Just another day in tech support
So there I was, all set to test a brand‑new printer. “Okay, let’s make a test print and see if that worked. Do you know how to make a test print?” I asked, feeling like the hero of the office.
Enter the caller, who, after a brief pause, declared, “I know how to do everything with these printers! I could just about take them apart and put them back together again, except that’s your job. I’m the IT person here!”
In my head I pictured a cartoon version of that guy: a cape‑wearing, keyboard‑fighting superhero. The narrator (me) whispered, “He was definitely not the IT person there.”
Five minutes later, the caller triumphantly announced, “I made the test print!”
I leaned in, eyebrows raised: “Did you make that test print from the computer or directly on the printer itself?”
He blinked, confused. “I don’t know how to make a test print on the printer itself.”
I cackled internally like a rogue AI.
Spoiler: Later I had to explain to “Mr. Expert” how to hit the little button that actually does a test print on the printer itself. Just another day in the life of tech support. 💁♀️
“Oh, you don't know how to do it from the printer directly? No problem, I'll explain it so even you can understand it.”
A test print from the printer doesn't test some important things, like the connection to the printer. When doing these tests, I'd have them print one of their emails instead. It's more of a real‑life test.
It tests the most important thing: can this printer actually print?
If you try to print an email and it doesn’t print, is the problem with the printer, the connection, the OS, the driver, or the email app? A test print eliminates one variable in the “doesn’t print” troubleshooting.
In this case the problem was bad print quality, so either test was equally valid.
I love how some people truly overestimate their ability and then can’t perform the task you want them to, even though they declared they could. I guess by “I am the IT person here,” they are the most technically literate, not that they are truly literate.
Devil’s advocate here: Is it possible that this was a setting that was buried? I've found doing a test print from a printer can be anything from holding a button or two down for like 5 seconds or it can be buried within the settings menus. Sometimes under “maintenance” or “troubleshooting” or something.
TL;DR
A tech support hero meets a self‑proclaimed IT wizard who can't print from the printer itself. The hero saves the day, explains the hidden test‑print button, and the office learns that "expert" status isn’t always accurate. 📄🖨️