An exasperated caller to Dell Computer Tech Support couldn’t
get her new Dell Computer to turn on. After ensuring the computer
was plugged in, the technician asked her what happened when she
pushed the power button. Her response, "I pushed and pushed on
this foot pedal and nothing happens." The "foot pedal" turned out
to be the computer’s mouse.

Another customer called Compaq tech support to say her
brand-new computer wouldn’t work. She said she unpacked the
unit, plugged it in and sat there for 20 minutes waiting for
something to happen. When asked what happened when she pressed
the power switch, she asked, "What power switch?"

Another IBM customer had troubles installing software and
rang for support. "I put in the first disk, and that was OK. It said
to put in the second disk, and I had some problems with the disk.
When it said to put in the third disk, I couldn’t even fit it in…."
The user hadn’t realized that "Insert Disk 2" meant to remove
Disk 1 first.

In a similar incident, a customer had followed the instructions
for installing software. The instructions said to remove the disk
from its cover and insert into the drive. The user had physically
removed the casing of the disk and wondered why there were
problems.

True story from a Novell NetWire Sysop:
Caller: "Hello, is this Tech Support?"
Tech: "Yes, it is. How may I help you?"
Caller: "The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my
warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?"
Tech: "I’m sorry, but did you say a cup holder?"
Caller: "Yes, it’s attached to the front of my computer."
Tech: "Please excuse me. If I seem a bit stumped, it’s because
I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional at a trade
show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have any
trademark on it?"
Caller: It came with my computer. I don’t know anything about
promotional. It just has ‘4X’ on it." At this point, the Tech Rep
had to mute the caller because he couldn’t stand it. He was
laughing too hard. The caller had been using the load drawer of
the CD-ROM drive as a cup holder and snapped it off the drive.

A woman called the Canon help desk with a problem with her
printer. The tech asked her if she was running it under "Windows."
The woman responded, "No, my desk is next to the door. But that is
a good point. The man sitting in the cubicle next to me is under a
window and his printer is working fine,"

Tech Support: "O.K. Bob, let’s press the control and escape
keys at the same time. That brings up a task list in the middle
of the screen. Now type the letter "P" to bring up the Program
Manager."
Customer: "I don’t have a ‘P’."
Tech: "On your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "What do you mean?"
Tech: "’P’ on your keyboard, Bob."
Customer: "I’m not going to do that!"