Why do non-IT people get SO SCARED?

[MajinCry]

Want to get fired? Have the guy you called fuck up the company's stuff.

Want another way to get fired? Fuck up the company's stuff.

 

[Humpy]

Gotta inflate that mighty ego somehow, right?




A computer is also a machine with a billion electronic switches that can perform an immense variety of tasks.
A database system can be enormously complex. HVAC systems have some nuances that you need experience in, but they also aren't quite as versatile, and thus prone to obscure bugs, as a server running multiple applications for dozens or hundreds of connected machines.

Your post leads me to believe that you might be yet another pompous IT guy who can't resist the urge to exaggerate about just how fucking difficult it is to make Microsoft Office work while simultaneously keeping the copy machine attached to the network and full of toner.

 

[poofyhairguy]

Your post leads me to believe that you might be yet another pompous IT guy who can't resist the urge to exaggerate about just how fucking difficult it is to make Microsoft Office work while simultaneously keeping the copy machine attached to the network and full of toner.

If you don't exaggerate how do the normals know how brilliant you are?

 

[Red Squirrel]

If you knew nothing of cars, and yours suddenly backfired, and you had no prior knowledge of what a backfire was, would you not be in the same boat as your customer in the story above?

I'd probably be able to at least make some kind of judgement like "I blew the engine". If it was a company car, just keep the analogy in line, I would not really panic, but I'd be kinda annoyed if I had somewhere I had to be, but it's not like I'll get fired or in trouble because a tool I was using failed. I'd call my boss, and whoever handles fleet and they'd get me in a new car and I'd be on my way. Would not really freak if a mechanic opened the hood and started taking stuff apart in front of me. If anything I'd be kinda intrigued to see what happened. Might turn out to be a bad spark plug or something simple like that.


Totally unrelated story but since light bulbs were mentioned earlier it just reminded me of something hilarious at work. So at work there's a company that comes every now and then to change all the fluorescent bulbs. We're not allowed to do it. They come maybe once a year and just change all the ones we say that need changing. Like, even though they're clearly burnt, we still have to specify each one. The guy who changes the bulbs is not qualified to change ballasts, so if the ballast is bad, then we wait probably like half a year to a year before someone else comes for that. There's one hallway that was totally like a horror movie scene at one point, pretty much every light was either dead or flickering mad.

So anyway this guy comes in, and changes every single bulb in an office area that's not really used anymore. Then they still did not light up. So he marked every single ballast as bad. Someone noticed and thought it was odd because we knew there was only a few bad bulbs/ballasts in those rows. Turns out the guy never even turned on the light switch. All the other bulbs had already been thrown in the trash. Not even recycled, right in the dumpster. They were dimmable ones too, so more expensive.

This same guy once shows up to change a bulb but never brought a ladder. He's literally jumping up and down trying to unscrew the bulb. My boss sees him and gives him a WTF face and tells him to get out and come back once he gets a ladder. I don't even know how that guy manages to use the shower in the morning without drowning.

 

[IronWing]

How's that go?
$50/hr basic rate.
$100/hr if you watch.
$200/hr if you help.

That was the system I worked out with my parents when they asked me to paint their house (much lower rates of course).

 

[IndyColtsFan]

why do IT people think they're so smart?

If you think it is bad now, you should've seen it in the 90s. The attitudes of the typical IT folks back then is one of the big reasons almost all IT departments started to focus on customer service and satisfaction.

I think it was more that most of those folks had zero social skills and were lazy and would act pissy just so people would leave them alone. You know the type - you'd have a conversation like this:

ICF: "Hey, how would I go about getting 3 servers configured for a new business application? I've got the specs here and have the budget."
ASSHOLE: "I don't know, how would you?"
ICF: "Don't you build the servers?"
ASSHOLE: "Yes."
ICF: "So you'd be the one building these?"
ASSHOLE: "Maybe."
ICF: <hands spec sheet to person> "Is there anything else that you need that isn't on here?"
ASSHOLE: "I don't know"
ICF: "Well, I have an idea. Why don't you take 2 minutes and read the spec sheet in front of you BEFORE I beat the ever living shit out of you and you won't be able to see anymore?"

That kind of interaction was routine back in the day, even with folks IN YOUR OWN DEPARTMENT. I can't tell you the number of jackasses who pulled that shit on me only to later find out they were messing with the wrong person and got hung out to dry. Now, I'm not the most social person in the world, but one thing I AM awesome at is serving my customers (the end users) - if they need a new app, new servers, whatever it might be - I bend over backwards to make them feel like they're my top priority and I get their work done quickly and efficiently.

 

[TheVrolok]

You think that's something? Try practicing medicine. Not only are there irrational fears, but patients also believe they're better informed because they "read a blog" or "saw a documentary." Yep, that's pretty much the same.

 

[Muse]

Maybe you should ask yourself why you became enraged. That was your mistake.

Remember, you have a job because these people don't want to or are incapable of solving those IT issues. Their incompetence (yes, in some cases unwillingness to try to solve a problem) is in some measure your treasure.

 

[Phynaz]

Deskside support tech is complaining about having a job.

 

[jhansman]

I did desktop support for a large construction firm at their corporate offices. Lasted 3 months, and moved on. I understand the OP's point, and it's valid. Non-technical folk are often easily rankled by problems know they cannot fix, but must have fixed before they can carry on. Most of those I served were grateful for the help, but too many are just plain neurotic. I have pretty good people skills, so most of the time I could calm them down, but I often wondered at their fear of what they could not understand, and major worry that they would not get something done in time because of it.

