What's the opposite of "over your head"?

December 22, 2014 7:35 AM

I do tech support for a complex software/hardware package and for some customers, I have no idea their experience level, and I start with the basics. I have to ask questions that might come across as very obvious to an experienced user and I want to know the safest and most tone-proof way to do this.

I want to say something that's the opposite of "I'm sorry if I'm speaking over your head" and usually come up with something like "My apologies if this is obvious to you, but..." or "You've probably already checked this, but just to be thorough...". Is there a concise way to say what I'm trying to, in email, with no risk of my tone being taken incorrectly?

To give an example, this would be like if someone called you and said their computer wasn't working and you said "Is it plugged in?" It would almost be insulting if you asked somebody knowledgeable that - especially if maybe I've dealt with them before, found them to be knowledgeable, and then forgot who they were - so I'm looking for a proper way to couch this.

posted by ftm to Human Relations (23 answers total)

I know you are "over qualified" for such basic questions, but I need to ask:
posted by Flood at 7:38 AM on December 22, 2014 [2 favorites]

This might be "too basic" but...
posted by Flamingo at 7:40 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

"I'm sorry to condescend, but…"
posted by Elementary Penguin at 7:40 AM on December 22, 2014

I use tech support from Dreamhost occasionally, and their support request form has a drop down where I can pick from a list of options from "I'm an idiot, explain this like I'm five" to "I could probably do your job better than you, thanks".

I love this option.
posted by emilyw at 7:41 AM on December 22, 2014 [19 favorites]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the two examples you gave. There is nothing offensive about either. You can add that you deal with people customers across a wide range of knowledge levels, so you want to be thorough. You're fine.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:42 AM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]

"Would you mind running through some preliminary questions with me, just to make sure we've covered all the bases. I presume you've done these but we need to be certain"

I usually don't apologize but just let people know that we're working on this together and that troubleshooting is a process that is scaffolded and so we have to get the foundation in place, even if it's a little rudimentary. And then tell people "thanks for bearing with this"
posted by jessamyn at 7:42 AM on December 22, 2014 [25 favorites]

"Okay, let's start with the obvious stuff. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I've spent an hour troubleshooting and it turned out the damn cord wasn't plugged in, am I right? So, is the cord plugged in?"

Anyone who gets offended by this was already mad about something (likely the problem you're helping with, but possibly not), and there's nothing you can do to keep them from being already-mad.
posted by Etrigan at 7:48 AM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]

I often say things like "Just to get the obvious out of the way... is it plugged in and have you rebooted?"

Then I might start off talking to them like they're five but also say "Please let me know if I'm being too basic for you, or let me know if I'm talking over your head. It's tough to know someone's experience level."

Just the fact that you care about this shows that you're better than most tech support people.
posted by bondcliff at 7:59 AM on December 22, 2014 [20 favorites]

Anyone tech-savvy enough to have already tried out the basics will have, at some point, been tech support themselves - even if it was just for Grandma. And if they have just a little bit of empathy they'll understand that you need to confirm the basics have been covered. Unless they're easily offended (or just having a bad day like Etrigan says) they should understand. I think the examples you've given are great.
posted by attercoppe at 7:59 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

Former professional giver of tech support, current recipient of tech support (and continued amateur tech support giver), here. I think you're fine. The fact that you care puts you several miles above a lot of reps. Keep doin' what you're doin'.
posted by Alterscape at 8:02 AM on December 22, 2014

I'd ask the open ended question: What have you tried so far?

Because trust me, before I call tech support I check the cables, reboot and etc.

Once one of the MANY cables on the TV was loose though, and thank goodness the guy said, "Hey, this happens a lot with HDMI cables, just check to see that it's firmly in." That's what the problem was!
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 8:03 AM on December 22, 2014 [7 favorites]

Maybe something like "In order to best help you, I need to establish some basic facts about your situation. These are questions we ask everyone and it will allow me to help you faster."
posted by megancita at 8:07 AM on December 22, 2014 [4 favorites]

"How long have you been using Software-X?"

