Help Schmelp!

"I don't want to use the help file!"
"Why use the help that's what support is for"

What do we have against the Help file? Why is it that often we refuse to "help ourselves"? For the longest time, I never looked at the help file when I had a question or got stuck on something. Instead I would ask someone in the office or pickup the phone. SolidWorks and most of the programs we use on a day-to-day basis have very useful help files, but we refuse to try them. Is it a pride issue? Do we not have the time? Why aren't we using "Help"?

We have all kinds of methods for getting help today. We can use Help files, white papers, knowledge bases, and the list goes on. I think you will find if you start using these tools they will increase your product knowledge for whatever product you’re using. Still, you may be surprised how quickly you can answer your own question. Remember this, a help file or guide can only take you so far; if you can't get a quick answer then call tech support for help.

Here is an example of something I did. I called technical support for Microsoft Money and was about number 45,231 in the cue. As I waited for the person to answer the phone the recording tells me about how to look online for answers to commonly asked questions. Did I take their advice? Nope, I waited and waited and waited, growing more frustrated as the minutes passed. Finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting I decided to look online; give me something to do while I waited. I found my answer in about 30 seconds and hung up the phone.

What I should've done is looked in the free online help; I would have saved myself 30 minutes and kept more of my hair. Now when I run into to a problem I always check the help first before I call. Like the commercial says, "He likes it! Hey Mikey!"

Comments

[Tony K]

I found this very enlighting Matt. Thanks for the help and the time I may have spent on a simple problem.