ughh I hate IT

[trmiv]

wow look at the can of worms I unleashed. and no I don't hate IT I just hate the way I'm talked down at when 90% of the time they can skip the 20-30 step diagnostics to make sure I'm not a idiot test and there is a real problem.

Thread title: ughh I hate IT



That's OK though, I hate IT too.

<-------------In IT.

 

[roguerower]

There are two people in this world who I will never fuck with:

1. Anyone handling my food.
2. Anyone in IT

Our IT dept. is pretty nice and whenever I've had a problem they've always helped me as much as possible. Since it's a construction company spread throughout the country, a lot of the machines we use out in the field are terminals connected back to the servers. They run kinda slowly, most of the usual websites are blocked, but they work well for what we do. When I first started, the terminal I had was acting up, shutting off randomly, locking up, etc. Called IT, explained the problem, they said no biggie, we'll send out a new terminal ASAP.

Yes, I know a good bit of info about PCs but I just shutup and keep that info to myself. I let them do their job and most of the time the problem ends up getting fixed. WHO WOULDA THOUGHT?

 

[Falloutboy]

and also am I just being dumb or is there really a reason to reboot a computer 4-5 times while diagnosing it. I get once but rebooting it every time they ask you to try something different?

 

[ViviTheMage]

Thread title: ughh I hate IT



That's OK though, I hate IT too.

<-------------In IT.

It's a love hate relationship .

 

[spidey07]

Hmm, around here connecting non standard devices like that will get you fired.

 

[Falloutboy]

Hmm, around here connecting non standard devices like that will get you fired.

it technically is against policy but I don't think it would get me fired. VP of ops knows I have it on my phone because he contacts me frequently over the weekend with stuff that comes up over the weekend about my account and he knows I don't have a company phone. I'm sure him and my boss see it as me wanting to involve myself above and beyond my job description. (previous people in my position turned the account over to "hq" after 4pm every day, I normally log in remotely before I go to bed to make sure there weren't any issues that came up that I didn't foresee during the day as well as answer emails from the customer and management while i'm not being paid (paid hourly), I don't think I would be fired for that.

 

[threeringbinder]

I actually like the people who know stuff. Less stuff for me to do.

yup. the smarter the better. and thank god we have a tiered structure. it weeds out the idiots.

being the second and third line of defense, we get calls like...hey, see the new IPAD? will it work with our internal apps? let's do lunch so we can discuss it. etc.

 

[coloumb]

wow look at the can of worms I unleashed. and no I don't hate IT I just hate the way I'm talked down at when 90% of the time they can skip the 20-30 step diagnostics to make sure I'm not a idiot test and there is a real problem.

I completely agree. But if you think you know what the problem is then don't pick up the phone and call.

In this day and age, you're not going to get what I like to call "world of warcraft" updates or support. You won't get updates about server status. You're not going to get updates about patches. And you're sure as he'll not going to get support for non supported add ons.

A lot of the "IT" help desks today are outsourced (to India) and are filled with non technical people who read off items from the 1D10T form and most of the people calling in typically have no clue how their computers, phones, etc work.

 

[Mike Gayner]

IT people are universally condescending douchebags, no matter what their level of experience. It's a prerequisite of the job.

 

[KIAman]

Low level Helpdesk is all about serving the common denominator. Most of the time, they go through this "checklist" because that is what the majority of users understand.

Most IT deparments have different levels of support. If you are a "power" user, you could bypass the low level and ask to speak to a higher level tech. Don't abuse this because it doesn't take long for them to not give you this option.

Now, not checking maintenance and outage schedules is just fail. A good IT department has a master calendar of events with all outages and work being done. There should be circulating change management alert to specific groups and users who are impacted during the work.

One thing IT departments HATE is the lack of feedback. Users blow off steam by watercooler gossip and online ranting rather than giving IT the feedback that it needs to change. Suggest something to your boss and offer up real solutions.

 

[alkemyst]

The funny part of all this is if everyone understood all this "EASY" stuff, then most of the IS/IT infrastructure would never be needed.

I have no problem walking over or sending someone to plug in a cable that popped out or unlocking a Windows account for the 10th time in a day.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

IT people are universally condescending douchebags, no matter what their level of experience. It's a prerequisite of the job.

From your description, you'd be a perfect IT employee then.

 

[mvbighead]

and also am I just being dumb or is there really a reason to reboot a computer 4-5 times while diagnosing it. I get once but rebooting it every time they ask you to try something different?

