Hose and Close

An off-putting practice of some Technical Support/Help Desk staff. In response to a question from a distressed user, Support responds with a deluge of technobabble which the user doesn't understand, issues a series of abstruse command instructions, which the user cannot follow, and then hangs up before the user can come back with a request for a simple explanation.

The tech support staff can mark another tick on the 'support provided' sheet, but the user is not only no further forward, but may also have been charged a premium rates per minute - just to be made to feel foolish.

Happily, there are a growing number of Tech Support hotlines which do communicate in plain language.