Well, I heard one where a customer had a simple hardware issue with their Dell laptop. The tech support made them go through countless software diagnostics that had nothing to do with the actual problem. It took weeks to finally get someone to admit it was a hardware fault.
One common theme is misdiagnosis. Tech support often blames the wrong component, like software when it's a hardware problem. Another is slow response time, especially in urgent situations.
There was a case where a user called tech support for their printer. The support agent seemed very inexperienced. They gave the user wrong instructions on how to fix a paper jam. As a result, the printer's internal mechanism got damaged even more. It cost the user a lot of money to get it repaired later.
One horror story is when a user accidentally deleted all the important data on the company server. The IT tech support had to try every possible data recovery method, but most of it was lost. It was a nightmare as it led to a big setback for the company's ongoing projects.
One horror story is when a customer spilled coffee on their laptop and then called tech support. They expected the laptop to be fixed for free immediately. They were rude and refused to accept that it was their fault. It took ages to make them understand they had to pay for the repair.
The most common one is probably the virus or malware attacks. A company's network can get infected, and all the computers start acting up. The IT support has to isolate the infected machines, clean them up, and make sure the data is not stolen. It's a huge hassle.
There are also horror stories about data loss. A customer might accidentally delete important files and then expect the tech support to magically recover everything. Even if it's possible to recover some data, it's not always a 100% solution. And some customers get really angry when they realize that not all their data can be retrieved. This can lead to a very unpleasant tech support experience.
In one tech support horror story, a business was having trouble with their email server. The tech support they contacted just kept sending them generic troubleshooting guides that had nothing to do with their specific problem. After days of back and forth, they found out that the hosting provider had made some unauthorized changes to the server settings, but the tech support they initially contacted never even considered that as a possibility.
I recall an old gentleman who got a new tablet but was completely lost on how to use it. I sat with him and showed him the basic functions like how to unlock it and open apps. He was so excited when he could finally play simple games on it.
There was a person who called tech support because their laptop's Wi - Fi wasn't working. They were so sure it was a software issue. But when the tech asked them to check the physical switch for the Wi - Fi, they found out they had accidentally turned it off. It just shows how sometimes the simplest things can be overlooked.