This is an interesting business, the internet. It's not
just computers, modems and phone lines, it has more to
do with people than anything else. And all kinds of people
these days are getting on the internet.
While some of the folks who come to the web know their
computers and how to use them, many of them don't. But
they want to be on, and they keep trying until they get
there.
When they get confused, or hopeless, they call, and if
they're lucky they get to talk to Jason LaGarde, who's
been helping people get on the web for some time now.
Jason's an unusual young man, much older than his nineteen
years would suggest. He knows a lot about computers, he's
been fooling with them for over a decade now. But it's not
so much his computing skills that make Jason stand out, and
make him so good at what he does.
Jason is patient. Incredibly patient. To understand why
that's important, you first must understand how frustrating
online support can be after a few hours, or days, or months.
Even if you know what is wrong with someone's connection,
sometimes it's hard to explain it to them. Especially, as
is often the case, when they've literally never used a
computer before in their lives.
"Hold down the ALT key and press TAB...", he says, trying to
get a caller to move from one program to another. "It's the
one labeled 'ALT'... yeah, next to the space-bar. No, that's
ok... it will work. Just try it again..."
Sometimes we wonder, as we listen to Jason working with
callers, just what makes him so patient. We've talked to
his mother, Mary, and we suspect the answer may be there
in his home, and his family. Maybe they were patient with
him, too.
As patient as Jason is, there are things you can do, when
you have trouble, to help him and Glenn and the rest of
the tech support people out:
- Get to know your machine. There are certain things you should know about your computer, like how to open windows, and close them, how to start and stop programs, how to turn it on and off. Knowing these things before you venture out into the internet will make it easier for you to find your way around.
- Tell us what is going on. Sometimes, people will call with a problem, and we'll tell them to do something, and then we find ourselves wondering if they have gone off to bake a cake. We don't expect a running dialogue, but the faint rustling of papers and clatter of keys doesn't tell us everything we need to know. Communicate.
- Keep it in perspective. To the best of our knowledge, no one has ever died from even the most pronounced login difficulties. It can be frustrating, and extremely so, but this really is, after all, entertainment.
In other words, it's ok to be like Jason... patient.
The thing about brave new worlds we often forget is
that it takes a while to pave the streets.
April 7, 1996 Charles Paparella The Shore Journal
Cards and letters always welcome...