Never tell technical support people you're using OS X

[Makosuke]

Ouch. Stuff like that always pains me.

My solution, since I'm pretty handy (I'm the network admin at work... I'd better be) is to try absolutely everything they might ask me to do (as well as some stuff they won't to further diagnose the problem) before I even call. Then, before they even start asking, I run through everything I've done. That usually makes it abundantly clear that it's not my computer, and they never even get the chance to ask what I'm running. Occasionally they'll run through the scrip anywa, but then I can just say a quick "yes" to everything to speed the process.

It also usually gets me bumped up to level 2 pretty rapidly, since I generally know more than the first-tier phone techs.

 

[Dreamkatcha]

Eraserhead/dynamicv/Kyle?/Makosuke, excellent advice, thanks, though I think now that I've got a workaround I'll let it drop and shop around for a better ISP. I could nag them into fixing their DNS servers, but I wouldn't be any better off in the long run - sooner or later some other 'unfixable' issue would crop up.

I'd be doing more to help current and potential Tiscali users by drawing attention to how useless their customer support is so it's not a case of 'I'm all right Jack'.

 

[j_maddison]

Things like this happen when they hire clowns who can't afford a computer much less know how to operate it run tech support hotlines.

I think having a go at someones income level is very low, and doesn't belong here.

 

[imacintel]

When people ask me: What kind of machine do you use? I always say proudly "I use a Mac."

My friend, was like "Wha?? Aren' macs the ones that get all the viruses.

I say no, it is windows. Two weeks later he gota a 17 inch PB.

So, don't hold it back. Say it, and say proudly:


I use a Mac. With Mac OS X Tiger.

 

[Kaioshin]

I never had internet problems that forced me to reveal my OS to my ISP (They were generic problems, always their fault).
But I know they support macs. They have instructions on how to set up Mail.app (though an outdated version) for use with their mail servers.
I also go about their forum telling people how to do various things on the mac, even though it's clear they're using Windows. Does that make me annoying?