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Tech support crucial to computing Photo by Jim Craven Les Lawrence, technical support supervisor for CDS Internet, says questions from users generally have to do with modems and connections, and his staff usually can find the answer. Problems can range from quite simple to exceedingly hard By GREG STILES Getting the help you need isn't easy By GREG STILES So you think you can save big bucks on a new computer system by mail order. No argument there. Gateway, Micron, Dell and others have prospered in the past decade because they can deliver the latest revved-up desktop, tower or laptop PCs with all the bells-and-whistles hardware and hottest software for great prices. The mail-order companies tout their "award-winning" technical support units as a major reason to bypass local computer outlets and magazine ads. Tracking down help, however, isn't always that easy. Whether you seek help via the World Wide Web or a toll-free telephone line, a maze of options awaits. The bad news is that those options can lead the unwary down endless side roads to the end: "Thank you for calling. Good-bye," Clink. If you're a general computer user without a customer ID number, forget it. You can't e-mail for help, you can't download fixes and you're not likely to get into a helpful conversation with the support staff unless they know who you are and what model you bought from their company. But once you hook up with a techie, you're generally in good hands. Here is an account of an actual journey to tech support at Micron: After dialing the toll-free number, the first thing you hear is a monotone male voice. "To insure quality customer service, your call may be monitored or recorded," the monotone voice says. "If you are a home user or operate a business from your home, press 1. "If you are calling from a business with less than 100 employees, press 2. "If you are calling from a business that has 100 to 250 employees, press 3. "If you are calling from a business with more than 250 employees, press 4. "If you are calling from a government agency or educational institution, press 5." Then, another tier of options: "If you are calling about a hardware problem, press 1. If you are calling about a software problem, press 2. And then: If you've received your PC in the past 30 days, press 1. For all others, press 2." Then Mr. Monotone gives us more options concerning replacement parts, peripherals, software, notebooks, servers and desktops. Once the automated system has you pegged, a happy-go-lucky woman's voice informs you that you'll wait another five minutes before hearing a real human. In the meantime, you're reminded to have that all-important customer ID number. And 10 minutes after you dialed, you're reminded that there is automated support and fax-on-demand for those who don't want to wait for human help. As the "five-minute" wait comes and goes, a voice tells you that your call will be taken in the order it was received. Finally, comes the techie. Just stay calm. Chances are you've finally got the help you need. If you own a computer, chances are the time will come when you need technical support. If you bought a mail-order computer, you'll get to know the tangled web of tech support. If you bought your computer at a retailer, you'll still probably need technical support for hardware, software or Internet needs. While there are no Gateway, Micron or Dell mail-order giants in the Rogue Valley, there are several Internet providers that handle similar technical support queries. The Internet can be as perplexing as hardware and software deficiencies. But complaints generally deal with connecting to the Internet and e-mail, says CDS Internet's technical support supervisor Les Lawrence. Sometimes users blame their Internet hookup for other woes. "People call up and say `My printer doesn't work with the Internet on and it works when the Internet is off,"' Lawrence says. "Now there is just one printer driver whether you're in Excel, Word or Netscape. It doesn't make sense, and I point them to the printer's manufacturer." CDS Internet has grown from six employees four years ago to 35. Its tech staff works between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. That's much different than the around-the-clock support staffs at Gateway or Micron. CDS receives 150 to 200 e-mails a day from its 18,000 customers. "We try to answer all mail within 24 hours," Lawrence says. "I'm up a lot of odd hours, so sometimes I'll answer mail in the middle of the night." Rather than go the retail or mail-order route, Lawrence has built his own computers and has three at home. But he has a pretty good feel for what goes on in tech-support cubicles around the country. "When I find what seems to be a problem, I use the Internet and go to the manufacturer's Web site and see if there are others with that problem," Lawrence says. "In the meantime, I e-mail other people who may know the answer. "That doesn't say there's an answer for everything." Computers and unhousetrained puppies have a lot in common. Thus, patience is a virtue when you're waiting for help with a dysfunctional computer -- even for PC users who are well ahead of the curve. "Generally, people who mail-order or go through the Web know what they're doing," says a Micron phone tech, identifying herself as Patty Gollihaugh. "They know components. They tend to know what they're talking about, know what they want and what's best out there." But that leaves a sizable chunk of the populace that still require someone else's expertise. "You get things from `My modem doesn't work,' while they're pointing to the monitor," Gollihaugh says, "to, `There's an error on my screen and I'm a Microsoft certified pro and know what I'm doing."' Questions range from where to plug in speakers to the origin of crashes. "Most people get real upset with their computer, for no apparent reason, right at beginning," Gollihaugh says. "The mouse didn't move all the way across the screen. So there must be something horrendously wrong and the world is coming to an end. "When you fix it in 10 or 15 seconds, they get all nice and go `Wow, I'm sorry."' But for every easy fix there are tough ones. "Every now and then, you get a tough one that's very random," Gollihaugh says. "There's no basis in any problem you've ever heard of and it doesn't happen all the time. "It's difficult to pinpoint a problem that doesn't seem to have a way to cause it again." If you go the do-it-yourself route on the Web, you still face a multitude of choices. A huge array of links will offer to solve a similarly bewildering range of problems. Calling 1-800-TECHSUPPORT can be just as intimidating, but stick with it. Since customer satisfaction is a key element in keeping mail-order companies going, chances are you'll get your problem solved -- if you're patient. "If I can't solve it, then I find someone who can," Gollihaugh says. "If no one around me can figure it out or one of the higher-ups, then I arrange that an engineer, who actually builds the machine, will give me information and fix the problem." Some techs go to great lengths to please. "Being able to decipher what the person is saying is important," says Gollihaugh. "I develop empathy by trying to break a computer a lot to generate a problem and see where the person is coming from." Today's Business Index Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA