NAME.....The Broken Cup holder
CODE.....NL6504
ORIGIN...1996
STATUS...True

The Broken Cup holder: Version 1

The following conversation took place at a technical support centre for computer users based in England:

Technician.... Hello, this is technical support, how may I help you?

Caller.... Hello, can you help me? The cup holder on the front of my computer has broken off.

Technician.... Did you say cup holder?

Caller.... Yes, the little tray to put your drinks on that slides out from the front of the computer has broken off.

Technician.... Was the cup holder installed when you bought the computer, or has it been a customised addition since?

Caller.... It came with the computer. The name on the front is 4X.

At this point the technician bursts out laughing as he realises that the cup holder is actually the CD ROM player!

The Broken Cup Holder: Version 2

True story from a Novell NetWare SysOp:

Caller...."Hello, is this Tech Support?"

Tech Rep....." Yes, it is. How may I help you?"

Caller...."The cup holder on my PC is broken and I am within my warranty period. How do I go about getting that fixed?"

Tech Rep...."I'm sorry, but did you say a cup holder?"

Caller...."Yes, it's attached to the front of my computer."

Tech Rep...." Please excuse me if I seem a bit stumped, it's because I am. Did you receive this as part of a promotional, at a trade show? How did you get this cup holder? Does it have a trade mark?"

Caller...."It came with my computer, I don't know anything about a promotion. It just has '4X' on it."

At this point the Tech Rep had to mute the caller, because he couldn't stand it. The caller had been using the load drawer of the CD - ROM drive as a cup holder, and had snapped it off the drive.

Summary

Yes, I know, believe it or not there really are people out there who are that stupid! There are many tech support stories, but this one is probably the most famous. Although this is widely stated as being a true incident, I have yet to see any verification of the authenticity of the legend. The later versions (such as Version 1) are normally stated as to have happened in England, but Company names are not normally stated. Only in the early versions (such as Version 2) are the names of the companies included, and they are usually large computer companies such as Apple or Novell Netware. The origins of the story are unclear, but Version 2 is the earliest I have found, and it is a copy of an E-mail that was sent on the 19th June 1996.

The Broken Cupholder legend proves that some people's fear of new technology is completely justified! Not everyone's lift stops at the top floor (if you know what I mean?), and some people should just stick to a typewriter.

Final Thoughts

As I have already stated, there are plenty of Tech Support legends travelling the E-Mail circuit, and one of my favourites is a recorded message left on an answer machine. This bloke claims that his "pointer" is in the middle of the screen and is unable to move it left because his mouse is on the left edge of the pad, and if he moves it any more the mouse will go off the pad! Enough said.