Mar. 1--Calling tech support can be an aggravating experience for a computer owner.

The banal hold music. The endless automated menus. The struggle to explain the problem to someone who may not speak English as a first language.

"I don't feel I was acknowledged. I feel I was discounted," Joyce Gibbons, a Toronto resident shopping at the Walden Galleria, said of her tech-support calls. "I did not speak the language of the computer."

Now at least one large company, Dell Inc., is responding by making significant changes to how it offers technical support.

Dell computer owners willing to pay extra are assured of getting a "North American" tech support person when they call the manufacturer for help.

"It's a great opportunity for people who have a number of Dell devices under warranty," Dell spokesman Bob Kaufman said. "We can help you resolve any issues that come up during the life of the contract."

But key questions remain. Will people pay for something they've gotten all these years for free? And will the moves ultimately improve the service experience for consumers?

"I, as a consumer, may want to see that this job stays in the U. S. But am I willing to pay for it?" said Arun K. Jain, a University at Buffalo marketing professor. "We want it both ways."

Good, bad or ugly, just about everyone has a tech-support story.

Gibbons didn't get any technical support when she called MDG Computers Canada, the company that made her desktop, last fall after she had a problem with the device.

The retired Bell Canada service rep got some aid at an MDG retail store, but doesn't like how the company treated her.

"You're a number," she said.

So why does the process of fixing computer problems generate so many problems itself?

For many manufacturers, customer service is a low priority that doesn't drive consumers' purchasing decisions and that potentially can cut into their profits, experts said.

"Companies have sought cheaper and cheaper ways to provide support, and the cost has gone down but the experience has suffered as well," said John Ragsdale, vice president of technology research with the Service & Support Professionals Association, a trade group based in San Diego.

It's hard to hire good tech-support workers in this country, UB's Jain said, because people with technical expertise can earn more in other jobs.

Companies often provide their tech-support reps with a script to follow. If the problem doesn't fit what's on the script, the rep often can't help.