The Blind Leading The Blind

Many years ago, I worked as aTech Support Rep for a certain national Satellite TV provider who’s favorite color is blue. It was an emotionally draining job at times but for the most part, it was fairly enjoyable. I have a few stories but one in particular stands out: the time I fixed a blind mans service.

B(lind)C(ustomer): hi my TV isn’t working. I need you to fix it. M(e): I’m sorry this is happening…(verified his account) please tell me what the problem is. BC: well I turn on the TV and nothing happens. M: okay can you tell me what you see on the screen? Are there any error messages or just static? (9/10 times this is an input issue). BC: uhh well no, I’m blind. At this point I realize how completely impossible this call is going to be. I have no way of seeing what’s on his screen and neither does he. For all we know, his TV was stolen last night and he’s sitting in front of a blank wall. I don’t want to be insensitive but I’m trying to problem solve. M: okay is there anyone else home who may be able to help us solve this? BC: no. It’s been out all day and I just need this to work. (He’s starting to get irate, which I totally get)

If I go through the regular troubleshooting script, it’s going to cause more issues than it’s worth. If he changes the input, he’s even more screwed. I look at his account and see that the type of receiver (TV box) he has was having a known issue that was easily solved by a reset. I decide to give it a try.

M: okay sir, I want to try resetting your receiver. We’ve been having some issues with your model recently and it’s possible this will fix it. On the front of your receiver, open the little door and push the red button (I facepalm at this point since he can’t even see what color the button is, but I’m so used to saying this script). BC: okay I’ve done it. M: okay it’s going to take approximately 20 minutes for the reset to complete. I’m going to just stay on the phone for at least that long to see if it comes back up. If not, we will schedule a technician to come out.

We make small talk for the next 25 minutes until bam I hear the TV come on in the background. My gamble paid off.

We both cheered and I sent him on his way. My handle time sucked but it was worth it.