One Click Too Many

I have worked in computer repair for most of my working life. One day, back in about 2008 or 2009, I answered a phone call from a customer whose Internet was not working. I was trying to get her to reset the Internet settings in her browser. I’ve walked several customers through this process already, and it usually only takes a minute.

Me: “Can you open Internet Explorer?”

Customer: “Okay, I have done that, but it just says Page Not Found.”

Me: “That’s okay; we’ll try to solve that. If you look near the top right of your screen, you should see a small icon that looks like a cog or a gear. It will probably be just a bit below the red X.”

Customer: “Yes, I can see it.”

Me: “Can you click on it?”

Customer: “Okay, I’ve done that.”

Me: “There should be a menu that pops down, and it should have ‘Internet Options’ at the bottom.”

Customer: “Yes, I can see that.”

Me: “Can you click on ‘Internet Options’?”

Customer: “No, sorry, I can’t do that.”

Me: “Um, oh… Okay, what seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “It’s too hard. Sorry, I really don’t know much about computers.”

Me: “Don’t worry too much. I’ll tell you exactly what to click on. This will only take a few more seconds. I just need you to click on ‘Internet Options’.”

Customer: “Sorry, I can’t do it. It’s too hard.” *Click*

What I find hilarious is that she had already clicked on a few buttons as I was walking her through it. I really don’t see why it suddenly got so much harder.