Do you really want me to automate your job... Tech Support |
- Do you really want me to automate your job...
- Why would I do your job for you?
- But you just sent the email about this being broken
- Apparently I'm the stupid one
- The mystery of the missing computer
- MFA Resistance
- Sometimes it's the simple things
- Wireless upgrade - when a VLAN goes MIA
- of cabling
| Do you really want me to automate your job... Posted: 29 Nov 2019 01:45 AM PST So this obviously happened a long time ago, in a galaxy faar far away. Big company, several buildings. So this one time we (two of us) had to walk over to a top vip user (director), he said he's facing issues with Outlook. The conversation went down like this: (D- director, Me- me) D: So yeah I was thinking if you could set up a few rules in my Outlook client? Me: Well, this isn't like a technical issue or anything, but sure, what do you have in mind? D: Well I need THIS and THIS and THIS, and if the mail contains THIS then send it to HIM, or if the title is that specifix text, do THIS. And we just stood there, not wanting to interrupt...since this was his job basically, I was like... Me: So basically you would like Outlook to take off some load, right? D: Yes, I could do almost everything this way. Me: I see. But one thing. Do you really want people to find out that your job can be scripted? They'll notice pretty soon... ***Grinding gears while D was thinking*** D: You know what guys? It's all okay, I'll just go on as usual, thank you. Gentle handshake and smiling on the way out, followed by a facepalm... P.s.: we got a ticket from him 2 TIMES that iPad doesn't receive mails. Solution: if iPad stops beeping, check it, if the battery is empty...it was basically a mail-notifier for him, all day, in a fixed position behind him on the shelf. TLDR: user wanted to work less or none, had to say things out for him. [link] [comments]  |
| Why would I do your job for you? Posted: 28 Nov 2019 11:22 PM PST First time poster, been a lurker for a while though! So, I work as a service desk employee where other employees call for technical support. Most of my calls are enjoyable, but every once in a while I'll get somebody like this. So, to set the scene: some of the computers in the environment are just dummy terminals that allow employees to access a VDI session. Due to this, anybody that uses more than one monitor at one of these terminals has to configure it before accessing their VDI. Our employees are aware that we have the ability to remote into their PCs, but we can't remote into the dummy terminals themselves. We have multiple locations across different states that our call center supports, so remoting into PCs is a regular occurrence. So, call goes like this: Me: Thanks for calling, this is JDHallows, how may I assist? Caller: I can't move my mouse onto my other screen, can you fix it for me? Me: Are you on a VDI terminal or a regular PC. Caller: VDI Me: Alright, on the VDI terminals we have to setup the monitors before you connect to the VDI. Let me email you a guide that we can go over to get those setup for you. Caller: Can't you just fix it for me? Me: Unfortunately, we don't have the ability to remote into the terminals themselves, so we will have to walk through it together. Caller: I don't understand why you can't just fix it for me, that's why I called you. Me: Ma'am, like I said, I have no way to see the system to fix it. That's why I am sending you the guide so we... Caller: Is there somebody else there that can fix it for me? Me: No, nobody here has the ability to access the terminal. I am more than happy to help you get it working though. Caller: I don't have time for this, I'm not going to do your job for you. Either you fix it or transfer me to somebody who can. At this point I started to get a frustrated, and got a little short with her. Me: I understand, but there is no way for me to remote in to fix it. That's why I need you to help me get it set up. Caller: I don't have time for this right now, I'm not going to do your job for you. I'll call back later. At this point she hung up, but the fun didn't stop there. I wrapped up my call record and jumped back into the queue. Apparently though, we were busy enough at the time that everyone else was on the phone, but there was nobody else in queue. So when I jumped back in, I got her again when she called back 3 minutes after hanging up. Me: Thanks for calling, this is JDHallows, how may I assist? Caller: ... Caller: Well JDHallows, are you willing to help me now, or do you still want me to do your job for you? Me: Like I said before, I'm happy to help, but I don't have a way to remote into your computer. This is something that shouldn't take any longer than 5 to 10 minutes to set up though, at max. Caller: No, I want YOU to fix for me or transfer me to somebody who can. Me: Unfortunately, there's nobody here that can remote in and fix it for you. But, if you would prefer though, I