Tuesday, September 05, 2006
How should I know?
"I'm having trouble logging into MSN."
We get this surprisingly often. Perhaps it isn't too surprising, as a lot of people new to the Internet don't understand some concepts that are very familiar to me. That's why I'll often try to relate Internet concepts in terms that are perhaps more applicable for an everyday user.
Me: "What kind of trouble are you having with logging in?"
User: "It says my email address or password is wrong."
Me: "OK, we don't really have any way of knowing what your login information should be for MSN Messenger, so I'd suggest looking for an option that says something like 'forgot your password' or 'retrieve password' or something similar."
User: "But what is my password?"
Me: "Well, I can look up your password with OurCompany, but that might not be the same as the one you're using for MSN."
User: "OK, give me my password with you guys."
We go through the process of confirming some information for me to release the account password.
User: "That's not the password I use for MSN. Plus I tried it already."
Me: "OK, so I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to help you with this. MSN Messenger uses a different set of information to login than your service with us."
User: "But I can't log in to MSN!"
Me: "Yes, I understand that. I'd suggest you look for an option within MSN Messenger to retrieve or reset your password. There will generally be an option like that right on the screen that lets you sign in."
User: "I want to talk to someone at MSN about this."
Me: "OK."
User: "Who do I talk to?"
Me: "I'm not sure. You have to realize that I work at OurCompany, not MSN. I don't know anyone who works at MSN, and I don't know how to get in touch with anyone there."
User: "Well, what should I do?"
Me: "I would suggest that you look at the MSN web site for contact information if you want to get in touch with someone there."
User: "No, I want to call someone. What number should I dial?"
Me: "I have no idea. Again, I don't work for MSN. They are an entirely different company. I don't know what their phone number is."
User: "You don't know?"
Me: "No, I don't. Why would I?"
User: "Well..."
Me: "Thanks for calling! Have a nice day!"
We get this a lot. People will have trouble with something on the Internet, and so they'll call their Internet provider. And that's fine. Sometimes we can help with the issue. Sometimes we can't. Most people understand (after an explanation) that I can't help them login to their Yahoo mail account if they've forgotten their password. However, there are always a few people who seem to assume that I know everything about the Internet because I work for an Internet-related company. Frankly, when you see enough of what's out there online, you become glad that you don't.
We get this surprisingly often. Perhaps it isn't too surprising, as a lot of people new to the Internet don't understand some concepts that are very familiar to me. That's why I'll often try to relate Internet concepts in terms that are perhaps more applicable for an everyday user.
Me: "What kind of trouble are you having with logging in?"
User: "It says my email address or password is wrong."
Me: "OK, we don't really have any way of knowing what your login information should be for MSN Messenger, so I'd suggest looking for an option that says something like 'forgot your password' or 'retrieve password' or something similar."
User: "But what is my password?"
Me: "Well, I can look up your password with OurCompany, but that might not be the same as the one you're using for MSN."
User: "OK, give me my password with you guys."
We go through the process of confirming some information for me to release the account password.
User: "That's not the password I use for MSN. Plus I tried it already."
Me: "OK, so I'm afraid I'm not going to be able to help you with this. MSN Messenger uses a different set of information to login than your service with us."
User: "But I can't log in to MSN!"
Me: "Yes, I understand that. I'd suggest you look for an option within MSN Messenger to retrieve or reset your password. There will generally be an option like that right on the screen that lets you sign in."
User: "I want to talk to someone at MSN about this."
Me: "OK."
User: "Who do I talk to?"
Me: "I'm not sure. You have to realize that I work at OurCompany, not MSN. I don't know anyone who works at MSN, and I don't know how to get in touch with anyone there."
User: "Well, what should I do?"
Me: "I would suggest that you look at the MSN web site for contact information if you want to get in touch with someone there."
User: "No, I want to call someone. What number should I dial?"
Me: "I have no idea. Again, I don't work for MSN. They are an entirely different company. I don't know what their phone number is."
User: "You don't know?"
Me: "No, I don't. Why would I?"
User: "Well..."
Me: "Thanks for calling! Have a nice day!"
We get this a lot. People will have trouble with something on the Internet, and so they'll call their Internet provider. And that's fine. Sometimes we can help with the issue. Sometimes we can't. Most people understand (after an explanation) that I can't help them login to their Yahoo mail account if they've forgotten their password. However, there are always a few people who seem to assume that I know everything about the Internet because I work for an Internet-related company. Frankly, when you see enough of what's out there online, you become glad that you don't.
# posted by Terry @ 7:30 AM 
