Thirsday Thirteen: Technical Support

I'm participating in the Thursday Thirteen today! If you want to play, link up with everyone else by going to Word Trix!

Today, in the spirit of it being October 15th, which for me (and a lot of the country) means business. It's the last day to file returns that were extended beyond April 15th. Since I work for a company that handles software for taxes, I'm getting some nice overtime and a few calls today. That is why I decided to base my Thursday Thirteen on work.

13 Things I Say Most at Work

1. Is it plugged in? You wouldn't believe it, but a lot of the time when people have a computer problem, the computer isn't plugged in or turned on. It's not working? Go figure!
2. When was the last time you upgraded? We release updates for our software on a continual basis. During tax season, it's easily a few times a day. So if you haven't upgraded in 3 months, there's a fair chance that it's outdated.
3. Are you connected to the Internet? Guess what, you can't upgrade properly or send me your file to look at if your internets aren't working. Oh, and if you're still using dial-up, I'd think it's time to leave the stone-ages!
4. Do you have any red audits? Our program puts red audits out to tell you if their is something wrong with your return before you can electronically file it.
5. When was the last time you restarted your computer? Unfortunately Windows needs to be restarted every now and again, and even more unfortunately, our program doesn't run on Mac.
6. Do you have any Firewalls or Antivirus Software? These things block stuff from transmitting and working properly most of the time.
7. Have you upgraded to Windows Internet Explorer 8? Yeah, it's not compatible with everything yet. We have to stick it in the compatibility view...
8. What is your Operating System? Yes, believe it or not, there are lots of programs that don't run on Windows 95 anymore.
9. What does the error say? Client: I received an error closing the program. Me: Ok, what did the error say? Client: I don't know. Me: Can you recreate it? Client: Can't you just fix it? Me: Not if I don't know what the error is... Client: Why don't you know what the error is? Me: *facepalm*
10. You'll need to call the IRS for that. No, I can't tell you what the tax law is. I'm not a CPA.