Those Fridges Know What You’re Up To

I’m working the helpline for a huge Internet company. Usually, when customers come to me, they are transferred from a coworker of a lower level and need some special technical help, like deleting cache, cookies, or other stuff, and are stuck in some security alert so they can’t log in to their account.

This conversation comes up to me at least two times a day, sometimes more often.

Me: “Okay, I have your account up now and changed something. Would you mind telling me which device you are using right now?”

Customer: *Irritated* “Um, my home phone… I have no smartphone!”

Me: “Let me be a bit more precise: which device are you using to log in?”

Customer: *Slightly angry* “Oh… a PC. What else should I use? I have no smartphone!”

Me: *Dry as a good wine* “There still is the possibility that you could use a tablet. And don’t forget about smart fridges.”

Customer: *Laughing* “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t think of that.”

Most of the time, they add something like, “You know I’m old.” Then, the real struggle begins, but that’s another story.