We All Deserve Great Tech Support At Any Age

I was a big fan of the Netflix series Grace & Frankie. I found some of the situations they got themselves in to be quite hilarious.

For example, here’s one scene where Frankie was calling for technical support. After much frustration, she whispers to the support agent that she was 70 years old. This then results in her being transferred to an agent who actually listened to her needs, empathized with her situation and helped walk her through what she needed to do.

Here is the scene that I’m referring to (be warned, there is some explicit language so just skip this part if this bothers you); 

As I watched this a couple of thoughts occurred to me.

First the reality of the situation. How many times have you called a service provider for technical support and got frustrated by the whole experience?

I know I have. On quite a few occasions, I’ve found myself pushing who knows how many numbers on my phone trying to get through to the right person and to then only end up hanging up more irritated then when I started. So Frankie’s initial experience was definitely something I could relate to.

Secondly, why should age be considered when it comes to service?

In Frankie’s situation, after announcing her age to the initial agent she was then streamed to a very empathetic, understanding and patient service attendant to help solve her technical issue.

As I watched this and laughed I then caught myself. I had fallen into an ageist trap. Similar to the original service agent, I had joined her in making the assumption that someone over a certain age required specialized technical service. Rather then basing the initial assessment on the actual support needs of the client, it was done based on age.

So why do we assume anyone older needs technical help?

For example, my 88 year old uncle is managing video services on his television through his smartphone and my 91 year old father in law uses his iPad and iPhone to call his grandkids.

As Frankie received this outstanding service I wondered why that level of service wasn’t provided to anyone who needed it regardless of their age? Should the call agent just assessed her needs for service rather than be prompted by her age?

Yes, I know, this was just a scene in a comedy series but it does highlight our underlying biases based on age – and even though I advocate against this daily, I fell into this same belief system.

So, here’s my hope. I hope we can stop making judgments based on age and just look and respond to people as the individuals they are. Afterall, aren’t we all deserving of great tech service no matter what our age is?