I've come to the conclusion that most things labeled as "Free"
really aren't. Many companies slide to the levels demonstrated in
the sample ads above to attract potential buyers' attention. Such
ads clutter the pages of catalogs, brochures, e-mail messages and
other publications I receive daily.
I
was recently deleting loads of junk e-mail when I came across a
"Free" offer from a Tech24.com
representative. Having come to the conclusion that nothing is really
free these days, I almost deleted the message, dismissing it as
just another attempt to scrape money out of my already empty pockets.
But something about the e-mail intrigued me. It was short, simple,
and direct, informing me that Tech24.com offers free technical assistance
to computer users. I searched over the e-mail for asterisks and
hidden prices but to no avail. Determined to find a catch, I decided
to visit Tech24.com.
What I found was just as simple and direct as the e-mail that I
had received. Tech24.com offers
technical support to computer users free of charge. That's right;
there's no catch! Your technical computer question can be asked
during a live chat session or sent via e-mail. You can also search
Tech24's archives for answers.
Getting help at Tech24.com's website is completely painless. First,
you'll want to point your web browser to http://www.tech24.com.
The following page will then appear:
First,
you'll want to find out if a representative is available for live
chat. To do so, click on the "Click here for Live Chat"
button, which can be found on the right side of your screen. If
a representative is available, a new window will appear asking you
to input your name. Type your name, then click on the words 'Enter
Text Chat.' You'll then be cordially greeted by a representative.
If no representative is available, a window will display letting
you know when the next representative will be available.
If
no representative is available to assist you via live chat, you
may decide to e-mail your question. If so, go back to Tech24.com's
homepage, then click on the "E-mail your Tech24 Tech"
button, which is found just below the "Click Here for Live
Chat' button. A form will then appear for you to fill out. Upon
submitting the form, your question will be instantly e-mailed to
a Tech24 representative. An auto-response will be e-mailed to you
verifying that your message was received. You can then expect a
response from a Tech24 representative within 24 hours.
Let's
say you don't want to wait 24 hours for an answer to your question.
You may decide to use Tech24.com's search features, which can be
found at the lower, right-hand portion of the home page. You can
search for keywords within your question, or you may decide to search
through the most popular items, which are listed.
Tech24 also offers remote support, where users can give technicians
permission to "take control" of their computers to find
solutions to complicated problems. Each user can see everything
that the technician is doing by watching his/her desktop. The user
can also be able to take back control of his/her computer at any
time by closing the remote window. To get remote support, go to
Tech24.com's home page then click on the 'Remote Support' button
in the upper right-hand portion of the screen.
Also featured at Tech24.com is their newly developed Learning Center.
The center sports free animated tutorials with topics ranging from
accounting and finance to website development. To check out one
of the free tutorials, click on the 'Learning Center' button just
to the left of the 'Remote Support' button.
After learning about Tech24.com and their incredible, free services,
my faith in "Free" ads was restored. If looking through
hundreds of ads and e-mails yields just one valuable service or
product offered free of charge, the search is well worth the time
invested in it.
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Tech24.com: Free Online Tech. Support