<- In IT...

I worked with a person who was, unfortunately, promoted to the same position as me shortly after I was promoted... and this... was her answer... to... EVERYTHING.

Step 1 - Doesn't work? -> Reboot it.
Step 2 - Still doesn't work? -> Reboot it.
Step 3 - Still doesn't... -> Hey, can someone help me out with this?

While I may be exaggerating just a smidge, she said this to anyone and everyone about resolving a problem; it was ALWAYS step 1 for her. Drove me absolutely flipping nuts.

Granted, as the first poster eluded to, I do not want to hear some story about how good you are with computers. For every one of you who is good with computers, there are 100 others who say the exact same thing and are completely dense when it comes to anything computer related. State the problem, and provide necessary information such as:

1) Is this the first time you experienced the problem?
2) Did it happen after you did something else?
3) If you've already attempted a reboot, did it fix the problem?

Then, await their investigation and response.

Problem is, there are some helpdesk folks who simply do not know how to do their job. It's an entry level IT position, so some growing pains are to be expected with some. That is not to say that all helpdesk-ers are idiots, but some are clearly better than others. That is no different than any other job out there.

I, unfortunately, get to deal with escalated tickets from time to time. We have a small staff, so that is to be expected. From time to time, I have to call a helpdesk for a product that is supported off site. I have mostly dealt with bad helpdesk-ers who have some sort of an ego despite having a clear lack of knowledge and/or troubleshooting ability. Unfortunately, this type of attitude is characterized as an IT, when, in fact, you see it in pretty much all support roles. Plumbers, mechanics, etc. They are people that know their realm, and support people who don't. Some are better at communicating without being condescending, some are simply condescending to anyone and everyone. If you don't like their attitude, report a problem. But let it be known, for every helpdesk person who is condescending to you, they've likely dealt with 10 times the number of condescending assholes, quite possibly in a single day. Helpdesk people are only needed when a problem occurs, and most people are pissy and condescending when a problem occurs... see the problem? It's cyclical. What goes around comes around.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Plus there are random calls that look like someone talked an IT guy into setting up their non-approved device, and now they are pissed that it is not working and they want help.

That is the exact reason why we dont do it at my work either. They expect us to help them when things go wrong.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

There are two people in this world who I will never fuck with:

1. Anyone handling my food.
2. Anyone in IT

Our IT dept. is pretty nice and whenever I've had a problem they've always helped me as much as possible. Since it's a construction company spread throughout the country, a lot of the machines we use out in the field are terminals connected back to the servers. They run kinda slowly, most of the usual websites are blocked, but they work well for what we do. When I first started, the terminal I had was acting up, shutting off randomly, locking up, etc. Called IT, explained the problem, they said no biggie, we'll send out a new terminal ASAP.

Yes, I know a good bit of info about PCs but I just shutup and keep that info to myself. I let them do their job and most of the time the problem ends up getting fixed. WHO WOULDA THOUGHT?

Funny I work in both food and IT right now. I hate the food business. Full of assholes with a sense of entitlement.

 

[Saga]

Setting up his work email on his phone really SHOULDN'T be possible without help from IT. Some serious security fail there.

Uhh.. what?

This isn't 2005. A BES activation password is not required to activate on a Blackberry Enterprise Server. This is a world of Android and iPhone's which have Exchange sync's built into the OS and all it requires is the server IP/Hostname/External-Facing-Cert-Bearing-URL, and simple active directory authentication (see: username/password).

Not sure what magical world you're living in.

 

[trmiv]

Uhh.. what?

This isn't 2005. A BES activation password is not required to activate on a Blackberry Enterprise Server. This is a world of Android and iPhone's which have Exchange sync's built into the OS and all it requires is the server IP/Hostname/External-Facing-Cert-Bearing-URL, and simple active directory authentication (see: username/password).

Not sure what magical world you're living in.

As I explained above, I'm well aware of how it works. I'm also well aware of how users screw it up. Which is why we REQUIRE activation passwords and all users be verified before being given the generated password or PIN.

 

[Cogman]

The only time I hate IT is when they don't do their jobs correctly.

For example.

I worked in one company where just about every piece of software they got was buggy or broken (Apart from some basic microsoft software). Seriously, there were security flaws in pretty much all the in company software. It wouldn't bother me if that stuff was on a secure network... but it wasn't. It was (is) all available on the freaking internet.

