Simply Charmed

So a few posts back I mentioned getting a tech section on here, and that seemed very popular with visitors. So here it is, the debut, 9 to 5.¹ Anyways for a first post I thought I’d explain exactly what it is I do at work, give you a glimpse into my world.

I work nights answering ISP tech support questions via phone and email. We handle all kinds of issues from internet connectivity, slowness, email, and many other assorted issues that can come up when using the internet. We also handle after hours phone and tv support. Another major aspect of my job is dealing with the actual internet networks.² While I don’t have the ability to fix the issue myself, I am responsible for making sure someone addresses them in a timely manner. The last part of my job consists of managing the block/allow list for our filtered internet. ³

Since I work by myself it’s like I have my own office. We only have 4 employees that are trained to work in our position, and we all work individual shifts alone. It can be a bit lonely, but at least I don’t have anyone hovering over my shoulder, watching my every move.

I’m sure all the horror stories people hear when calling tech support, and about tech support are probably true. Not everyone is suited for this kind of work, but if you can get past the anger, you can really help a lot of people. I’ve been here almost 4 years⁴, and I do love every minute of it.

I leave everyone with this absolutely hilarious video. It’s been used in our company as a “training video”, and really gives an accurate portrayal of what tech support can be like. The video is about ten years old but everything still applies!

1. Realistically it’s more like 10pm to 8am, but that’s just me being picky. [↩]
2. IE. Servers, Routers, Switches… the big stuff that keeps people online. [↩]
3. Yes some people actually pay to have their internet filtered. [↩]
4. 4 years comes up August 4th [↩]