Other Interviews
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Every day I receive several e-mails from Falcon owners, potential owners and curiosity seekers who ask me questions like "Why are Falcon's the best?" and "What's their secret?" and "Hey, are you getting free rigs for doing this page?" The answer to the last question of course, is no, but the other two and all the others have one curious thing in common. Every one of them mentions how the deciding factor on choosing a Mach V over a competitors machine is the great experience they had with Technical Support. I get so many letters telling me how wonderful the Technical Support Service from Falcon is, that I regularly have to forward them to Falcon, just to make room in my inbox. So, I figured I would find out just WHAT makes Falcon Technical Support so special. To do this, I sat down with one of Falcon's fine Support Specialists, Matt Petrie........
1. How did you get your job at Falcon Northwest?
I was fresh out of school and looking for employment. Fortunately, I was good friends with a former Falcon employee. My friend informed me of an approaching job opening in the shipping department at Falcon. So... I submitted my application and got the job. Without a doubt, it was the greatest single incident of good luck in my life. In retrospect, the local redneck gene pool probably didn't pose much competition...
2. What is your favorite and least favorite thing about working for Falcon Northwest?
My favorite thing about working for Falcon NW? I really don't know how to narrow this down into just one thing. I would have to say that it is simply WORKING FOR Falcon NW. I know that is kind of a cheesed out answer... The runner-up would be the satisfaction I feel after solving a customer's computer problems. A few kind words from the customer makes it all worthwhile!
The worst thing is most definitely stress. In technical support, stress is just part of the job. Ahh... the irony of it all. To myself, our computers are stress inducing during the day and stress reducing at night. It seems that lately my stress has had a very short Half-Life...
3. What is the most common hardware problem you deal with on a day-to-day basis?
Drivers. By definition, driver problems are actually software problems; in my book however, their direct relationship to the hardware puts them under the "hardware problem" category. There is a method to properly installing each driver, and the method varies from driver to driver. Software, DirectX, and older versions of drivers can cause all sorts of weirdness to occur with the installation of a new driver. Novice and intermediate users can easily toast their operating system by installing a driver. It happens all the time... which is why a very wise game player once said, "If it's not broken, don't fix it!"
4. What is the most common software problem you deal with on a day-to-day basis?
Recently, the most common software problem is with Half-Life. As you may know, Half-Life requires current Voodoo1/Voodoo2 drivers to run properly on a 3DFX card. I look forward to about two calls a day on this issue.
5. What was the silliest call you ever received?
Most of our customers are very intelligent people, I really don't get many silly calls. I once had someone delete their Program Files folder to free up space on their hard drive... Another person was getting the following message whenever he tried to copy a file to a floppy disk: "The disk in the destination drive is full. Insert another disk to continue." He wanted to know why he couldn't copy the file to the floppy.
6. What sets Falcon Northwest Computers apart from the rest of the "game machine" makers?
I have not examined our competitors products nor dealt with their tech support and sales teams. Now that I have admitted my lack of knowledge about what THEY do, I can tell you what we are all about. First and foremost, we are game players. We build systems that we would want to play on. Plain and simple. We take the creme de la creme of the hardware world and combine it with our extensive knowledge in the art of gaming. -And you would be hard pressed to find a group of people whose gaming knowledge surpasses ours.- Also, we don't cut any corners. Everything that goes into a system is the best we can find. The finished product has a strength which is enhanced by each of the individual components. Our sales team... amazes me. Brent, I love you man! I usually don't care for salesmen because they are constantly trying to make a sale, at the expense of their own honesty. Our sales team is different; countless times I have heard them talk a customer OUT OF buying something that didn't fit their budget or wasn't needed. What else? Technical support.... according to our customers it is very good. I've got a box full of thank you letters, cards, etc... It's my pride and joy. In summary, we simply create the highest quality product available, stand behind it completely, and truly care about our customers. Oh yeah, we are always looking for ways to improve what we do... refining excellence so to speak.
7. Why doesn't Falcon Northwest offer 24-hour-a-day Technical Support?
I just can't drink that much coffee.
[Boss's note: It's really because we won't insult your intelligence. What kind of good, qualified techs will work a 8pm-8am shift?]
8. What do you do in your free-time when your not answering the phones?
Free time? What's that? I have about a million different things to do... To name a few: Answer support e-mail, improve our documentation, answer interview questions, work on upgrades, build systems, industry research, work on repairs, think about beautiful women, "test" games, chat with the sales department, and go get more coffee.
9. What makes Falcon Northwest Tech Support the best in the business?
Several reasons...[Boss's note: Matt, Seth, Ira, Ryan...] First of all, our technicians are always kind, courteous, and professional. Our technicians don't have a computer telling them how to solve the problem. When solving a problem we use personal experience; first-hand knowledge of how these computers work. We've played the same games and, in most cases, ran into the same problems. We don't try to get rid of you, we try to solve the problem. In a lot of cases, I get calls on software problems - problems we are not obligated to support. If I know the solution to the problem I will help solve it, I won't take the easy way out and say "It's not our problem, call someone else." If we don't know the solution, we'll try to point you in the right direction to find some help. Another thing, probably a little known fact, the technical support lasts as long as you have the computer. Yes, we will still help with your problems after the warranty has expired. We won't give an out-of-warranty customer priority over a current customer, but do you know of any other company that provides free technical support on out-of-warranty computers? Our technicians do their best to speak in plain everyday English. We know how confusing technical terms can be and the last thing we want to do is confuse the person we are helping. It would only make our job more difficult. Basically, we approach problems vicariously - looking at the problem from the customer's viewpoint. It makes all the difference in the world.
