This Isn’t Working For Me
(Our business asks people to attach a test-project when submitting a support ticket, so we can easily reproduce the problem. This phone call happens after we receive a ticket without a test-project.)
Me: “Hi, [Customer], I’ve spent the last two hours trying to reproduce the problem in ticket [number], but the functionality seems to be working fine here. Could you please provide us with a test-project, so we can help you solve the problem?”
Customer: *sends me a document with screenshots* “As you can see, it’s not ‘working fine.'”
Me: “Yes, sir, I can see that it’s not working on your computer. However, it is working on mine. If you could please provide us with a test-project, so we can reproduce the problem…”
Customer: *interrupting* “I don’t have time for this! I have already sent you a document to prove that it’s not working. Fix it!”
Me: “As I said, I can see that it’s not working on your computer, but I cannot reproduce the problem on my computer without a test-project. I can’t fix something that’s not actually broken.”
Customer: “I don’t have time to build another one of those d*** test-projects. You’re wasting my time. You should be able to tell what’s wrong from the screenshots I sent you.”
Me: “Sir, this problem you’re having can have multiple causes. I can’t tell which one it is without being able to check the logs. I cannot see those on your screenshots.”
Customer: “You’re useless.” *hangs up*
Me: “And… good day to you, too.”
(I closed the ticket with the note, “Works on my machine.”)