And another thing...

Tech support, schmech support!

You always hear the techies telling stories about the moron customers who call up with asinine questions.

Well this isn't one of those stories. I am the customer, and I am about to encounter a customers worst nightmare, someone who knows LESS than you.

I decide I want to utilize all the personal web space that I am paying for with my ISP. So first I go to the website for info. Apparently, you have to FTP all content. No problem, I've done that before. Now I am searching for the info I need for the FTP program. Address, username, password. I enter all this info, but something doesn't look right. I screw with it for a while and decide to call tech support. After all, that's what I pay for!

ME: "Hi, I am trying to upload to my webspace and I am having trouble connecting. Can you walk me through the entries, to make sure I am entering them right?"

TECH: "Sure, what FTP program are you using?"

ME: "Smart FTP"

TECH: "I am not familiar with that one."

ME: "Well I just need to know what address to use for the host, and what format to use for the User ID."

TECH: "I don't really know, because I have never used SmartFTP, do you have WS_FTP?"

ME: "Sure, I can use that but I just need the host and userid info. I think I just might be typing it wrong"

This goes on for 15 minutes, I am asking for simple info and he is trying to learn the program. I switch to WS_FTP, but this doesn't help him. You see even though my ISP address is www.ns.sympatico.ca, for purposes of personal website, some addresses are www3.ns.sympatico.ca. And since my connection is an old one I use email address for username instead of a crazy alphanumeric login.

Then it starts to get good.

TECH: "Can I put you on hold and I will ask my supervisor?"He comes back.

TECH: "My supervisor tells me that we do not give support for FTP, that it's a separate program that we are not trained for."

ME: "Your joking right?"

He's not.

ME: "So you are telling me that the only way to get stuff onto my webspace is to FTP, but you can't tell me how to do that?"

TECH: "I know, it sounds crazy, all I can tell you is to search FTP, and read up on it."

ME: "So, I am paying for 10 meg of web space, and the ONLY way to access that webspace is to use FTP, and there is no tech support for that, you can't even tell me what address to use?"

TECH: "try putting the http:// in front..........that sometimes helps."

I hung up on him before I started to use foul language.

Long story short....I screwed around with it and finally got on, but had to stop to write a vicious email to my ISP.

I am not expecting a reply.

This is what that whole experience has reduced me to.





Evel

Oh...Mariea? I thought I would make one for you too.


YOU HAVE BEEN TOONED!