There's No Shame in Asking for Tech Help

Written by Martyn — Marple Tech Help

"Sorry, this is probably a stupid question…"

I hear some version of that sentence almost every week.

It comes from retired teachers, company directors, nurses, engineers and parents. Capable people who have managed households, careers and families find themselves apologising because a printer has stopped printing, an email will not send or something unfamiliar has appeared on their screen.

Here is the honest truth from someone who fixes this stuff for a living:

It is never a stupid question. Not once. Not ever.

Why asking can feel so difficult

Most of us learned to use technology on the fly.

Nobody sat us down and properly explained cloud storage, two-factor authentication, software updates or why the Wi-Fi suddenly has two different names. Technology kept changing, and we were simply expected to keep up.

When something goes wrong, a quiet voice can start saying: you should know this by now.

So people pretend they understand and hope for the best. They put off dealing with a problem, sometimes for months. Or they struggle on alone, becoming increasingly frustrated and less confident.

Sometimes that embarrassment costs five minutes.

Sometimes it costs far more: a scam that was not questioned in time, years of family photographs left on a failing hard drive, or hundreds of pounds spent replacing a computer that could have been repaired.

Asking earlier is nearly always easier than fixing the consequences later.

Questions you never need to apologise for

You never need to feel embarrassed about saying:

• "Can you explain that without the technical terms?"
• "Can you show me again?"
• "Is this message genuine?" If you think you may have been caught out, Scam First Aid walks you through what to do, step by step.
• "Have I broken something?" Usually not, and a Tech Rescue visit can find out what is actually going on.
• "Why has this suddenly stopped working?" The most frequent culprits are covered in common computer problems and the sensible things to try first.
• "Do I really need to buy a new computer?" Quite often not. See your PC isn't old, it's just full of software you never needed.
• "I don't understand what it is asking me to do."

You do not need to diagnose the problem before contacting someone for help.

Tell me what has happened in your own words. Describe what you can see, what you were trying to do and anything that has changed. That is usually more useful than trying to use the "correct" technical language.

A simple idea from Marple

Conversations like these helped spark something new.

No Shame in Asking is an independent public awareness idea from Marple, built around one simple belief:

A No Shame in Asking place displays a visible promise:

• Questions are welcome here.
• You will not be made to feel stupid for not knowing.
• You can ask us to explain something again.

There is no accreditation and no complicated membership programme. It is simply a sign that says asking is welcome here.

Marple Tech Help is the first No Shame in Asking place

I am proud that Marple Tech Help is the first business to display the No Shame in Asking promise.

In truth, it puts a name to how I have always tried to work: plain English, no unnecessary jargon, no judgement, and no making people feel silly for asking.

You can ask me to explain something again. Twice, if needed. Three times is fine too.

Technology is supposed to help you. You should not have to feel embarrassed when it does not.

Nobody knows everything.
Nobody should be expected to.
And there is no shame in asking.