Extending IT Grace
Friday at 4:55 PM, an elderly customer who had used us for a few hours in the past, called and was desperate for help. She was traveling up in the mountains and provided some bad information on a website address which activated a tech support scam.
A “tech support scam” or “tech support fraud” websites are designed to deceive users by displaying alarming messages claiming that their computer is infected with viruses or malware. They often employ scare tactics to prompt users to call a fake tech support number or download malicious software.
These scams are intended to trick users into paying for unnecessary tech support services or to gain remote access to their computers for malicious purposes. If you encounter such a website, it’s important not to interact with it, and you should close your web browser immediately. It’s advisable to run a legitimate antivirus or anti-malware scan on your computer to ensure it’s not compromised.
Remember that legitimate tech support companies and organizations will not typically use web pop-ups or unsolicited phone calls to inform you of security issues with your computer. Be cautious and skeptical of any unsolicited tech support messages or calls and only seek assistance from trusted sources.
Returning to our customer. I could easily blown her off and tell her we could help her on Monday, but I sat down at my computer and listened to her situation. I recognized the issue as I had seen it before. I walked her through the steps of accessing the Task Manager to kill the browser application. We were able to alleviate the problem of the fake tech support pop-ups, had her restart her PC and tested it successfully.
The process was somewhat slow due to the fact the fraudulent website was blaring this information that her computer was infected and to call an illegitimate 800 number as well as the end-user was not the most proficient in IT. I was patient with her and simply stepped through the process one instruction at a time.
At the end, this customer was incredibly thankful for our help. Her weekend of working remotely in the mountains would have been ruined. She offered to pay for my services right away. Being the 11th hour of a busy week, and in an act of goodwill, I told her not to worry about it. She again was very appreciative.
She went into great detail about how she has been duped in the past by various scams and it seemed that always someone was out to get her. She asked why did I help her instead of trying to sell her something she didn’t need. I said we have found that if we simply treat people the way we would want to be treated, and do right by them, we have experienced great success.
As our owner, Bill said to me, “It’s hard to fathom that simply being human, has been the key to our success.” But, it’s so true. Simply caring, listening, and understanding our clients, from the ones that call us several times a day to the ones that call us once every six months, we will succeed in business and grow from being a great MSP to an awesome MSP.
It took about twenty minutes to fix this elderly woman’s computer issue, and about another thirty minutes talking about all the mishaps she has had with technology and predatory businesses she has encountered in the past. The income generated was zero, but the relationship, and impact we had by simply being kind to this lady will be worth so much more.
We are here to grow the business and be successful, but never be so big, so large, to not extend a hand of grace to someone that may need it. That few extra minutes talking to a client, making that personal connection, can leave a lasting impact.
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