One thing I learned about working directly with people in the technical field in first world nations is that nobody is ashamed to say "I don't know" if they really don't, unlike us Filipinos who have the tendency to really try so hard to make whatever reply we can even without the faintest idea on the subject matter. That kind of thinking has both merits and disadvantages. Sometimes, we can get away with it and look smart, but more often, it can be very dangerous.
In Japan, I have been told many times by Customer Service that "they can only say what is written in their guidebook or in the manual. If it's not in the guidebook, they don't know the answer - straight to the point."