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I've had that call. | by rhinobird | 2008-01-17 00:09:00 |
| Ive had that call, and many more. |
by Sieldan |
2008-01-17 06:44:32 |
True story. Was working for a small ISP in Mobile, AL, USA back in oh, 1996 or so. Hurricane Danielle was hitting the gulf coast and Mobile in particullar. Of course the city lost power. The office was on backup gens so it had power and more importantly, Internet connectivity. So all of the techs kinda migrated back to the office. We had a 'Hurricane LAN Party' thing going. Im sitting at my desk trying to survive an assault by two of the other techs in a game of Total Annilation when my phone rang. Completely out of habit, I answered it. As soon as I picked it up, a wave of dread hit me. Continued to answer using the 'script' and started to help the caller.
Caller: "Is the internet down?"
me: "No, Ma'am. Our systems are on backup power as well as the Phone Company's. As long as the Phone Co. is up, we will be up."
Caller: "Well, my Internet is broken then. Fix it."
me: "Yes, Ma'am. Can you tell me what kind of error you are getting? Please read any messages that are displayed when you try to dial up."
Caller: "There is nothing on my screen. Its all black."
me: "Ok, down in the lower right hand of the monitor, thats the TV like thing on the desk, there should be a power button and a little light. Not on the black screen, but on the beige frame around it. Is that light on? If so, what color is it?"
Caller: "No, there is no light there."
me: "All right. Looks like the monitor isnt getting power. Lets check behind the monitor and make sure the power cable is securely plugged in. In fact, lets unplug it, then plug it back in."
caller: "ok, let me put the phone down a sec." <noises of shuffling> "Ok, Ive done that, and there is still no light. I even pressed the power button a couple of times."
me: "One last thing to check powerwise. Trace that power cord to the wall, or the powerstrip its plugged into, and lets do the same thing. Unplug it, and plug it back in."
caller: "Hang on a second, I need to get a flash light. The power is out here and its dark under the desk"
me: "...Uh, did you say the power is out?"
caller: "Yes, went out about an hour or so ago. I got bored and thought Id get on the internet and see how much longer this storm was going to last."
Insert about 20 minutes of explaining that computers needed electricity to run, and that our backup supply here wasnt going to help her there. |
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