How to Make a Tech Support Call Less Painful

It happens to all of us, even IT people...the dreaded call to technical support. These days it doesn't happen with just computers. Now that we have so many other devices: cell phones, PDAs, navigational systems, MP3 players, we have even more things to break on us. In fact, it's these devices that will probably land us on the phone with tech support since they may be relatively new purchases and don't come with much in the way of a troubleshooting guide except to "restart."

As anyone who has had to use tech support knows, the experience can be anywhere from quick and simple to long and drawn-out; usually the latter. So prepare yourself before you start with a few tips that can help make the call as painless as possible.

If you're anything like me, you'll do whatever is necessary to escape the dreaded tech support call. That includes trying my very best to fix the problem myself. I check the manual, do the old restart (which actually works a good deal of the time), and finally go online to see if I can find an answer there. I start with the product's website, which can be a great source of information. In fact, you should always check out the website of a new product. You might find some special offers, free downloads, and sign up for notifications of product upgrades.

After that, look up your product on retail sites or product review sites. In the section for customer reviews or comments, you might find other people have encountered the same problem. You can even try to Google your problem. That might direct you to discussion boards or articles that address the problem.

If all that and a call to your cousin who's "pretty good with electronics" doesn't help, then you might just have to make the call.

Before you begin, make sure you have a good amount of time to be on the phone. With luck you won't need it, but be ready for it. Don't start your call if you know you'll have to run out of the house in a few minutes or it's the end of your lunch hour.