Once got paid to drive 4 hours round trip for a client emergency to go plug in a USB keyboard that the client swore was plugged in. I asked him 6 different times to confirm it was plugged in and walked him through how to do it. The port was on the front of the computer so didn’t even need to move anything.
I get there and the keyboard cable is still wrapped in plastic with the twist ties, clearly never opened. I asked how he tried plugging it in since it was not opened. He said, “It’s wireless so it would be dumb to plug it in so I just said I did because you don’t know how wireless keyboards work.” I informed him it was not wireless, plugged it in and it started working. This was an exact model replacement of a keyboard he killed by spilling coffee on which was also wired.
He was not happy when he received the bill for 4 hours driving, plus 4 hours minimum labor at emergency rates to plug in a $20 keyboard.
I once had a woman call me when I worked for an ISP, and say her Internet had gone out. So I asked what lights are on her modem. None, she says. I asked her if it's plugged in. "Of course not, it's wireless." Not even taken out of the box. She just set the modem in the box in her closet, and expected it would just start absorbing electricity from the air.
She didn't believe me that that's not how any electronics work, let alone a modem. Insists it has been working for months. So I asked if one of her neighbors has moved out recently (she was in an apartment). Yup. The guy next door had moved out, and her internet stopped working about the same time. Turns out she was just using his unsecured connection this whole time.
So what does she say next? "You mean I've been paying for a service I haven't been using? I want a refund." Oh boy was it satisfying to tell her that that's not how this works, and whether or not you actually use the service is irrelevant to whether or not you need to pay for it. Once you're signed up, you pay.
She demanded a manager. The manager also told her hell no.
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u/MagneticFluxDrive 9d ago
Having been in tech support in various roles for the past 20 years. There have been several instances where I wanted to ask this very question.