Should Try Turning Their Brain On And Off Again

(I work in a major university’s IT department in campus support at the front desk. We fix computers that are brought in to us for no charge to anyone with a university e-mail address, including students and staff. Student workers and interns assigned to the front desk are tasked with assessing each customer’s issue, determining the most efficient way of resolving the situation, and generating appropriate documentation. An older lady enters the office and asks for help at the front desk.)

Customer: “I’m not a student here and I don’t have an account with you, but I need help with my computer.”

Me: *taken aback* “Oh, uh, what seems to be the issue?”

Customer: “On my desktop at home, I can’t send emails without routing them through Russia. I was just wondering if one of your technicians could delete Russia off of my computer.”

Me: “We can’t really offer support for machines or people not affiliated with the university, and we can’t fix a computer that’s not here…”

Customer: “Oh, of course.”

(The customer turned and asked the adjacent electronic sales representative, there to sell laptops to students, about the discounts the storefront offers, despite still not having a university account. The sales representative performed his full spiel about the benefits of purchasing through the storefront or the university’s online store. After a few minutes of this, the customer excused herself, saying she would think about it. After she left, I explain to the representative what happened.)

Representative: *sheepish* “I really hope she doesn’t come back.”