can schedule a technician to come out to your workstation and set it up for you personally... At this point though she was so frustrated that she wasn't even really listening and just cut me off and hung up. I waited a while to offer the technician because technically we're not supposed to. Our on-site tech support is done through a contract company, and they charge $35 just for the appointment, not including any of the actual labor. What would have took me 5 minutes to fix over the phone would have cost us $50+ to have them fix. About an hour later I went and looked, and she did call back a third time, but somebody else got it. They were somehow able to convince her to let them walk her through fixing it, though, according to their call record. [link] [comments]  |
| But you just sent the email about this being broken Posted: 28 Nov 2019 04:10 PM PST A little backstory, I am an IT student worker for the Building Science School at my university. Technically level 0/Helpdesk but only for one building and very few clients. There a few other students, plus our supervisor. There are two chains of command, the larger IT and OiT staff and the Administation staff of the school. The players in this tale are: - $ME = me - $SW2 = another student worker - $BB = Big boss (my supervisor) - $SECT = The head secretarial assistant of the Administration Staff So, last week, $BB left for the whole week on a cruise with his son. The other mid-level IT staff were away on business, so I was """in charge""" (mostly due to the fact that I have been there longest, and am the only one who has the slightest clue how to talk to BIG OIT, our shadowy overlords). This is already a recipe for disaster, and immediately things began to go wrong. Day One In the ensuing shitstorm there were many a story but this one sticks out the most. It was monday, and my week was just starting. Some SUPER IMPORTANT software that we use has an unfortunate licensing scheme that means it ALWAYS runs out right at the end of the semester. And this software is necessary for professors to grade seniors final thesis, so we always have to change their licenses on their office machines. Every year, there is an email that goes reminding them well in advanced and every year the major problem uses ignore it and then demand when install it in a lab RIGHT NOW. Well, $SW2 was in the middle of this time-honored tradition when they discovered THE ISSUE namely, that the software will not pull the new license on a lab computer. Period. Full Stop. No idea why. Well I square professor away by asking him to use it on his office machine, which is working (no idea why) and begin troubleshooting. After two hours of blind troubleshooting, I have narrowed the issue down to machines using the internal Ethernet network (Prof's lab machine is a laptop, as is policy) and I decide to send another email, telling the professor's who need this software that they can not use the lab machines this year, or any Ehternet connected machine. However, I do not have the list of professor's who need it. I subcontract this little task to $SW2 and move on to another problem (broken share link rooms ad nausem) and promptly shift it to the back burner. Day Two I start my day by receiving a broken scanner from our supplier, and I have to deal with it. I normally don't deal with the supplier but $BB is gone, god rest his soul and someone must carry the torch. During this quest, I walk down to $SECT's office and ask about the proper procedure and paperwork for sending back products to the supplier. While there, $SECT shows me an email they have drafted about the software, addressed to all the professors($SW2 had somehow gotten $SECT to do it and forgot about the "only those who need to know" clause). I sign off on it because it covers the relevant points, and save's me the trouble of writing one. Plus, $SECT has more authority than I do and people will listen to them maybe. Then the email is sent Then $SECT turns to me and says: "Can you install the $SOFTWARE on a lab machine for the School head right now?" And I am dumbfounded. Completely Shocked. "No, it does not work on lab machine's right now" "Why not???????" "not sure yet, I think it's a problem with a network policy, waiting on the network guys to get back to me" "Well, what are YOU doing about it?" Dumfounded "Wating on network..?" "Well he needs it RIGHT NOW!" "Can I put it on his office machine?" "He NEEDS it on a lap machine" "Okay.. I will get right on that" And then I left and handled all the other more important things. It's been two weeks and we still have no idea what's wrong. But we did find a pain in the ass work-around that we used on a lab machine for the school head. He hasn't used it once. Good night everybody, hope you enjoyed. