I hope I spelt “Fizzbuzz” correctly, but I had a real laugh listening to Hansel Minutes Show 218 when Scott suggested that we have a secret password to give to Tech Support so that they know we aren’t idiot’s. I think it is a great idea…
So a typical call would go as follows…
You) Hi, I need help with my internet connection
Tech Support) Yes Sir, click the big button on the bottom left corner of your screen called the “start button”
You) Fizzbuzz
Tech Support) Okay, so you have obviously checked your IP settings, and your router – I am going to escalate this to a level 5 call and get my technician to troubleshoot our server straight away… etc.
Quite simple, if you tell people the secret word they will know you have experience in the industry and can stop treating you like an idiot!
Ironically I find that sometimes I don’t want Tech Support to know that I know a bit about IT. Once or twice I have been setting up my friends internet connection or something related to that and he has forgotten his password. If I phone the support line and seem to know a bit about computers they immediately seem suspicious and want me to fill in all sorts of documents to verify that I have permission. On the other hand, if I phone in and pretend to know absolutely nothing about PC’s 9 times out of 10 they are more than willing to give me the passwords over the phone without any other certification other than the fact that I am an idiot and obviously have no clue what a password is or that it is meant to be secret for security reasons.
None the less… put the word out… next time you are helping someone and they Fizzbuzz you… wala… no more treating them like an idiot.
