Driving recovery

Some time before noon I received another phone call which began the same as any other of the 70-odd phone calls I get every day. I answered and asked the customer with the usual "how may I help you?". The man on the other side of the line said "I purchased this laptop just yesterday and Windows won't boot. Can you replace it?" I replied "Yes, but maybe we can save you the burden of bringing it here if we can perform a successful recovery". He was willing to cooperate and I started my explanation.
Me: "Turn off the laptop"
Customer: "It's already turned off"
Me: "Good. So now please turn it on, and immediately after the display shows the manufacturer's logo, quickly press F9 to start the recovery process"
Customer: "Okay, now I see a light blue screen with some graphics on it"
Me: "And what is it written there? Which options do you see?"
Customer: "I can't read it. I don't have my reading glasses"
Me: "Can you call someone else to help you read of the screen?"
Customer: "I have my reading glasses in the office, I can do it there"
Me: "Can't you ask anyone to help you?"
Customer: "No, I'm in my car, driving"
Me (somewhat perplexed): "You what? Driving?! Err... Maybe I can call you in an hour after you reach the office?..."
Customer: "Okay"

I did call the customer an hour later, out of sheer curiosity to see if he wasn't involved in a horrible car crash. He survived.


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