‘Explain it to me like I’m five': Tech support employee attempts to assist CEO with internet problems remotely, resulting in a dispute about how IT breaks information down for employees

Author image for Bar Mor Hazut
Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Aug 18, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

Every person who has ever worked in IT or Tech Support knows that having sharp 'people skills' is just as important as understanding computers and technology. Every day, those employees have to deal with people having technological issues, so they need to know not only how to handle the problem, but also how to handle the people with that problem. That can get incredibly tricky, as people are not at their best when they are having issues, and many simply don't want to learn when their issues have anything to do with technology.

The story here is a breath of fresh air when it comes to the interaction between the tech support employee and the CEO who needed help. While they were on the phone, the IT person tried to guide the CEO through the problem, while the CEO insisted on understanding the root of the problem and how it was fixed. Together they succeeded in solving the issue, which caused an interesting dispute in the Reddit comments, when other tech support employees shared their methods of explaining tech problems to their clients and coworkers.

Scroll down to read the full tale. Up next, click here for a story of employees who got paid for doing nothing because of their stubborn boss.

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10390191360
    via Canva
  • 02
    WiFi = "The Internet"
    via electric_medicine
  • 03
    I'm sure you have all experienced this one before. The CEO and I have a very good personal standing and help each other out every once in a while. Around 15 minutes to the end of my shift,
    via electric_medicine
  • 04
    my work phone rings, it's the CEO. CEO: "Hey can I bother you for a minute? It's something about my home network if you're ok with that..."
    via electric_medicine
  • 05
    Me: "Sure thing, what's up?" CEO: "So my home internet is down and the router has its INFO LED lit up red. I googled and it says that I can log in to my router and it would tell me the error, but
    via electric_medicine
  • 06
    I don't know how to access the router. Can you help?" Me: "Sure, so open up your laptop and connect to your WiFi, then open a browser and go to 192.168.1.1"
    via electric_medicine
  • 07
    CEO: "Well uh I can't do that, I can't connect to the WiFi" Me: "Hmm, have you tried rebooting the router, like unplugging it, waiting 5 minutes, and plugging it back in?"
    via electric_medicine
  • 08
    CEO: "Yeah I did that but it's not working" Me: "Well ok, do you see your WiFi network at all? Does it say anything if you try to connect to it?"
    via electric_medicine
  • 09
    CEO: "Yeah, it just says 'no internet'" Me: "Ok, so just open up Chrome and go to 192.168.1.1" CEO: "But how would I do that if I don't have WiFi? The internet is not working"
    via electric_medicine
  • 10
    Me: "Oh, I see! Well you can be connected to the WiFi without having internet access. You can still access local resources then, and since your router is local to you, that will work"
    via electric_medicine
  • 11
    CEO: "I'm very sorry man, but | don't quite catch it..." Me: "Alright. So imagine you have your car but the gas tank is empty, ok?" CEO: "Yeah?"
    via electric_medicine
  • 12
    Me: "You can still sit in it, turn on the radio and listen to music, and turn the lights on, but you can't turn on the engine and drive it, yeah?"
    via electric_medicine
  • 13
    CEO: "Yeah that's correct" Me: "Car = WiFi, Gas tank = Internet connection, Driving somewhere Accessing the internet" CEO: "Oh!" =
    via electric_medicine
  • 14
    It did end up being an ISP issue as I suspected, but I was glad that I could help. What have you used to explain things like that to your users?
    via electric_medicine
  • 15
    koolman2 2d ago I usually say something along the lines of "the router has its own website inside the box" and it usually works.
    via koolman2
  • 16
    SuperHarrierJet • 2d ago I've learned over the years that if you break things down to what people generally understand instead of trying to explain in our terms, it goes a lot smoother. Also I'm stealing this.
    via SuperHarrierJet
  • 17
    projectb223 • 2d ago My boss was once angry that his computer had an error after turning it on. I came down to look at it and just restarted it and it was fine. He asked why it does that and I said "Computers are like people, sometimes they wake up cranky and need to go back to sleep for a second." and apparently it clicked well with him.
    via projectb223
  • 18
    Itchy_Influence5737 • 2d ago I use the train vs. the bus analogy. You can get to everything in your village via the local bus, but if you want to get to somewhere that's in a different village, you first have to take the train to that village.
    via Itchy_Influence5737
  • 19
    A_norny_mousse • 2d ago Lucky you, at least they know what a router is. I had to literally point to the router and say: this box there? That's what provides Wifi. They seem to think that Wifi is just magically there, like the internet itself.
    via A_norny_mousse
  • 20
    A8Bit • 2d ago When you connect to the Wi-Fi you are connecting to the building. The building isn't connected to the internet. You can see the stuff in the building but you can't see stuff outside it.
    via A8Bit
  • 21
    rudthedud.2d ago The plumbing is in the house but the water is not coming into them. We need to check the pipes for leaks and other issues before we stay the water isn't flowing from the street/well.
    via rudthedud
  • 22
    duke3000 2d ago I like the car analogies. I am a mechanic. I troubleshoot, service and repair your car. I change tyres and do oil changes. I do my own driving and take your car for a test ride after the shop. But I do never ever give driving lessons!
    via duke3ooo
  • 23
    Bar_litrerally 1m ago • Explain it to me like I'm five (Tech Support version)
    via Bar_litrerally

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workplace-stories tech support employee technical difficulties work coworkers technology it reddit story ceo workplace Reddit funny information technology
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