I don't mind restating on the phone, depending on the tone of voice. But retyping what I can still see on my chat screen? Come on. As procedure it sucks, because it makes me think that a) computer or b) buying time.

Oh, yay. Redux.

9:35:02 PM System Welcome ita ...
9:35:02 PM System Connecting to server. Please wait...
9:35:02 PM System Thank you for using Dell Chat, a representative will be with you soon.
9:35:04 PM System You are now being connected to an agent. Thank you for using Dell Chat
9:35:04 PM System Connected with Peter_xxxxxx
9:35:08 PM Peter_xxxxxx Thank you for contacting Dell XPS Premium Technical Support. My name is Vivian and rep id is xxxxxx.
May I have your telephone number, along with the area code?
9:35:31 PM You 310 555 1234
9:37:17 PM You The laptop that I just ordered will not power all the way on. The battery is fully charged (I have checked the lights). The hard drive starts to spin up, and then it just fluttered off.
9:38:11 PM Peter_xxxxxx Thank you the information.Please give me 2 to 3 minutes to pull up the account information.
9:40:15 PM Peter_xxxxxx Meanwhile , let me inform you that you might get an invitation to participate in a survey at the end of this session. You would be asked to rate our interaction on a scale of 1 to 9 with 9 being the best. Your feedback would be greatly appreciated.

Triple Kashi:

Okay--I need the feedback of non technical folks.

If you were online chatting with tech support about a busted laptop and they wanted you to do any of the following:

• remove memory module A (which includes removing the keyboard)
• remove memory module B
• remove the hard drive
• remove the DVD drive
• remove the hinge cover and reseat the flat cable

would you feel a little out of your depth? They are giving you diagrams online, but not all the diagrams you'll need, so you'll have to be able to work that out and ask for more.

Oh, and there's no flat cable.

Right. I didn't mention the part where you'll need teeny Philips head screwdrivers, and something they call a scribe.

At the best of times (and by best, I mean when I was certified and it was my job) I hated opening up laptops. They're inconsistent, finicky, and the screws are randomly sized but always smaller than you'd like.

I'm trying to imagine my mother or my sister (whose laptop it is) trying to do this, and they'd have freaked long ago.

As it was, I kept having to herd the troubleshooting away from a faulty AC adapter (since it charged the battery just fine). He actually asked if I had another AC adapter to test with.

Now I'm trying to return the damned thing, since they can't promise me they'll have a replacement in my hands before I leave for Jamaica next week. This had better not be a fight.

would you feel a little out of your depth?

Yes. I might give it a shot if they were talking me through it, but I'd be asking about voiding warranties and probably wouldn't have the screwdrivers anyway.

I would not open up my own laptop, even with human, sane, trusted tech support on the line.

This always brings me back to The House Always Wins and how Angel, Fred and Gunn can run outside the Tropicana and magically appear on Fremont Street.

Heh. I remember you commenting on that at the time, Cashmere. I never would have known the difference. In the case of A:ts, I think it's best to chalk it up to magic(ks). It could be witches/Some evil witches/Which is ridiculous...

would you feel a little out of your depth? They are giving you diagrams online, but not all the diagrams you'll need, so you'll have to be able to work that out and ask for more.

Oh, yes. I would have given them instructions and possibly a diagram for new body positions they ought to try.

I hope you get a new laptop before your trip, ita.

As soon as they told me to get my little tiny screwdriver, I'm pretty sure I'd be telling them to screw off. I am willing to do stuff to the computer, as long as it seems designed for a regular person to do. Specialized tools means specialized skills, in my head.

I am going to be addicted to BB this summer. I can tell.

DUDE.

would you feel a little out of your depth?

Wow. I have had Dell tech support suggest things way too technical too. Granted, I had made it clear that I could handle it, but mostly I felt it was killing time since it wasn't going to help. I hadn't called them until I had tried everything. The reason I am calling is under warranty. That means you fix it, not me.

I do phone tech support all day but have no guidelines to follow. It is easy enough to ask the person on the other end of the phone if they are comfortable taking things apart or editing the registry.

I'm watching last night's Daily Show and Colbert. Um, I should be driving down the highway. Maybe one more cuppa.

I would try to open my laptop and follow instructions to remove pieces from it if I was doing so to keep the plane from crashing or the bomb from going off. Otherwise, nsm.

Hi Ginger! Yeah really. I'm very comfy with technology, but laptops are all tiny and crowded inside. Ick. Also not so much my job if under warranty.