What is a poor, weak woman like Consumerist reader Tara to do on her own when she can’t get a computer monitor to work? According to an HP customer service rep, obviously the right thing to do (when his advice has failed) is to get a man to help her.

Tara writes that she was attempting to set up a new monitor from HP in her supervisor’s office, but found that it wouldn’t raise to its highest height. She checked the user manual and online message boards to see if anyone else had a tip, before contacting HP Customer Service.

That’s when she met a rep we’ll call E.!

When I finally found a number and called, I was transferred to E., a customer service representative. I briefly explained my problem, and he started asking me to press buttons on the monitor. I explained that I don’t think this is the issue, but he asked me to “do him a favor and try anyway.”

After five minutes of pressing buttons, I stated, “I don’t think you understand the nature of my problem. The monitor won’t raise to the full-height position. In the manual, it says to ‘press down on the display head to unlock it then pull up on the display head to raise it to the full-height position.’ I tried this, and it won’t raise any higher.”

E. apologized for not understanding me in the first place, and told me he got it now. He asked if he could place me on hold for two minutes.

Five minutes later, E. picked up the phone and told me to press down on the monitor and try to lift it to the full-height position. “I read that, too,” I said. “That’s what I’ve been doing.” He told me to “try harder.” Fine. I tried again. I put the monitor on the floor and even stepped on it while I tried to pull it up.

He said, “Try as hard as you can, you can’t break it this way.” I do it multiple times, slamming the monitor up and down, and nothing. I say, “It is not working. I think it is defective.” E. says, “Is there someone more technically savvy in your office or maybe a man that can try?”

Excuse me? He asked me to find a man to help me with my problem? Thanks, E., for sending the women’s movement back about 80 years.

Perhaps E. should focus on offering a better solution than slamming a monitor around on the ground to fix it, hmm?

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