIPE LINE BY ED FOSTER Bookmark this page

  
Replying To:
Hey! It's my job! (none / 0) (#9)
by Anonymous User on Wed Jun 23, 2004 at 06:39:50 AM PDT

You know, as a technical support/network professional, a big part of my job is to know this stuff and where to look for it when I don't. This shouldn't be the user's job. There are two principles involved here. First, a computer is a complex tool which has to be adapted to the task
    AND
the persons doing it. Can you imagine a hammer with a curved handle? There are a lot more curved branches than straight ones. This puts part of the responsibility on Microsoft for not adapting their software tool to the users. This is a simple and common problem users often encounter. Without wanting to do Ms bashing, their Outlook interface is quite poor. It's even worse in french. Second, there is the interface design principle of supporting the beginner as well as the expert. The technical support should go through 2 or 3 different levels. The first level service is often done by (well?) trained users with a good documentation system. These don't cost much and generaly use the same langage and thinking as the caller. It is absolutly idiotic to charge the user for first level help when they already paid for the 'award-winning service comes standard'. If you want a product that get the buyer approval, you have to be sure they are able to use it. I like to compare the computer and software market with the car market. Would you buy a car with an overcharge of 9% for customer service? Let's say 1,490$ for a 16,000$ car? After you buyed it? Most of the questions the people ask on 800 lines about their car are silly questions with the answers easily found in the user manual. If you buy a car, you expect service without paying for it. There is as much or more competition in car market than in computer/software one. When I buy a car, they don't say silly things like: you only buyed the ritgh to use it; we have no obligation whatsoever to give you service on the product; If you move to another city, you have to register anew and, after 3 times, you have to do it by phone or it will stop working; You have to use our fuel because we put an electronic chip in it making it illegal for anybody to make copies... When the computer/software market will compare with the car market, it will be beginning to be respectable. Until then, Mr Foster's column will always be full.



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