ON promptings from my computer whizz sister in Cork, I finally switched on my brand, new personal computer. Sitting by myself in Dublin I felt quietly confident. I had plugged it in an connected all its bits and pieces together. The screen lit up and intrepidly I began to follow its technical instructions. Then tragically, I got lost in cyberspace and panicked. After some tears and a tantrum or two the free phone help line beckoned.
Call me romantic, but I liked the friendly voice at `the other' end of the line, which was able to calm me down and direct me carefully through the galaxy that a new PC involves. Over the, course of a two hour problem solving session, where I was tense, and anxious, he was firm and authoritative. It was a successful exchange. I hung up, feeling wiser and calmer.
Even the experts admit that computer technology is changing so quickly that every consumer will have to deal with a problem at some stage, no matter how sophisticated their knowledge is.
Chris Bakolas, as technical with Dan Technology gets to deal with the more difficult queries which come through the company's switchboard in London from clients who have, bought, a computer.
An increasing number of calls he says, are coming from the ordinary consumer, as opposed to the computer whizz. Many of these consumers have bought a PC over the counter "in the same way as a TV", he says. However, the points out, unlike a television or a toaster or, a Hoover, it is very naive to think there won't be problems.
"It's not a consumer item," he says. "Because of the variety of the software and the hardware there will be many different problems." Some people get "very annoyed" when they make a mistake after being told what to do by the company.
Others, he says, "we known them as our best friends they phone us every two days or so with a new problem. And we get other customers, you never hear from them again."
Darach Garland, managing director of Apple Computer stockist Mousetrap Ltd, says "Most of my clients would be reasonably well educated as regards the Apple world." In many cases he has met the customer at least once or even twice, therefore when a customer phones in "I would know them and there would be a couple of lines off niceties before you ask what the problem is. You can put them at their ease sometimes. You can relax them, it depends."
It can happen sometimes on the phone, he says, that people pretend to understand what you are saying, "because they feel inadequate in terms of the computer. They say Yes, yes, instead of saying Look, I don't really know." He explains that the language a caller uses can often indicate the level of technical support needed. It is generally a good sign if at the start they are au fait or familiar with terms such as the Apple menu for example. Sometimes, he says, "they may be bluffing" and not really understand.
"For someone who just can't adjust a grip (on the computer) you tell them to turn it off and say let's start at the basics. Lets' switch the machine on. You can end up spending an enormous amount of time that way but it has to be done." As regards the computer technician's understanding of the problem, generally "most of the problems that you get are calls where you would have far more than an average, chance of knowing what the problem is," he says.
Rick Goetzee, from The Hague Holland, works in Gateway 2,000's technical support division in Dublin. The company has had its European headquarters in Dublin since 1993, and a total of 700 people work in the "customer interface" areas of sales, technical support and customer service. Goetzee works alongside up to 150 other techies on the same floor, fielding calls from customers.
"When someone co-operates, listens and does not get angry, then it's a nice job," he explains. There are 1,001 problems, he says. One common thread of concern, however, which has cropped up from time to time is people's concern over the clouds background in Windows 95. People install something and the clouds disappear. It's only a little thing and it's got nothing to do with how the computer works. It's so nice that they care about the clouds."
The most annoying and frustrating thing, says one front line computer medic, is when people don't listen. "That is something that drives me mad," he says, stressing that a technician must be diplomatic and never loose his or her temper. On occasion, when a technician's patience has been pushed to the limit, the mute button on the phone comes into its own. Some technicians, he says, may ask the customer to hold for a moment. "Could you hold on please," they say, then they push the mute button and scream.