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Comment by ck2 | Hacker News Reader

Can you imagine how crazy you'd think the customer was if you were giving technical support and they insisted they had to do this?

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I don't think it's as crazy as telling them to pick their computer up and drop it on the desk: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_III#Design_flaws

Or baking your laser printer in the oven: http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Printing-Questions/Has-HP...

Reflowing stuff in an baking oven seems to be an increasingly common method of fixing electronics. Hell, my friend reflowed an RF dongle for TI Chronos watch with a heat gun the other day.

Xbox 360 towel trick, anybody?

Anecdotally, I find customers are fine with (enjoy?) any physical / mechanical solution to a computer problem. It's in usually putting them back in their comfort zone. Wiggling the mouse is easier to explain than control panel anyway...

Despite never being a Windows developer, I ended up reading Raymond Chen's "The Old New Thing" blog from start to finish while lying in bed with a nasty flu and wanting to die a couple years ago.

After that, I don't think anything somebody reports as a Windows application bug could make me think they're crazy.

The book's worth reading too - even if you've read the blog.

The customer? didn't you mean the developer?

The dumbest customer will guess that a "solution" like that from support can only come from a design that sucks.

If it were a refrigerator instead of a spreadsheet it would be like support telling you that you have to keep petting the door of your refrigerator to keep it cooling.

Who is the crazy there?

I agree - but the simile is a bit exaggerated. It's more like having to tap the lever a bunch for a couple of seconds on a toaster to make it make toast when it should work the first time you interact. Annoying but also short-lived and not really worth replacing the device.

Or having to jiggle the toilet handle after flushing, a common problem that many live with.

That's a simple fix, though; you just shorten the chain between the flush handle and the flapper by a link or so.

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