The System Is Obsolete
This comes from the wonderful world of home security systems customer support. My co-worker fields this one.
Co-Worker: “Thank you for calling, how may I help you”?
Grumpy Man: Gives name, address, password, blood sample of first born for verification purposes. “Well my system isn’t accepting codes and won’t turn on or off. I think it started after the storm that came through last night”.
Co-Worker: “Did lightning strike your house or close by”?
Grumpy Man: “Yes”
Co-Worker: “I see. Based on the age of the system, it probably took a surge. We’re unable to get replacement parts anymore, so you’ll need an upgrade. I can get someone in sales to call you with a price”.
Grumpy Man: “Well can’t you just send someone out to fix it”?
Co-Worker: “We certainly can, but as it’s obsolete equipment it’s unlikely they can repair it. You’d still be billed for the service call”.
This is where the customer gets irate
Grumpy Mane: WHY WOULD YOU SELL ME AN OBSOLETE SYSTEM???
Co-Worker: soft voice “Well Sir, it was brand new in 1986”.