Customer: “I’ve been doing risk analysis by

Customer: “I’ve been doing risk analysis by hand for five years, and we finally got your program so we could do it automatically — but there’s a bug in it. The answers come out differently each time.” Tech Support: “Sir, are you aware that our program uses Monte-Carlo analysis?” Customer: “Of course I am. That’s why I bought it.” Tech Support: “Sir, do you know what Monte-Carlo analysis does?” Customer: “Don’t get rude with me, of course I do.” Tech Support: “Put briefly, sir, it runs through your project several times, throwing random delays in, and at the end it averages out the results.” Customer: “I know all that — what I want to know is why it keeps giving me different answers every time I run it.”

Me: “What is that noise?”

Me: “What is that noise?” Customer: “Hey Martinez!! I’m on the phone! Cut it out!” Me: “What was that?” Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Customer: “It’s from a device.” Me: “What kind of device?” Customer: “I don’t know.” Me: “Like a fax machine or something?” Customer: “I don’t know. Someone is under house arrest or something.”

Tech Support: “How may I help you today, sir?”

Tech Support: “How may I help you today, sir?” Customer: “Hello…hey, er…I think I’ve got the wrong software installed in my computer.” Tech Support: “Why is that, sir?” Customer: “I bought this minitower system from you, and it came loaded with software called the ‘XYZ Desktop’.” Tech Support: “Yes…?” Customer: “Shouldn’t it be called the ‘XYZ Minitower’? I OBVIOUSLY have the wrong software installed in this computer.”

Many people in computer labs will assure

Many people in computer labs will assure you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that they were doing everything correctly, and it still wasn’t working, only to make you get up from your nice comfy seat to walk over to the other side of the room and do it yourself. Invariably, after it works the first time for you, the response is, “THAT’S WHAT I TYPED THE FIRST TIME!” Obviously not.