10. How much time will you spend with a customer troubleshooting their problem before you decide that the computer cannot be fixed over the phone, and must be sent back?
This is a difficult question to answer as each situation is unique. If we can solve the problem over the phone we will. If not, we pick up the machine. Several factors are involved; including the severity of the problem, total time spent on the problem, and the customer's patience.
[Boss's note: He's being modest again, Matt once rebuilt an entire drive for a customer in Nairobi entirely via e-mail!]
11. How often would you say that occurs?
Close to a quarter percent of the technical support calls result in picking the machine up.
12. Has the coming of Windows 98 reduced or increased software Technical Support calls?
Technical support calls shot up drastically with the initial release of Windows 98. Hundreds of customers attempted to install Windows 98 over the top Windows 95, effectively crashing their system. Interesting note: We only received two calls for help with an actual problem on a clean installation of Windows 98. Apart from this initial surge of calls, the release of Windows 98 has not noticeably affected the number of call we receive.
13. Do you see any benefit in the future to build dual-processor systems for the gamer?
Definitely! I'm not a programmer, but it seems very logical that code optimized for two processors would gain a tremendous performance boost. Of course the operating systems AND the software will need to support it. This trend will have a very hard time catching on. I don't believe it will happen for at least another 4 to 5 years, if at all. Microsoft will have to take the initiative by including dual processor support in the consumer standard operating system. Once available, game programmers will have the option to provide dual processor support - but they won't take the time to do it unless people are buying dual processor systems.
14. Do you think that the current state of hardware is surpassing the needs of the current software? (i.e. Do we really need a 40X CD-ROM, or a 500Mhz C.P.U.)?
Yes and no. For example, a 40X CDROM drive will not make a game play any faster. You'll save some time when you initially install the game from CD, due to the fast transfer rate. Some current software, like Falcon 4.0, can really push the limits of a high-end computer. Do we really need a PIII 500MHz CPU right now? Not really. However, a game which pushes the technology will be much more enjoyable on a PIII 500MHz system. It is always better to have too much power, and it sucks when you don't have enough. We all know how fast things move in this industry; if you're buying a new system I would recommend a PIII 500MHz. It doesn't take long for the software to catch up.
15. Does Falcon have any plans to offer LCD displays to it's customers in the future? And do you think they're a good addition to a gaming system?
Currently, LCD flat panel displays are just way too expensive. The in-game visual quality is lacking, especially in first person shooters - all models I have seen display a "smearing" effect when you turn quickly. The in-game sharpness and clarity just doesn't stand up to a quality CRT monitor. LCD flat panel displays do have their advantages: Low power consumption, true digital display, less eye strain, and less bulkiness. Before offering LCD flat panel displays as standard equipment, we'll wait for the prices to drop and for the technology to become more refined. LCD technology shows a lot of potential, when it is ready we will use it.
16. Do you ever get calls from Non-Falcon owners just wanting free Tech-Support? If so, how do you deal with them?
Rarely, but it does happen. I politely explain that our technical support is for Falcon owners only - there is no way the person can argue with this. There are two common outcomes. Number one, the person becomes insanely upset that I won't support his computer and hangs up. Number two, the person accepts the obvious and apologizes for bothering us. In this case, I usually ask what the problem is and help point them in the right direction.
17. Do you find that the people that buy Falcons are more experienced computer users?
I haven't even spoken with most of our clientele. I can't say how many experienced users are in our total customer base. Out of the customers I have spoken with; roughly one third are experienced. I can't say it's surprising that fewer experienced users call than beginners and novices.
18. What games currently take up your off-hours time?
You know, Baldur's Gate should have come with a warning label stating that after installing the game, girl friends will leave you, sleep will not occur, and your roommate will always be on your computer when you get home. Had I only known... Other current addictions include Need for Speed III, Half-Life, Sanitarium, and Sin. After kicking some of those habits I'll move on to Thief: The Dark Project, Grim Fandango, Myth II, Heretic II, and maybe Fallout II. GOD I LOVE THIS STUFF!!
19. What current game do you think really shows off all the benefits of owning a Falcon?
I'd have to say Half-Life... Excellent graphics, excellent 3D sound, and a combination of game play and story line that almost make you forget it's a game. This is the game to play if you've never jumped in fright or dodged from side to side while sitting in a chair. It's just good stuff.
20. What do you think of the title for the new Star Wars Prequel; "Episode I: The Phantom Menace"?
Let's see, "The Phantom Menace" could be translated into "The annoying person who is not really there". I get this mental image of an illusionary Dennis the Menace wearing a Darth Vader mask in my back yard terrorizing my cat with a toy light saber. I'll probably burn in Hell for saying this, but I don't like it. Nevermind the title, this movie is going to rock!
[Boss's note: opinions expressed in question #20 are not necessarily those of Falcon Northwest]
Thanks, Matt....Great answers!