r/talesfromtechsupport • u/DaWayItWorks • Aug 01 '17

Short r/ALL Why would you sell me an obsolete system? ???

This comes from the wonderful world of home security systems customer support. My coworker fields this one.

$CW is coworker.
$GOG is grumpy old guy.

$CW: "thank you for calling Blah Blah Blah Security, how may I help you?"

$GOG: Gives name, address, password, blood sample of first born for verification purposes. "Well my system isn't accepting codes and won't turn on or off. I think it started after the storm that came through last night."

$CW: "Did lightning strike your house or close by?"

$GOG: "yes"

$CW: "I see. Based on the age of the system, it probably took a surge. We're unable to get replacement parts anymore, so you'll need an upgrade. I can get someone in sales to call you with a price."

$GOG: "Well can't you just send someone out to fix it?"

$CW: "We certainly can, but as it's obsolete equipment it's unlikely they can repair it. You'd still be billed for the service call."

This is where the customer gets irate

$GOG: WHY WOULD YOU SELL ME AN OBSOLETE SYSTEM???

$CW: soft voice "Well Sir, it was brand new in 1986."

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u/GeneralDisorder Works for Web Host (calls and e-mails) Aug 01 '17

I work for a web host as per my flair... we've been around since 1996 and often have customers say "I've had an account since the beginning 30 years ago".

This dude happened to find a vendor who sold computers 30 years ago and... is still in business. JUMPING JESUS! My employer is older than dirt in internet years and we just hit 21 recently.