Why Tech Support Calls at 2AM Prove You Should Always Know Your Colors
If you’ve ever worked in tech support, you know that the oddest calls always seem to come in at the oddest hours. And sometimes, the difference between a nightmare outage and a three-minute fix comes down to something as simple as knowing your colors.
Such was the case for a 24-hour restaurant in the Pacific Northwest, where a network hiccup at 2AM led to an unforgettable exchange between a tech, a manager, and—unexpectedly—the dishwasher. If you’ve ever wondered why IT folks sometimes sound like they’re speaking a different language, this one’s for you.
The Midnight Tech Support Tango
Picture this: It’s the deep, dark hours of the night. While most of us are snoozing, a lone IT pro, u/Tabaxia, gets jolted awake by a critical page. The restaurant’s network is down, and credit card payments are at a standstill—a manager’s worst nightmare. Enter: the 2AM phone call.
The manager, clearly in distress, reports the issue with the urgency of someone who knows every second offline means money lost. Our IT hero quickly checks the system and spots the culprit: the Watchguard firewall is down.
Now, if you work in tech, you know the Watchguard. It’s a red box—a literal, bright red, can’t-miss-it rectangle that sits, in this case, right above the manager’s head in the office. Figuring this is a simple case of “turn it off and on again,” the tech guides the manager to reboot it.
But here, things take a comedic turn. The conversation goes something like this:
Me: It is simple, it’s a red box on your shelf right above where you sit in the office.
Manager: …ah, I don’t get it.
Me: On the shelf, it is a fully red box, says Watchguard on it.
Manager: …I don’t get it.
Me: RED box, you don’t get it?
Manager: I don’t know tech terms, I am a manager at a restaurant.
It’s a moment every IT person has faced: That chasm between “obvious” and “oblivious.” When even “the big red box” draws a blank, desperation sets in.
The Unsung Heroes: Dishwashers and the Power of Plain Language
In a stroke of genius—or maybe just sleep-deprived exasperation—the tech asks to speak to someone else. Enter the dishwasher, the silent hero of our story.
Me: Can you reboot the Watchguard? It’s a red box on...
Dishwasher: Done.
That’s it. No confusion. No further explanation. The location is back online in three minutes flat.
The lesson? Sometimes it’s not about job titles or tech expertise—just the ability to follow simple instructions. And maybe, just maybe, the dishwasher is the real MVP of late-night tech support.
Communication Breakdown: Why “Red Box” Isn’t Always Enough
On the surface, this is a funny story. But dig a little deeper, and it’s a perfect example of the communication chasm that can exist between techies and non-techies.
We all have blind spots. To the IT pro, “red box” is as basic as it gets. To the manager, stressed and out of their element at 2AM, even color cues are lost in translation. Maybe “Watchguard—#FF0000” (for the color hex code-savvy) would have helped, but for the average user? Not so much.
It’s a reminder that effective tech support isn’t just about knowing the answer—it’s about meeting the user where they are. Sometimes, that means ditching jargon, using ultra-clear descriptions, or, as in this case, asking for a different pair of eyes.
Why This Story Resonates (and What We Can Learn)
What makes this story so relatable—and so popular, with hundreds of upvotes and comments—is that it perfectly captures the absurdity of tech support in the real world. The tools might change, but the principle is eternal: never assume what’s obvious to you is obvious to someone else.
And let’s not forget, this isn’t just a tech story—it’s a people story. Every workplace has that person who can bridge the gap, whether it’s the dishwasher, the night manager, or the off-duty barista who just “gets it.” Sometimes, all it takes is a fresh perspective—or a willingness to actually look at the shelf.
Final Thoughts: Who’s Your Red Box Hero?
So, next time you’re stuck in a late-night support call, remember the lesson from the Pacific Northwest: Sometimes, the simplest solution is right in front of you—and sometimes, you just need to ask the dishwasher.
Got your own tales of tech support mix-ups and unexpected heroes? Drop a comment and share your story. Who knows—maybe your dishwasher is the next unsung IT savior!
What’s your funniest—or most frustrating—tech support moment? Share below and let’s build a legend of late-night fixes!
Original Reddit Post: Know your colors.