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I had the misfortune of working tech support for a time, and I came away from the experience with the mindset that people should have to have some sort of license to operate technology, or at least be required to take an orientation.
It’s not that people are dumb — though some are — it’s that they don’t know what they’re doing, they don’t have the basic skills to do what they’re trying to do. Thus many tech support calls become tutorials, which support personnel aren’t trained to conduct.
The Pogue has put together a list of some of his favorites from a visit he made to a call center, and if you’ve ever worked support — no, if you’ve ever called support — go have a read and a chuckle.
A sample:
Caller: Hey, can you help me? My computer has locked up, and no matter how many times I type eleven, it won’t unfreeze.
Agent: What do you mean, “type eleven?”
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San Francisco | October 27-29, 2025Caller: The message on my screen says, “Error Type 11!”
Somebody needs to really take a class. All of them.
Tech Support Gets a Reprieve While Users Take a Hit [Pogue’s Posts]
