Imagine, if you will, that you are a mechanic. A customer calls you and reports that they have a blown head gasket. They ask you if you would stay on the line while they get their tools and talk them through the procedure to repair their car over the phone.

Unlikely scenario, you say? Nope. It happens to tech support. Every. Single. Day.

I work for an ISP and our tech support covers the connection. We do have PC Repair services, however, and we do make a concerted effort to provide the best support we can. But our support does not, cannot extend to free PC Repair over the phone, for several reasons, not the least of which is that it ties up the phones so that customers who need our services stay on hold while we try to perform the impossible.

And when we post concerns about the demands placed on tech support on forums, we will be accused of being uncaring and unfeeling, and will be told we're not doing our jobs. It's not about not doing our jobs, it's about not going over and above to the extent that is humanly possible.

Suppose we did attempt to fix the computer over the phone as the customer demands. What happens, then, when the customer inevitably screw up? Yup, you guessed it. We'll be the ones to blame.

Despite what some people think, PC Repair is a specialized field. As specialized as plumbing, electrical work, and many other fields. And it's not a field where we can convey all of our expertise over the phone. And certainly not for free. Sure. we'll help as much as we need to, and even beyond. But there's a certain point where phone tech support ends and PC Repair begins.