Not to look like an advertising shill, but LogMeIn has a product called Rescue which creates a one-time session for support agents to control the end-user's PC. I never used it beyond the free trial because I couldn't justify the cost to the bean counters (being an IT administrator in the jewelry industry makes it hard to justify *anything* to the bean counters right now).
I would imagine that the people who own an iPod and also have Windows as their primary (or only) operating system are the ones who use iTunes on Windows.
In the real world, Windows is *still* the dominant OS.
Customers never *intentionally* received the short shrift at Dell. We were all working as hard as we could. But poor employment practices often undercut customer service. Exactly. As an escaped Dell tech (four years clean and sober, thank god!), I can verify that we were absolutely required to support our customer through to resolution of problem, 100% of the time. If we had to send parts, we sent parts. If we needed a tech and parts, we sent a tech and parts. If they needed a system replacement, we could swing that too.
Where things fell short was in the quality of people that they chose. The Gold Technical Support team was advertised as the equivilant of Tier II consumer support at Tier I. The ad for the job indicated that 'advanced technical skill' was a requirement. I thought that I could put my skills to use in such an environment, and it wouldn't be like the wonderful folks I worked with at HP DeskJet support while I was in college.
When I got there, it was apparent that they were picking these people up off the street by driving up next to them, slinging a bag over their head, and dragging them to the training classes. If you could breathe through your mouth and manage to read a script, you were good enough to be on the front lines of Dell's premier technical support.
Once you were inside, things changed. If you went over the desired average call time, you would have a Tier II standing at your desk, asking if they could "help" so you could move on to the next person. It wasn't because call time was so much a strict requirement as much as we always were 150+ deep in queue, and there was a two minute answer time guarantee. Of course, the center was only ever half-full, with 350 people on-duty for freaking Monday morning, and more than half of those employed because they had a pulse and could read. The return for this sojurn in paradise was a pool table in the break room, and a sandwich machine that only ever seemed to have ancient egg salad sandwiches in it. Needless to say, I escaped.
Now, as an IT admin, I choose Dell because I know how to game the system to get what I need, when I need it, every time. I have no illusions as to the inherent quality of their wares, and I would never purchase something from the consumer side of things.
What it ultimately boils down to is this: when you're laying on your deathbed at the end of your days, and you look back on your life, would you rather remember the time you walked off the end of the Appalachian Trail, exhausted and sore, but accomplished, or would you rather look back on those poor n00bs that you pwn3d in Tauren Mill?
It's not about improving the world (although that's a laudable goal), it's about the tapestry of your life being rich and vibrant, rather than lit by the soft glow of a CRT as you grind in Mom's basement.
Seeing the view from the top of Mount Hood, jumping out of an airplane, attending a festival in honor of the village saint in Mexico, or taking a walking tour of New York may not mean anything at the end of the day to anyone but me, but I will have lived a fuller life than those poor bastards who think the end all, be all of life is an epic flying mount, and to me? That's worth it.
Awesome! Between hosting webservers and downloading torrents, I'll never have to use my desktop again.
Does anyone use a cell phone to make a freaking phone call anymore?
Slashdot Mirror
Not to look like an advertising shill, but LogMeIn has a product called Rescue which creates a one-time session for support agents to control the end-user's PC. I never used it beyond the free trial because I couldn't justify the cost to the bean counters (being an IT administrator in the jewelry industry makes it hard to justify *anything* to the bean counters right now).
THE PRESIDENT of AMERICA! *rockin' music*
AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!
A few thousand twits channelsurfing should be enough to prove that this is a *really* bad idea.
Reroute all mana to the main deflector dish?
I would imagine that the people who own an iPod and also have Windows as their primary (or only) operating system are the ones who use iTunes on Windows.
In the real world, Windows is *still* the dominant OS.
Where things fell short was in the quality of people that they chose. The Gold Technical Support team was advertised as the equivilant of Tier II consumer support at Tier I. The ad for the job indicated that 'advanced technical skill' was a requirement. I thought that I could put my skills to use in such an environment, and it wouldn't be like the wonderful folks I worked with at HP DeskJet support while I was in college.
When I got there, it was apparent that they were picking these people up off the street by driving up next to them, slinging a bag over their head, and dragging them to the training classes. If you could breathe through your mouth and manage to read a script, you were good enough to be on the front lines of Dell's premier technical support.
Once you were inside, things changed. If you went over the desired average call time, you would have a Tier II standing at your desk, asking if they could "help" so you could move on to the next person. It wasn't because call time was so much a strict requirement as much as we always were 150+ deep in queue, and there was a two minute answer time guarantee. Of course, the center was only ever half-full, with 350 people on-duty for freaking Monday morning, and more than half of those employed because they had a pulse and could read. The return for this sojurn in paradise was a pool table in the break room, and a sandwich machine that only ever seemed to have ancient egg salad sandwiches in it. Needless to say, I escaped.
Now, as an IT admin, I choose Dell because I know how to game the system to get what I need, when I need it, every time. I have no illusions as to the inherent quality of their wares, and I would never purchase something from the consumer side of things.
I also never, ever call on Monday.
Their server is shooting flames as I type this, but they have the technology to recover their site!
You've missed the point entirely.
What it ultimately boils down to is this: when you're laying on your deathbed at the end of your days, and you look back on your life, would you rather remember the time you walked off the end of the Appalachian Trail, exhausted and sore, but accomplished, or would you rather look back on those poor n00bs that you pwn3d in Tauren Mill?
It's not about improving the world (although that's a laudable goal), it's about the tapestry of your life being rich and vibrant, rather than lit by the soft glow of a CRT as you grind in Mom's basement.
Seeing the view from the top of Mount Hood, jumping out of an airplane, attending a festival in honor of the village saint in Mexico, or taking a walking tour of New York may not mean anything at the end of the day to anyone but me, but I will have lived a fuller life than those poor bastards who think the end all, be all of life is an epic flying mount, and to me? That's worth it.
Awesome! Between hosting webservers and downloading torrents, I'll never have to use my desktop again. Does anyone use a cell phone to make a freaking phone call anymore?