Do You Suffer from Tech Support Syndrome? We Have the Answer!

7 Dec 2016

Okay, you guys are all pretty good with electronics, right? I mean, that's why you hang around at element14 in the first place.

Therefore, you'll all be acutely aware of the following affliction, that I un-lovingly call "Tech Support Syndrome":

Tech Support Syndrome

noun

/' tek səˈpɔːt sɪn.drəʊm/

when a technologically adept individual is unwittingly established as the personal, on-call, 24-hour, 365-days-a-year free tech support service for friends and family, usually against their will:

"Dude, remember when you set up my wi-fi six years ago? Well, it's not working again. Can you fly back from your holiday and fix it immediately?"

You know what I'm talking about, I'm sure.

Well, this Christmas we have an opportunity to take our tech lives back, and save you some present-shopping money in the process! We're going to create a range of coupons that you can download, print out, and compile into a coupon book that you can give to friends and family as a gift. They can then redeem the coupons for the tech support you're somehow obliged to provide as part of your existence.

And I'm hopeful that these coupons will serve as something of a contract, and make those freeloading leeches friends and family think a little more carefully before requesting tech support, as there'd now be a conceptual cap on their demands.

But first, I need your help (and no, the irony of that isn't lost on me).

Tech Support Coupons, or "Maker Money"

To the right is an example coupon (Maker Money, jwatson and I have been calling them). Before we create the rest for you, we need to figure out as many eventualities as possible to ensure there's a coupon for all the major Tech Support Syndrome symptoms.

I'll get things started off (drawn from my own experience) and I'd like you guys to add more of these common requests in the comments section. We'll make sure the coupons are uploaded and ready for you in plenty of time to make yourself a last minute DIY Christmas gift for your "loved" ones!

One Free: Smashed Smartphone Screen Replacement
Two Free: Devices Setting Up on Your Wi-Fi
One Free: "My Computer Won't Start!"
Three Free: "No Picture on the TV" Fixes

Okay, over to you guys! What are the things you're always getting pestered for by the technologically illiterate in your life?

Edit: The Maker Money coupons are now available, so go make yourself an easy, last minute Christmas present that you'll regret giving to family and friends for the whole year! Click here to go get 'em!