'OK I’m not an idiot': Tech support guy drives 1 hour to plug in an outlet because an incompetent client fails to follow simple instructions

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Jun 9, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Tech support guys have seen it all–from power outages and troubleshooting, to complete idiocracy, IT guys must cultivate some serious patience to deal with the technologically illiterate folks of the world. 

A tech guy was pushed to the limit of his patience recently when a completely incompetent employee proved to be bafflingly foolish. Anyone who has lived on earth at any point during the last 100 years knows how a power outlet works. You plug in electronics, they go boom-boom, bading-bading and the lights come on… Simple as that.

If an electrical cord isn't plugged into the wall (the source of its power), how is anything supposed to work? 

Well, this tech support dude taught one incompetent client the ABCs of technology after walking her through the steps of plugging in an outlet into the wall instead of into itself. Scroll for the entire story of asinine stupidity and one woman's stubbornness that led to a heft tech support bill. 

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  • 01
    Was there for a whole 30 seconds...
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  • 02
    r/talesfromtechsuppo The-_-Guy "I'm not an idiot and don't need to be treated like one" Short
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  • 03
    I have a customer that is about an hour away from us. They are a small office 3-4 people. Not much equipment there, a switch, firewall and AP. One day the battery back up died
    via The-__-Guy
  • 04
    and everything went down. I was texting with the user trying to figure out what was happening. They have a power strip that was plugged into the battery that was housing most
    via The-__-Guy
  • 05
    of the plugs, I eventually asked her to bypass the battery and just plug the strip into the wall. Still wouldn't work...asked to send me a picture of everything. The next part is the actual exchange we had:
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  • 06
    ME: "It could take a minute for the network to come back up." "Are there lights on the equipment? "
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  • 07
    EMPLOYEE: sends picture of equipment "What equipment" "No lights on on anything. Nothings working"
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  • 08
    ME: "It looks like the power strip is plugged into itself, make sure it's plugged into the wall outlet"
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  • 09
    EMPLOYEE:"OK I'm not an idiot and I don't need to be treated like one. The strip is plugged in to an extension cord that's plugged in to the wall so it can reach everything
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  • 10
    worked yesterday including the strip so it's not plugged into itself it's plugged in where it's always been plugged in. We're probably you guys plugged it into."
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  • 11
    ME:"I'm certainly not treating you like an idiot? From the picture it just looked like it was. Are your monitors plugged into the power strip? Wondering if that thing is dead"
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  • 12
    After a few more fruitless back-and-forths I decide to drive the hour out there and take a look. I needed to get a new battery out there anyway.
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  • 13
    Was there for a whole 30 seconds before discovering that it was INDEED plugged into itself. They were down for a couple hours when it was avoidable simply by taking the
    via The-__-Guy
  • 14
    time to actually look at what they had done . I told her that it was plugged into itself and she literally said "oh" and nothing else. On the bright side, haven't heard from her since then and it's been over a year now.
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  • 15
    s-mores • 20h ago I make your code work This is why contractd have a "checked it" clause -- if it was something you asked to be checked and it wasn't checked, extra $200 per trip.
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  • 16
    curtludwig 19h ago • Years ago I had a reseller that connected a breakout box wrong. I thought they'd done it wrong and specifically asked if they'd done that specific thing. They denied it.
    via curtludwig
  • 17
    So I sent them a new box, twice. Finally they're screaming mad that I can't get the thing to work so I tell them I'll go but if I find that they did it wrong it's going to be a $5000 service call. They demand I go on site.
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  • 18
    So I fly halfway across the US, walk into their machine room, move 2 cables 1 port to the left and give them a bill for $5000.
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  • 19
    They had connected the cables wrong 3 times. They claimed they hadn't when I asked for proof and they claimed to not have a way to send a picture so I could
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  • 20
    check. This was before smart phones so that last part was probably true. Strangely they went out of business within the year...
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  • 21
    JoshuaPearce 14h ago . I long ago learned to appreciate fixes which make me look stupid. A stupid problem is a simple fix. It won't cost money, time, or paperwork. It won't create new work verifying the fix didn't regress something else.
    via JoshuaPearce
  • 22
    If somebody else makes a dumb mistake which can be undone, I say "Oh good" and make sure they know I don't mind. I don't want my problems to make me feel clever, I want my problems to go away.
    via JoshuaPearce
  • 23
    sheikhyerbouti • 3h ago Putting Things On Top Of Ot... This reminds me of something I posted before: One of my dad's friends was an electrician that also handled emergency calls, but at a $80/hr premium (this was in the 1980s).
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  • 24
    One night the friend gets a call from a panicked man because the light won't turn on in his laundry room. The friend says, "If I come out there, there will be a minimum $80 charge.
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  • 25
    Have you made sure the switch is on and changed out the bulb?" The man insists he had and demands he come over RIGHT NOW.
    via sheikhyerbouti
  • 26
    So the friend shows up, gets escorted to the laundry room with its light out. Friend tries the switch nothing turns on. - Friend checks the breaker -
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  • 27
    everything looks right there. Friend changes the bulb – light turns on. - The man was invoiced for $80 + $5 for the bulb.
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  • 28
    Therealschroom • 19h ago "you have o power on the outlet? then get an electrician maybe!" would ja e been my reply
    via Therealschroom

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