They advocated and profusely used FTP, and figured it was "secure" because it has a password to log in (even though the password were sent plaintext). LOADS of access was given to the FTP server. Not only that, but the password was given to SEVERAL clients... Yeah.....

He disabled, and never ran, any updates on any of the computers... Again, if they are on a secure network with no internet access, this isn't such a big deal... but they weren't.

They had a couple of unsecured wireless networks running with full access to the network servers...

NONE of their databases had passwords on them (but they are available online....). The reason? Because the developer of one of the software packages they used didn't know how to put in a password to the database.


That is incompetent IT.


What the OP has is "IT told me I couldn't do this, and helpdesk is worthless."

 

[Saga]

As I explained above, I'm well aware of how it works. I'm also well aware of how users screw it up. Which is why we REQUIRE activation passwords and all users be verified before being given the generated password or PIN.

I don't really think you're reading. Or perhaps, you're reading but failing to comprehend. Perhaps you can clarify just what the fuck you mean - because unless you're suggesting you utilize some forward facing proxy that requires an additional authorization for a user to setup an Exchange account on an Android device or iPhone, I think the whole "we're worlds beyond BES activations" thing whooshed right over your head.

I'm a BES Admin, for the record. I'm capable of understanding what you're saying. It's the fact that I currently have no clue what the hell you ARE saying that has me worried.

 

[BoberFett]

IE7 is bad enough, I can't even imagine using IE6. I don't even care about the security issues, the speed and functionality is just crippling.

A few weeks ago I grabbed my dad's work laptop while I was at home, I sat there mashing ctrl-T for a solid 5 seconds before I realized what was going on. It just seems ridiculous for a company as large as his (Ford) to still be using IE6 in 2010. That's almost TEN YEARS.

edit: From an end-user's perspective, obviously.

Employees doing things like letting their children use their computers is exactly why things are locked down. It is not his computer to let you use. It is the company's computer that they provide for him to do work on. Thanks for proving IT's point for them.

 

[rcpratt]

Employees doing things like letting their children use their computers is exactly why things are locked down. It is not his computer to let you use. It is the company's computer that they provide for him to do work on. Thanks for proving IT's point for them.

I never said they shouldn't be locked down. That has nothing to do with what I was talking about. And I was *gasp* looking something up to help him do some work, so blow me.

 

[FDF12389]

Because Firefox, while being a good browser, still is missing the entire Enterprise section of their program. I can't deploy it via AD (without 3rd party support.) The updater requires admin rights on the machine to run. I can't push out settings to it via policy, like the homepage and security settings that are given to me.

I consider the 3rd party solutions still unacceptable because they are repackaging the app and quite frankly, I have no idea what they may have embedded in there without me knowing.

If Mozilla Org would get off their butts about this aspect of Firefox, I would deploy and manage it.

Not to mention it lacks LDAP support.

 

[trmiv]

I don't really think you're reading. Or perhaps, you're reading but failing to comprehend. Perhaps you can clarify just what the fuck you mean - because unless you're suggesting you utilize some forward facing proxy that requires an additional authorization for a user to setup an Exchange account on an Android device or iPhone, I think the whole "we're worlds beyond BES activations" thing whooshed right over your head.

I'm a BES Admin, for the record. I'm capable of understanding what you're saying. It's the fact that I currently have no clue what the hell you ARE saying that has me worried.

I don't get what you're getting all worked up about. Lighten up, Francis. Jeez.

Unless I'm misunderstanding the OP, he was able to to setup his device to begin receiving email without any interaction with IT. That is is not possible in our environment, and shouldn't be possible. In our environment for Blackberry devices users of course must be added to the BES, and then an activation password is given to the user only after their identity is verified. They can then activate wirelessly. I'm not exactly sure what's so confusing about that. For Android/iPhone/WM/webOS/Symbian devices we manage through Good Mobile Messaging.

 

[xSauronx]

On the flip side you guys in IT do you really hate people like me?

only if you insist on doing things that IT cant properly support, or you do things without going through IT and expect them to support it later. thats really fucking annoying, otherwise id prefer to be left alone if you can help yourself.

 

[lupi]

The basic help desk peeps are pretty craptastic. What's best though is when they escalate it to the responsible section and those idiots decide it's not really an issue. Yes joe blow, I can't print my PDFs using your program however another user ID logged into the same computer can, close the ticket as many times as you want cause I'll keep opening it,