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Nov 2019 05:26 AM PST I'm a phone operator for a major tech retailer. I'm not an IT professional by any means, but I get a lot of calls asking for tech support and troubleshooting despite having almost no formal training. I do the best I can and I have a wide ranging interest in tech and can do very basic phone support for most of our products, but I get a lot of calls from people who have almost no understanding of the tech they bought but basically want me to set up their devices for them over the phone instead of figuring it out themselves or paying for actual tech support. That, combined with the fact that I'm the only phone operator for our whole city (multiple stores) means that sometimes I just have to say "sorry ma'am, you're going to have to Google that one, I have 5 people waiting". Today I got a call from a lady who sounded older but not elderly. Mind you, this was about 30 minutes before closing the day before the busiest day of the year. My phone was ringing constantly the entire day and my queue was already bananas. The convo went like this: Me: Hi, thank you for calling, how may I help you today? Woman: I bought a TV from you guys recently and I'm trying to set it up. Me: Okay, what's your question? Woman: I can't figure out how to turn it on. Me: You can't figure out how to turn the TV on? Woman: Yeah, we just set it up and we can't turn it on. Can you help me?? Me: Ma'am, I'm sorry, I don't see what you're seeing and I'm not a trained technician. There should be a power button? Woman: Yeah but I can't figure it out. I need you to help me. Me: I'm so sorry, unfortunately I'm not a technician and I don't see what you're seeing so I can't tell you what the problem is. Did the TV come with a Quick Start or Set-Up guide? Woman: UGH! YES! But can't YOU just help me? Isn't that your JOB? Me: Again ma'am, I don't see what you're seeing, I don't know the model of TV, and I'm not sure what the issue is because I don't have the TV in front of me. I recommend consulting the guide or possibly checking out YouTube for a set-up guide. Woman: Oh my god, you don't even know how to turn on a TV? You're fucking stupid. Me: ... ... ... At this point, the waves of irony washed over me as I just sat there for a second, trying not to laugh at the ridiculousness of what she just said. Then she called me pathetic and hung up. [link] [comments]  |
| The mystery of the missing computer Posted: 28 Nov 2019 07:45 AM PST In my last post I mentioned that I am currently working on a project to update a bunch of computers to Windows 10. For the project I am given a list of computers that need to be updated. I then have to track down the registered user for the computer and contact them about the update. I contact most users by email. But if they don't respond I call them. Some people get really cranky and stressed if I call them. But I just remind them that I've tried to reach them by mail and they wouldn't respond. It's also worth noting that sometimes computers turn out to have been scrapped and the office didn't go through proper procedure so it remained in the system anyway. One such user got 4 emails. All of them were sent so the previous mails were visible below. I knew for a fact that he had been online several times since my first email to him. So eventually I started calling him. He ducked the first call. I waited a while and called again. This time he responded, but he was very stressed out and didn't have time to talk. He promised to call me in a few hours. To the surprise of nobody, he didn't. I called him again the next day. He, again, told me he was to busy to respond, and that he would call back again. Almost immediately after he hung up, I got a call from his manager. Manager: "Why are you disturbing my employee with all these phone calls?" He seemed completely oblivious to the fact that I had tried to end the call 2 times now. But I decided to be extra sure about the computer. Me: "So you haven't seen a computer named 69-420 somewhere?" (obviously not the computers actual name) We had now magically gone from no computers to one computer. It was progress. Me: "What's the name of that computer? It's listed with a label on top." He read each number without even hesitating a second. So he was clearly by the computer as we spoke. Me: "So 69-420?"Manager: "No. 6-9-4-2-0." It's worth noting that the numbers are written out in full like 69420. And I added the extra 0 to make it funnier to read. It's really just four numbers. He seemed incapable of reading them any other way than by each individual number. Me: "Well, that's the computer we are looking for." Obviously, you muppet. Why would the IT-department be calling him about his private computer? Me: "Yes... But User is the registered user. It doesn't really mean much mostly, but someone needs to be the registered user." I laugh at my own jokes too, so I can't really blame him. The difference is my jokes are actually funny. And there is actually a joke in them. Manager: "Yeah, so that needs to be changed. The company owns it." I really can't give a f*** at this point. Me: "Sure whatever. Is anyone using it right now or can we run the up...?" At this point I am full on sitting with my forehead on my desk in frustration. Me: "Can we update the computer?" Not really, I just couldn't be bothered to deal with this guy anymore. Manager: "Oh good. Because everybody is using it. Not just User." Fascinating. Me: "Can I run the update?" F***ing finally. