Back when I did systems engineering and software development for medical imaging equipment, I’d occasionally see an error message from the operating system that read something like, “Unknown Error Code: 10241.” Now, that always struck me as funny since it clearly was not an “unknown” error code. It was right there—“10241.” Contacting the computer manufacturer’s technical support was not helpful. They’d look up the error code and then state they couldn’t help since the error code was unknown. “But, wait a minute,” I’d ask. “Didn’t some software people enter those five numbers as a clue to where in their code something went awry?” I never did get an answer.
Imagine if the warning light on your car’s dashboard said: “Check Something.” What would that mean?
This brings me to the real subject of this post: How can a computer user best describe the problems they’re encountering to their IT support person? I frequently hear something along the lines of, “I was doing such and such and then this error message popped up and I didn’t write it down and I didn’t understand what it meant anyway so I turned the computer off. Can you help me?”
I know it can be very frustrating and intimidating to attempt to describe your problem to a tech, especially when you are not fluent in the technical language. And the stress level increases if the tech asks you questions filled with cryptic jargon.
I will now make this assertion: It is the responsibility of the tech support person to understand the problem you encountered. An accomplished tech support person will ask questions using terminology you understand. Can you help in the process? Yes.
Before you call for assistance, write down what you know about the situation. What program were you using? What were you attempting to do? Was there an error message? (If so, by all means write it down or keep it on the screen.) Did the computer lock up or do something strange? What were you doing just before the error occurred? Has this happened before and, if so, under what conditions or circumstances?
If all you get in response to your computer queries is mumbo-jumbo and mnemonic-laden questions and comments, politely end the call and try a different support person. After all, if you knew the jargon, you would probably be in IT yourself!