Ugh! USERS! at least MY users

A guy walks into IT, and immediately starts yelling at me.

"Why does it take 14 hours for IT to address a problem!!!!?"

What problem?

"MY problem!, I notified you guys last night, and I haven't even heard a thing from you" (still yelling"

GET OUT!, you aren;t supposed to even be IN HERE!

"I'm not getting out (pushes the door open)"

OK fine, what are you talking about?

" I haven't gotten ANY e-mail for a day, and you guys need to fix it!"

Bummer, maybe nobody likes you. (half-laugh)

"I sent you guys an E-mail about this last night, and I have gotten NO response whatsoever"


anyone see anything WRONG with the above!?
I'll probably get in a little trouble for yelling back at the guy, 'cause he's cranky
all the time, and it's just accepted. "thats just the way he is" they say.

On the other hand, I usually keep my cool under dire circumstances.
So I was "out of character"..

whatEVER dude!

Well, I'm no computer wizard, but if he's not getting any incoming email, what makes him think anyone's getting any of his outgoing email?

You should have told him to have his supervisor send you an work order via email and that you'd check it out when it surfaces in about two weeks. Either that or you should have decked him when he started yelling.

Yup!

He e-mailed us, his E-MAIL problem! DOH!
We even have a web based work order system, It's been available to
him for about 4 years now..LOL..but NOOOOOO.....he won't use it.
He didn't use the telephone, to call us in the IT center, or on our Cell phones.

I've had run-ins with this loser before, he can certainly bring a room down with his negative vibes.

And Grady, I really was this close to decking him, really (too many witnesses). Eleven years, and he hasn't even bothered to learn my name..He usually yells across the room.
"Hey tech guy!" sometimes he asks me, are you a tech? I want to say, yes, are you an idiot? I think he does that on purpose, just to rile me.

Maybe I'll disable his account tomorrow, periodically, for a few minutes at a time. During his busiest hours.

Oh, and I jusst remembered, you know what he calls his computer?
His tube! "Hey, my tube is down!" Someday when he says that, I'd like to hand him a coupon for Viagra!

I think "tube" is from the days when he worked on a dumb terminal.
Just a picture tube, and a keyboard..

You know space, it sounds like this guy has some IT issues. I know how that is. When I worked with the state the network was so slow and so fragile that trying to meet deadlines was one of the most frustrating experiences of my life. I've seen many hit the door for no other reason than they were not going to risk their careers because of a faulty server system.

I know this might seem out of left field, but why don't you invite him to lunch one day, maybe with some others, as well, and get him to relax and talk about his "tube" frustrations. "Breaking bread" together is a custom as old as humanity for breaking down barriers and forming alliances. You never know. There might be an interesting character beneath that abrasive exterior.

He sounds annoying!

A swift boot to the nads should sort him out.

He is annoying!
He demeans his other co workers daily..Some just take it, some laugh.
I can tell it really bothers others, the things he says to them.
Then there are a select few who think the whole miserable butt-head act, is endearing.

Grady,

I like your Breaking bread idea, But the man will not socialize, he just doesn't like people, unless you are under 5 years old..He loves kids..and cats. You'd have to see him in action, it's really hard to believe that he gets to keep his job..

Oh, and you're gonna love this..
After researching his E-mail problem a little further..He not only E-mailed his E-mail problem..He sent it to one IT guy who is deceased, and another who hasn't worked here in four years, and, of course me...

I'd like to share my favourite work-related comic ever with you.

external image

LOL!

Thanks Duzey..
Thats for printin, and hangin'

Very timely too.
Here's why:

I had a vendor in, day before yesterday..
We were discussing, Disk 2 Disk backups, virtual servers, NAS's etc...

At the end of the meeting, he asked if there were any other products I wanted to know about..My answer was.."Do you upgrade users?"
I got a real funny look from him..that is, until he "got" it...

That's hilarious.

Glad you like the comic. I've had it up long enough that the people in my office know the answer to most of their questions.

Back in the days before I owned a computer, I never thought of the machine as anything more than a particular piece of software and for the most part that approach was useful. Operating systems and hardware were the domain of those other guys--the ones who hated you because you asked stupid questions and expected the computer to be at least as reliable as a TV set.

When I went to work for the state, I told the folks that I never really had that many problems with computers, which was true because, I could in every situation I had been placed, learn to operate a word processing, database or statistical analysis software enough to get the job done. However, what I didn't understand as well as I do now is how Windows works and early on just how the network and those "bouncing" servers played into the mix.

Looking back on it, I think the state could have done better by spending a little time teaching us about the machine and it's "nervous system," instead of always telling us about the ever changing and expanding database software. I know that I was the source of at least one running joke in IT because of a consistent mistake I would make because I had learned in another setting that "OK" meant you were moving on, not closing out.

I think if I went back to that job that I would hate that database software just as much, because in the time that I was there, instead of becoming simpler and easier to use, it became more complex, convoluted, arcane, and inscrutable, but I also know that a lot of the problems that used to vex me would be only minor annoyances, because I have spent so much time learning the intricacies of my own machine and Windows XP. There are a plethora of things I don't know and will never know, but I feel a lot less like I'm at it's mercy than I did at one time.

Just one user's perspective.


[edit on 2006/3/28 by GradyPhilpott]

Well Grady,

We'd probably refer to you as Grady the power user, or our "dream user" LOL

We're pretty good with training there. When we do a revamp of our Front end sytems. Everyone gets Training, from the vendor..
Then we select a smaller group, Who are trained even further.
These are the roving trainers, a couple on every shift.

And none of them need their tubes fixed anymore..!

I'm not sure what the situation is now, but most of the IT staff for the state were subcontracted and unfortunately many of their decisions were completely out of sync with the reality of the jobs we had to perform.

Maybe, I should have bought my own computer when I worked there, but in reality, I'm glad I bought the system I have, which of course, I couldn't have done even a year prior, not for the deal I got anyway.

I was reading on a site recently that users are more savvy now than ever and that some are even complaining that customer service reps aren't keeping up with the users' learning curves, putting them through boiler plate fixes that they've already tried before calling.

Maybe the rest of the world is catching up with the IT guys finally and clueless users are a dying breed. But, on the other hand, who can tell what nail-biting, head-banging experiences Vista has in store for all us self-assured power users.


[edit on 2006/3/29 by GradyPhilpott]

I'm entry level IT, and worked 2 jobs for a while. Bartender/ Desktop support. Here's a fun one for you.

Sunday afternoon, midsummer, and I'm bar-backing. I'm SLAMMED!! I get a buzz on by Blackberry from the Sr. Managing Director (just under the CEO) that he's not getting any email. I take a quick break to reply. I said "did you get that?" and he responded "Get what?". I replied that I'll deal with it when I could. That's when he called me at my other job. I ask if he could access the internet and proceeded to have me walk him through the web-mail system. All the while glasses are piling up, and ice is emptying. Eventually he tells me that he's at an airport and cant figure out why he's not getting new emails in Outlook. I hung up and got back to work.

I guess the bartending job pays pretty good then. With people skills like that you should go far.

Update

Grouchy yelling user guy has been reprimanded.
Although his boss's secret nickname is "Eunic" so
I'm not sure how seriously this will be taken.

Probably with a grain of salt, handy for pouring on the wounds of his coworkers.

but at least it's on record.