Sunday, January 28, 2007
Plugged in
Me: "Alright, now we'll need you to turn off your router."
Caller: "How do I do that?"
Me: "Well, the router will either have an on/off switch, or it'll have a power cord."
Caller: "There are, like, three cords going into this box. Which one's the power?"
At times like this, I'm trying to figure out how to give the customer an answer that they'll understand, but not sound condescending while I do it. I mean, this is the power! Most people who've been functioning in our society for any of the last 50 years should be familiar with what a power cord is, right?
Me: "Well, there will be a cord connecting your router to a power outlet."
Caller: "How do we tell which cord that is? There are three cords!"
Me: "Well, you could try following those cords. One of them will go to a power outlet."
Caller: "Oh." (To someone in the background.) "Hey! Which of these goes into the power? ... Oh yeah, the power bar." (Some rustling in the background, then:) "OK, the router is off."
Yeah, they were awesome.
Caller: "How do I do that?"
Me: "Well, the router will either have an on/off switch, or it'll have a power cord."
Caller: "There are, like, three cords going into this box. Which one's the power?"
At times like this, I'm trying to figure out how to give the customer an answer that they'll understand, but not sound condescending while I do it. I mean, this is the power! Most people who've been functioning in our society for any of the last 50 years should be familiar with what a power cord is, right?
Me: "Well, there will be a cord connecting your router to a power outlet."
Caller: "How do we tell which cord that is? There are three cords!"
Me: "Well, you could try following those cords. One of them will go to a power outlet."
Caller: "Oh." (To someone in the background.) "Hey! Which of these goes into the power? ... Oh yeah, the power bar." (Some rustling in the background, then:) "OK, the router is off."
Yeah, they were awesome.
# posted by Terry @ 2:24 PM 