Now I work in a location with networked copiers that do it all and will guide the user through basic steps to clear paper jams. Even with these, users get flummoxed and usually cannot figure out what to do. If I happen by, I am usually able to clear the jam and get the machine back working in minutes.

 

[smackababy]

Why is it just non IT people? I've seen some grown men come to the brink of tears because GitHub was down.

 

[Jeff7]

Your post leads me to believe that you might be yet another pompous IT guy who can't resist the urge to exaggerate about just how fucking difficult it is to make Microsoft Office work while simultaneously keeping the copy machine attached to the network and full of toner.

You can take another guess if you really need to.

 

[IronWing]

Why is it just non IT people? I've seen some grown men come to the brink of tears because GitHub was down.

I thought GitHub might be some odd sub-genre of pronhub. It's even worse than I thought.

 

[Zorba]

Here's the thing in the workplace - separation of duties.

I'm not going to use your extremely exaggerated/rare example in the OP, but some people who i've interacted with do take matter into their own hands to TRY and see what the problem is. Those who dont, it's not because they're inept to the inner workings of workspace electronics, it's simply because it's not in their job description to do so. Back in my desktop support days, there are times where someone would send me a ticket stating the exact issue and requiring me to come and fix it for them (it's not because they're lazy or afraid of it) because they just dont care enough to actually do the dirty work because it's not part of their job. I'm sure even a high school grad would tell you it's a paper jam, let alone an office full of post grads.

Yup, I'll clear a paper jam, but if the damn thing keeps doing it, it is not worth my time to troubleshoot it. I'm billed out at over a couple hundred an hour and IT is bulk, I think the company would rather I be pulling billable hours rather than troubleshooting a printer while the bulk guy plays solitaire.

Now the plotter, f that thing.

I would NEVER call an IT person to do anything on my laptop if I had Admin rights, but that's not the way the world works. I've had IT people replace my entire company and refuse to transfer the HDD or files, due to bad fan. Its not like most help desks wrap themselves in technical glory.

 

[Carson Dyle]

I have more than just a sneaking suspicion that this particular "scared" person was put on edge by the way the OP handled himself, and that it had little to do with the problem at hand. It would probably be funny to hear their account of the day the IT Guy from Hell fixed their printer.

 

[JimmiG]

The IT/tech support job won't exist without any dumbfounded people not knowing what to do if something "breaks". You need to reassure them that whatever is "broken" is just a simple fix.

Ah, IT tech support. 45% psychiatrist, 45% human Google-bot, 10% actual tech support.

 

[Exterous]

I've had IT people replace my entire company and refuse to transfer the HDD or files, due to bad fan.

Was it a large ceiling mount fan spinning really fast that fell and decapitated everyone but you and the IT staff?

 

[vi edit]

Here's a nice case of lazy IT....

We have cisco IP phones. They plug into the wall. They also have a 100mb ethernet port on them that you can piggy back a device off of. Most of our backbone is at 1gb and a lot of our apps don't like working at 100mb speeds.

Somebody gets a new computer and the tech plugs the computer into the phone. It only runs at 100mb. There is also a printer plugged into the wall right next to the phone line.

Instead of swapping the printer with the PC he tells the user "tell your boss you need to order a new phone with gigabit speeds" and then leaves. Her computer runs like crap because apps are taking forever to load.

I come in afterwards to do some application training with the user and take 10 seconds to run the PC directly into the wall and the printer through the phone. PC negotiates at 1gb. Apps run a lot faster. Printer still works fine. No new phone needed. Everyone is happy.

 

[steppinthrax]

Why are IT people so annoying and self righteous?

Because we make the big fucking bucks and work in a field with high commercial value.

 

[Drako]

Because we make the big fucking bucks and work in a field with high commercial value.

And they're modest too.

 

[Jeff7]

The IT/tech support job won't exist without any dumbfounded people not knowing what to do if something "breaks". You need to reassure them that whatever is "broken" is just a simple fix.

Ah, IT tech support. 45% psychiatrist, 45% human Google-bot, 10% actual tech support.

Just be careful about that "it's a simple fix" thing.
That sets the expectation that it'll be fixed in 5 minutes and never fail again.

(Yes, psychology: "Don't worry, I can fix it. It might take some time to dig for what I need to get to, but I know what to look for." Or if it's true, add in "You didn't break it.")

 

[Skeeedunt]

Printing is mission-critical -> don't buy a spare printer -> yell at IT guy.

 

[kt]

I bet the OP regrets his decision starting this thread. Wasn't the response he expected/wanted.

 

[Jeff7]

Printing is mission-critical -> don't buy a spare printer -> yell at IT guy.

Everyone hates redundancy until they need it and have it.
The rest hate when they need it but don't have it, and then yell at someone other than the person who didn't want to pay to have it.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Printing is mission-critical -> don't buy a spare printer -> yell at IT guy.

I hate that, if something is mission critical it should have redundancy! Don't come crying to me when it's down and I can't fix it in seconds. After hours I we take various customer calls such as data circuit troubles and 611 calls, people will freak out because a hydro dam or rail road or something is out of service due to a bad cable pair in a scada circuit. uhhh if it's that important maybe have redundancy? They somehow expect me to send somebody there ASAP in the middle of a winter storm at 2am, when the nearest tech is 5 hours away. When I explain that I can't they want to escalate to a manager, like that will magically do something. Yeah I'll wakeup a manager just so he can tell you the same thing I just did.