A Tech Support Worker Tried To Troubleshoot A Resident’s Internet, But The Site Manager Was Testing The Wi-Fi From The Office
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Helping someone fix their internet gets tricky when you can’t see what they’re doing.
That’s what one tech support worker ran into when a residential site manager called about a resident’s connection.
The manager said the internet wasn’t working, but everything looked fine on the worker’s end.
So he started checking whether the resident could open websites on different devices, hoping to narrow down the problem.
But as they talked, the worker realized the manager had failed to mention that they weren’t even with the resident.
Read on to see how it all played out.
NOC Interaction with a Residential Site Manager
I got a call from the Site Manager at one of our residential communities.
Me: Hi, welcome to ******. You’re speaking with I_Dont_Have_Corona.
Site Mgr: Hi, I’ve got a resident at house ****** who has no internet.
The site manager was pretty vague from the start.
Me: Okay, no problem. We can have a look at that. Are they unable to access any websites on any of their devices?
Site Mgr: Well, they are still receiving emails OK, but they can’t open them with the internet.
Me: …Are you able to clarify what you mean? So, they can still see new emails coming through to their inbox?
(Checking connection stats, and it indicates they’re online.)
A few minutes later, the site manager called again.
Me: On our side, it currently indicates the connection is online, although it’s possible there is some sort of issue, such as with the WiFi. Are they able to access any websites?
Site Mgr: I’ll call you back after I check a couple of things.
5 minutes later, the Site Manager calls back.
Site Mgr: Hi, when we try and access a website on the iPad, it says Safari can’t reach this page.
Suddenly, they realized the problem wasn’t limited to just one device.
Me: OK, that seems to indicate a potential internet issue on the iPad. Does the resident have any other devices, such as a mobile phone or PC, that we can check to see if they can access the internet as well?
Site Mgr: They have a phone.
(Site Mgr checks to see if she can access a website on the resident’s phone.)
Site Mgr: It’s the same issue on the phone as well.
Then, the manager dropped a bombshell.
Me: We’ll need to ensure mobile data is disabled so we can ensure it is only connecting to the WiFi. Just checking as well, you are currently at the property with them, correct?
Site Mgr: No, we’re at the office.
Me: ????????????????
Me: We will need to test this from their residence to see if there are any issues with the home internet.
Site Mgr: Oh, okay. So what do we need to do when we get there?
He explained what they would do and ended the call.
Me: Let’s go through disabling mobile data. Then, when they’re back home, they simply need to try accessing a website on their phone.
We went through disabling mobile data.
Site Mgr: I still can’t access any websites on their phone.
Me: …Yeah, they will need to be at home to connect to their WiFi, as mentioned, to test.
Unfortunately, it’s still an ongoing issue.
I then advised that when the resident is home, they should try accessing a website on the phone.
If they still can’t, suggested they disconnect the power cable for 30 seconds before reconnecting.
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Still currently to be continued…
Eek! Situations like that are so annoying!
Let’s check out what the people over at Reddit would’ve done in this situation.
This would’ve been funny to see.
Oh wow! Tell us you know nothing about how the internet works, without telling us.
Great question.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a employee who airs every last grievance in his resignation letter.
For this person, it was explaining a VPN.
He deserves some credit for keeping his patience here.
Not everyone understands how WiFi works, so it’s fair enough that the manager needed help.
But once he explained that they couldn’t test the home connection from the office, you’d think they’d head over there.
Instead, they kept trying from the same place, so it’s no wonder he had to repeat himself.
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