In today’s story, a customer service worker for a tech company shares just how taxing his job can be with certain people on the line.

Other customer service workers related his story on a deep level.

Let’s see what the customer requested…

A customer insisting that I explain the obvious.

Years ago I worked in a call centre doing technical support. Usually for dial-up internet providers.

I’ll never forget one lady who called in. I don’t remember what her issue was, but I started walking through troubleshooting:

The customer had a lot of questions about clicking the mouse.

Me: “Ok, please double click on ‘My Computer'”

Her: “With my left mouse button or my right button?”

Me: “With the left button”

Her: “Ok”

The next instruction was similar.

Me: “Ok, now if you could double click on ‘control panel’ please.”

Her: “With the left button or right button?”

Me: “Oh, yes, with the left button. When someones says ‘double click’, they are always referring to the left button”

She explained how this conversation was going to go.

Her: “I don’t care, I want you to tell me every time what button to use”

So I did.

For the rest of the conversation, every single time I asked her to double-click on something, I would pause and say “With the left mouse button” as if that was something unusual.

Eventually, it seemed like she knew what to do.

She complied, but I could tell by her tone that she was getting frustrated with it.

She never said that I could omit the added instruction though, so I just kept going.

Eventually the problem was solved and we disconnected.

Nothing came of it, but I hope the next support desk she spoke to didn’t need to explain it to her again.

One reader shared that customers have apparently been confused about simple things since the beginning of computers.

This reader is having PTSD after reading this story.

Customers are equally confused about TVs.

One person shared that the more basic the command, the more customers seem to be confused.

This person had a clever solution to a common customer question.

Apparently, even obvious requests are anything but obvious.

Customer service workers put up with a lot!

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.