Another Annoying Thing about Tech Support

Inspired by Mrs. Smockity Frocks latest post on internet and tech support, and in the same vein as a previous post, I thought I would post another one of my annoyances with tech support.

I know a thing or two about computer hardware. I have bought components and assembled several computers for various family members. I already know the standard steps that the internet companies will put me through when I call them. On one occasion I suggested that maybe I should try this-and-that. The customer service person said "Oh, that's a good idea, why don't you try that."

What the tech support person could handle in one line ("Please unplug then plug the modem's power, then release and refresh your IP address") usually turns into a step-by-step tutorial for someone who's never seen a computer, while I am just sitting on the other end tapping my foot:

Tech support (henceforth TS): Do you know what a computer mouse is?
Me: Yes.
TS: Do you know how to you use it?
Me: Yesss.
TS: Okay, please maneuver the little arrow on the screen to the bottom left and click the button that says "Start."
Me: (goes and does all the rest of the troubleshooting) "...okay, I did it."
TS: Now, I want you to press down once on the left button of the computer mouse. When you do that, a menu should appear.
Me: (in the mean time, I am trying out different options to fix my problem) Erm...yeah, I already did that.
TS: Maneuver your little arrow to an option that says "Run." Then once again, I would like for you to depress the left mouse button once.
Me: (what I'm thinking) Sir/Ma'am, it's quite likely that you're just reading a script and that I know more about computers than you, so just tell me the gist of what you want me to do.

One of these days I'll get impatient and blurt out that I already know a fair amount about computers. Thankfully, our internet service is very reliable and we do not often have problems that I can't solve myself.