The man explained that they used this computer to make "data disks" to be taken to the "head end", where another Atari 800XL ran the info channel. They'd run out of working disks. The engineer who'd set it up left on bad terms. They didn't know how to format more disks, but they knew that's what they needed because the manual for the software advised them so.
I showed the man how to format a disk. They comped a month of my family's cable bill (though their was some consternation when he found out we had the "premium" package). That may be the first time in my life I did "IT work" and received compensation, now that I think about it.