Friday, April 09, 2004

An Adventure in Tech Support

So, yesterday, was pretty much eaten away, for myself, with chasing the tail of a tech problem.  My computer is a DELL Inspiron 8600. It’s a nice laptop, a gift from the lovely Melis.  Aesthetically pleasing to look at, the computer and the lovely Melis, the feature I enjoy most, about the computer, is its wireless capacity.

Anway, I had been having problems with the No Treason (NT) site, and only NT’s site, loading correctly.  When I would click over to the site, I would receive the first couple of sentences from the most recent post, but none of the background, or other posts.  When I would hit my refresh key, I would receive even less of NT’s posts, and could view HTML code and what not, but I could not get the entire page to load.  So I called DELL tech support.

I got right through to DELL, actually a young lady in Alabama, informed her of my problem and fussed around for 45 minutes or so, to no avail.  She recommended I call Microsoft for tech support.  When I reminded her that the software was factory installed, and DELL is responsible for tech support on factory installed software, she informed me that since she couldn’t figure it out, the only thing I could do was contact Microsoft.

I called Microsoft. Need I tell you what I was informed after 30 minutes on the phone with them?  Yes, I needed to contact DELL tech support for assistance with this problem.  I once again call DELL. This time I get a young lady down in Texas.  I explain to her the hoops I’ve jumped through so far, all to no avail of course, and ask if she can figure this out.  After reviewing the previous call’s notes, and some additional fussing around, I still have the same problem.  The call ends with a recommendation to contact, you guessed it, Microsoft. Time spent, an hour and a half.

So I call Microsoft, once again.  I explain to Microsoft the issue, again, the results, none, and ask if they can help figure this out.  The reply is, yes, they can, for a fee of 35 bucks, which can conveniently be charged and work commenced immediately.  I pony up the 35 bucks and end up talking with Sunvi, in New Delhi, India.

I spend an hour and a half on the phone with Sunvi, and let me tell you, this guy was sharp.  He knew his way around the insides of a computer and had a grasp of software issues that was voluminous.  An outsourcing success is the way I would describe my experience with Sunvi as a representative for Microsoft. So, Sunvi determines what the problem is.  The problem is a McAfee software called Privacy Service. If that software is uninstalled, I can access NT without any problem.  Sunvi recommends dumping McAfee and installing Norton or some other software.

Since I have already spent money on McAfee, I decide to get ahold of them to determine if they can solve this issue.  I first think of calling them on the phone for tech support.  This is not a cost effective solution.  Meaning, they want to charge me, by the minute via a 900 number.  I don’t consider this servicing an already paid customer.  The other options McAfee offered were email support or live chat.  I choose chat.

I get connected via chat and start working with a guy by the name of Robert.  I inform Robert of what has taken place so far, including the fact that if McAfee’s software is uninstalled, the problem is resolved.  Robert recommends reinstalling the glitch producing software, after defragging, running scan disk and disk cleanup.  This, I am informed, will take care of the problem.  I follow the instructions to the letter after ending the chat support session which lasts about 1 hour.  I have the same problem, so I initate a chat tech support with McAfee again.  Wouldn’t you know it, I have to jump through all the same hoops with a new technician that I had jumped through less than an hour ago.  To no avail.

Needless to say, McAfee’s “Privacy Service" software remains uninstalled from my computer.  McAfee states they will contact me by email with a solution, but who knows when that will be.  The one positive aspect of this exercise in futility was my Microsoft outsourced call to Sunvi in New Delhi.  I did enjoy the banter we shared over the phone as our conversation ranged far beyond matters of tech support.  Plus, Sunvi solved the problem, though McAfee’s software is the actual glitch.

Posted by John Venlet on 04/09 at 05:43 AM
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