StarDestroyer.Net BBS

This thread will self-destruct in six hours. That's how long I have to find a freeware word processor that can handle Wordperfect files and can run on a P120. And is easy to use, as this customer has the intelligence of a turnip. She's bringing a system in with a busted copy of WP9, and of fucking course she doesn't have the disc for it, so I need to pull a solution outta my ass REAL quick, as I /may/ have been the one who busted it the last time she had it in. Or she may have, no way to tell, but of course she'll blame me. Already DL'd Abiword, Wordwright, and Qjot, plus a batch Wordperfect-Word file format converter, but I want as many options as possible set up before she gets here, just in case. Hard drive space is REAL scarce, so something like OpenOffice.Org isn't an option. Any takers?

Tell her to buy new computer.

If there wasn't the chance that I'd caused the problem, I would do just that. As it is, I'm still /advising/ her to. But saying 'Hi, I may have fucked your system. Go buy a new one rather than having me fix what's wrong' is a good way to get fired.

Admit nothing blame it on the harddrive.

Say the drive is geting old and have lost data, not really a lie old drives may lose data.

"Obtaining" a new WP9 installer and using it is out of question?
If she still has a license for the program, it could be even legal.

Melchior wrote:"Obtaining" a new WP9 installer and using it is out of question?
If she still has a license for the program, it could be even legal.

Don't do that.

Then you might be seen admiting an error.

Just say the HD is junked!

And say that you might recover some files but the system is dead.

If you get the ok, make a big deal of removing the HD out of the old system and into a new one.

When transfer the files to a new HD and burn them on a cd or somthing.

Make it seem harder than it is, then she will be grateful that you are a pro !

Time-frame's too short for two things: One, shifting the blame onto hardware, and two, pissing around with answers that don't include links to software sites. She had it in yesterday, it's either my fault on hers, and even someone as dim as she is realizes that.

White Haven wrote:Time-frame's too short for two things: One, shifting the blame onto hardware, and two, pissing around with answers that don't include links to software sites. She had it in yesterday, it's either my fault on hers, and even someone as dim as she is realizes that.

Si fecisti nega!

Admit nothing.

Say the drive might be damaged in transit, the computer sliding around in a car is a great blameshifter.

You did not do anything wrong

White Haven wrote:Time-frame's too short for two things: One, shifting the blame onto hardware, and two, pissing around with answers that don't include links to software sites. She had it in yesterday, it's either my fault on hers, and even someone as dim as she is realizes that.

Discover what actually happened, there must be a way.
Then shift the blame (if she is a "noob", she can't argue), and offer her a decent freeware wordprocessor (abiword, for example) as an act of kindness.
You could also say her in a polite way that losing install disks is moronical.

That's what this thread is about, as I said. I've got Abiword, and a few others, but as slow as her system is, I want a lot of options before she gets here, in case any one word processor doesn't work. Any other suggestions? Down to about three hours now.

Update: I have never, ever been so relieved to see a customer's system descend into systematic problems all over. Turns out it was a freakishly-timed printer driver fuckup, of all things, as everything started crashing with an HP DLL error message.

Phew.

And in the future, guys, I'm an experienced tech. I know how to pass the buck when it's appropriate, and I know when ethics say it's not appropriate.

This is the one instance where I like remote tech support.

They aren't there in front of you when you have to furiously dig yourself out of a hole of your own making.

(It also gives WinXP System Restore a sole purpose for existing. Also useful when they've been fiddling with things they shouldn't)

White Haven wrote: I know how to pass the buck when it's appropriate, and I know when ethics say it's not appropriate.

In this case, it would have been appropriate: the problem could have been your fault, but solving it would have been quite easy if she wasn't so careless with her disks.

Melchior wrote: In this case, it would have been appropriate: the problem could have been your fault, but solving it would have been quite easy if she wasn't so careless with her disks.

No. If there's a possibilty you screwed something up, you're responsible for at least determining whether you did so, and unscrewing it if you did.

You only pass the buck when it isn't your buck.

Vendetta wrote:

Melchior wrote: In this case, it would have been appropriate: the problem could have been your fault, but solving it would have been quite easy if she wasn't so careless with her disks.

No. If there's a possibilty you screwed something up, you're responsible for at least determining whether you did so, and unscrewing it if you did.

You only pass the buck when it isn't your buck.

In this case, it could have been impossible to know who has the buck.
If that happened, it could have been possibile that he screwed up something, but it could also have been possible that she had screwed up something.
Incidentally, she is also really careless, in a way that harms the people that should help her with her computer.
She would have been more at fault than him.

I'm pretty sure that OpenOffice.org does have a WordPerfect import/export filter. AbiWord may have a filter plugin, but I don't think it comes standard.

Since it's crashing I suppose the thing to do would be to sell her a bigger hard drive and reinstall.

Crayz9000 wrote:I'm pretty sure that OpenOffice.org does have a WordPerfect import/export filter. AbiWord may have a filter plugin, but I don't think it comes standard.

Since it's crashing I suppose the thing to do would be to sell her a bigger hard drive and reinstall.

OpenOffice is a way too hd-space-hungry to be useful on that computer.

Under 200mb for a full install (And if she only needs writer, it won't even be that big) counts as space hungry now?

Melchior wrote: In this case, it could have been impossible to know who has the buck.

Which is precisely what kind of excuse for trying to shift blame onto someone who doesn't know better because "they can't argue".

To be worth two shits as any kind of support personnel you have to take responsibility for resolving a problem even if it isn't your fault.

If that happened, it could have been possibile that he screwed up something, but it could also have been possible that she had screwed up something.

Which is why you attempt to find out, and you admit responsibility if it is your problem. If you're not able to find a cause, tell the customer you can't find a cause. If you fixed the problem they usually won't care.

Incidentally, she is also really careless, in a way that harms the people that should help her with her computer.

Losing original media is careless, but it doesn't harm the support people. Makes our job more difficult, but it only harms the customer. Their attitude when they find out they've lost it can be harmful, because they're usually liable to rely on you for problems you can't solve. That's when you 'pass the buck', because you can't replace their discs.