Laptop Flop, Part 31

Ohio, Stupid, Tech Support, Technology, USA | Right | April 19, 2021

Boss: “I just got off the phone with [User] and she is furious. She says you just gave her a new laptop and it doesn’t work!”

I go over. The user and her supervisor are both crammed into her cube and loudly complaining about how the computer doesn’t work.

Me: “Good morning, ladies. I understand you have a problem with the laptop I gave you?”

User: “Yes! It just doesn’t work. It won’t turn on!”

User’s Supervisor: “The monitor just stays black. This is totally unacceptable. [User] has a lot that I need her to do, and she can’t even get her computer working!”

I look around. On the desk is the external monitor, the docking station for the laptop, keyboard, mouse… Something is missing. Right as I note this, the user decides to “demonstrate” the problem for me…. by pressing the power button on the dock.

User: “You see?! It doesn’t turn on!”

Me: “Uh… where is the laptop? That’s just the dock.”

User: “It’s at home, so I can work there, of course! But it won’t turn on here!”

Me: *Calmly* “You physically need the laptop to be connected to the dock. It will not magically connect when the computer is in another city.”

User & Supervisor: “That’s what Wi-Fi is for!”