When it resists : the quarter hour before calling
Helping yourself, in the right order
Almost every blockage comes down to three causes, and they can be told apart in a few minutes. The goal is not to repair: it is to know what to say if you do have to call.
Four symptoms, and the quarter-hour that settles them.
1. It cannot find what I know is there
Three hypotheses, in this order. Has the document been processed, or is it still being analysed? Is it in a space you can see? Finally, does the question use the document's own words? A part called "edge banding" is not found by searching for "trim".
2. It answers, but beside the point
This is not a failure, it is a question to rephrase. Go back to the "Asking well" lesson: the role, the source, the expected shape. Nine times out of ten, an off-target answer is a question with no scope.
3. An outside door stays silent
Connector, machine, connected agent: each has its test button, and each dates its verdict. Test before concluding. A "green" from three days ago says nothing about this morning, and "the AI is not answering" often hides a machine that is switched off.
The reflex that achieves nothing: insisting. Asking the same question three times consumes three times and gives the same answer three times. Change one element, the source, the scope, the shape, or go to support.
What to note before calling
- The time, to the minute.
- The exact screen, and the exact action.
- The text of the question, copied as it was.
- What was expected, and what happened.
Four lines. That is the format Farida ended up adopting, and her tickets close the same day.
In closing
Three causes cover almost every blockage, and a quarter of an hour is enough to tell them apart. The aim is not to fix it yourself: it is to know what to say if you have to call.
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