4. You What?

From Jason On Tech Support

"I would like relate one of my first experiences as a technical advisor for PDE (personal digital entertainment) devices.

I was well established in sound cards and speakers. When our company began to manufacture MP3 players, I was viewed as a perfect candidate to deal with PDEs. As with any new product, there was no troubleshooting data associated with these units, so they gave me a pile of these things and let me play around with them until I was comfortable enough to start taking calls. Compared to the instillation of a sound card, MP3 players were very easy to install and work with - which would prove to be a big problem.

Our first MP3 player was a simple, solid state device with a docking station that connected to the user's parallel port. The software, while not terrific, was simple to use and would get the job done. Most people that were uncomfortable with computers were turned off with the installation of a sound card because it required opening up the chassis and that can be scary stuff for many people. The people in this demographic, however, had absolutely no fear of MP3 players. The majority of my callers had sound card experience.

Me: Typical greeting and information gathering.

Customer: My MP3 player isn't working
Me: I am sorry to hear that, how long have you had this device?
Customer: For a week or so.
Me: During that time, did you ever get the device to work?
Customer: Oh, yeah, it was working great until today. At first the sound was all garbled, and now I get nothing.
Me: So, first the sound quality was starting to degrade until finally there was no sound.
Customer: That's right.
Me: Have you tried a different pair of headphones?
Customer: No, but I don't think that will help.
Me: Why is that?
Customer: The unit won't even turn on.
Me: Ah, that could be a problem. Have you tried new batteries?
Customer: No, but I don't have any rechargeable AAAs lying around.
Me: Do you have any regular AAAs?
Customer: No.
Me: When you place the unit in its docking station, does the charge light come up?
Customer: Uh, I better not do that.
Me: Why not?
Customer: Because it's still wet.
Me: Wet?
Customer: Yeah, I didn't like the paint job on the thing, so I soaked it in paint thinner overnight so that I could change the color. But when I took it out to go jogging, it started making funny noises and then shut off.