Unfiltered Story #56738

(Background: My parents’ new desktop computer has suddenly stopped connecting to their home wi-fi. By the time my mother calls the store’s tech support I’d already spent a few hours trying to get it working, to no avail, so I’m listening in.)

Tech Support: [Store] tech support, how can I help you?

Mom: Yeah, I bought a computer from there about two weeks ago, and up until yesterday it connected to the wi-fi fine, but now it won’t get online at all. It just keeps saying it can’t connect to the network. All the other computers in the house are connecting, so it doesn’t seem to be a problem with the internet itself, we just can’t get this computer to connect.

Tech Support: Okay, do you know how to check for updates?

Me: Is that even possible right now?

Mom: Well, let’s try it.

Tech Support: Okay, so first you’re going to need to click the Windows menu…

(he proceeds to explain exactly how to check for updates while my mother dutifully follows along and I quietly wonder how any kind of update could lead to or instantly solve a connection problem, how we’re supposed to check for updates without internet, and how we’re supposed to download updates without internet.)

Mom: It says it can’t check for updates because we’re not connected to the internet.

Tech Support: Oh… OH. Yeah, that makes sense. You’re going to need to bring it in to get checked out in the store, then.

(He didn’t even have us check to be sure our network settings were correct and hadn’t accidentally been changed, which leaves me wondering just how low a bar this store has for “too difficult to fix over the phone”.)