This would give you a rough idea of their experience with the app.
posted by Thorzdad at 8:12 AM on December 22, 2014

As a customer, if I call tech support, I'm not interested in hearing this kind of extra verbiage, because I want the problem solved as efficiently as possible. I think customer service reps often don't appreciate the disparity between them and callers: you have all the time in the world since this is your job, but I have a lot of other things to do in my life, so the longer the call goes on, the more annoyed I'm likely to get. I know you're asking questions because you're required to, so just go ahead and ask.
posted by John Cohen at 8:12 AM on December 22, 2014 [3 favorites]

To give an example, this would be like if someone called you and said their computer wasn't working and you said "Is it plugged in?" It would almost be insulting if you asked somebody knowledgeable that - especially if maybe I've dealt with them before, found them to be knowledgeable, and then forgot who they were - so I'm looking for a proper way to couch this.

I know what you're getting at, but honestly as a customer I wouldn't feel insulted if you asked that because, although I almost certainly would have checked that before calling, even very smart and experienced people sometimes make silly mistakes. Really, I'd rather find out I did something dumb and have it fixed in a minute than have to spend half an hour on the phone with you testing things. So, I think something like "I'm going to start with some very basic questions just to make sure I have all your information" is fine.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 9:01 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

The only time these kinds of questions annoy me is when I'm in some kind of tiered system and EACH LEVEL OF PERSON asks me the same questions. So the only thing I would add is that if there's any likelihood that you're going to pass the ticket/call on to someone else, make a note as to what basic questions you've already asked.
posted by mskyle at 9:10 AM on December 22, 2014 [12 favorites]

Also, not to make too much of this because I think you're fine either way, but if you told me something like "I know this question is an insult to your intelligence, but it is plugged in?" I would in fact feel far stupider, because then it's not just a silly oversight on my part but a suggestion that I'm failing to live up to some expected standard of competence. So I'd be careful about suggesting what anyone should "obviously" know.
posted by DestinationUnknown at 9:17 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

It would almost be insulting if you asked somebody knowledgeable that - especially if maybe I've dealt with them before, found them to be knowledgeable, and then forgot who they were

People who get all huffy when you ask "obvious" questions are dicks, and there is simply no way to stop a dick being a dick. So just ask about what you need to know. No reasonable person will take that badly.

The support people I most enjoy dealing with are the ones who will just open with an "is it plugged in" kind of question, then not interrupt as I tell them that it's plugged in, I've power cycled it at the mains switch, there's nothing else connected to the phone line, and if I connect just a standard corded phone to the same line I hear an intermittent crackle so I'm pretty sure it's water in the cable.

What is maddening is strict and mindless adherence to a script and getting a customer to repeat steps they've told you have already been performed. Also to be avoided: if you haven't a clue, trying to hide that fact from an obviously knowledgeable customer instead of instantly bouncing them to level 2 support.
posted by flabdablet at 10:04 AM on December 22, 2014 [5 favorites]

And what mskyle said.
posted by flabdablet at 10:05 AM on December 22, 2014

Response by poster: I forgot a few details as always :) This would ONLY ever be over email. I do very little phone support but when I do it's with somebody I know well. And I'm basically okay with what I'm doing now but I kind of struggle with it each time so if there was a super catch-all answer it would save me a couple of ergs of mental effort.

Nobody's ever been a jerk about it, but I try to pride myself on doing a good job talking to people and making them feel confident about both my competence and their own so I want to hone my language to the extent I can.

That's it for threadsitting, thanks for all the answers so far, I've gotten some great ideas about how things come across and what people are and are not looking to hear!
posted by ftm at 10:37 AM on December 22, 2014

"This might already be in your wheelhouse, but..."
posted by JimBJ9 at 11:48 AM on December 22, 2014 [1 favorite]

I deal with pretty high-level tech support stuff at work as a science person and not IT, and I really don't mind this. We all forget obvious things sometimes, and there are people that are super-experts on the inner workings of an instrument that have never noticed the power button on the monitor. I would definitely leave the users' intelligence out of it, though, as it implies that a loose unchecked cable is a sign of mental deterioration.

"Here are some easy things to start with, which will address some of the most common causes of [PROBLEM]. Once you've checked each of these, we can get into some more in-depth troubleshooting." I'd expect their answers to help clarify for you their level of experience.
posted by tchemgrrl at 12:51 PM on December 22, 2014

"I just want to check the 'is it plugged in' stuff, to be sure, then we can dig into this further."
posted by rmd1023 at 1:59 PM on December 22, 2014