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Nov 2019 11:06 AM PST Hi Everyone, A friend of mine recommended this sub to me, saying you might have a laugh. Some background info: MFA has been recently fully deployed on the company by me, so some users have come with questions regarding the best auth methods or some other minor questions, good response without much resistance by the user base. Our current configuration lets the user have an app, 2 phones and office phone, depending on what the user decides to configure, giving the user 4 ways of authenticating themselves. And they don't need to authenticate every time, just under certain conditions. So anyway, I get the following string of messages from a user: User: Hey, one question regarding MFA... if I want to access my email from a device, I would not be able to if I dont have my phone? .... Could you remove the MFA from my account? Me: Sorry, due to policies all accounts must have MFA, but let's check the situation... Only if you don't meet this simple conditions (basically not using a company issued device) you will get asked for MFA, in that case, you can use your phone with the app or text/call to prove it's you. User: What if i dont have my phone Me: well since your laptop is a company issued device, you can just use use laptop and no MFA will be asked. User: Well that if both my laptop and phone get stolen... Me: That would be an extraordinary case, and we might need to solve it differently... but since everything was stolen, where would you be checking your email? User: ooh, I would check it on my other phone... Me: And why don't you register that phone as well, it won't take more than 3 minutes. User: What if that phone gets stolen as well? Me:... In case that happens, just look for me in the office and we will sort it out. Edit: Spelling [link] [comments]  |
| Sometimes it's the simple things Posted: 28 Nov 2019 11:07 AM PST Brief backstory: I work as an L1 Service Desk tech that handles internal computer issues. So I get a call from a co-worker yesterday with an issue with her computer, don't remember exactly what. I remote in and get it fixed up and then she says that she has another issue that was submitted a month ago to our L2. I see the ticket and notice that they haven't updated in a month and take a quick glance at the ticket to see if it's something I can help with. Apparently she stopped getting emails in Outlook a month ago. I then look at her Outlook and see an email from that time frame, but on top of it is one from a month before that and other random dates. Look up and I see the problem. The "Sort By" is set to Subject. Change it to date and 2 months of unread emails are now doing up. Not sure how the original L1 tech missed it on the first try and why L2 never noticed it either and sat on it for over a month. Oh well, not my problem as the caller is happy and I was their hero for the day. [link] [comments]  |
| Wireless upgrade - when a VLAN goes MIA Posted: 28 Nov 2019 09:39 AM PST I work for a school district - this week the staff and students are off and so a couple of schools are due to have their wireless replaced with newer stuff. Now, we've already done this at a a lot of schools already (this is the 3rd phase with smaller schools). Now, I've been the one doing most of the backend work getting the AP's online but I've been teaching another tech ($newishtech) to do the final setups so I can concentrate on other stuff. This tech is good - they listen and actually take good notes. We run multiple VLAN's at the schools. The old wireless just uses a single VLAN for the AP's and devices, the new stuff has a VLAN for the AP's and 3 VLAN's for user traffic (staff, student and guest). One of the tasks is to move the new AP's into the AP VLAN and remove the old VLAN from all the switches as it's not longer needed - this is because the user traffic is tunneled to the local controller at each school and hits the network there instead of the local switch the AP is connected to. I've given the tech access to the routers as they need to reconfigure ports on the router and test stuff. Mid afternoon I get a message from the tech responsible for the site ($sitetech) about wireless issues on the new system. Me - I'm $madman, it helps being crazy - I've not added the emoticons as I can't be bothered. $sitetech - all of the chromebooks and ipads aren't working, they aren't getting on the wireless I logon to the site wireless controller and see a few devices online. The radius server is showing accepts from lots of devices at that site (with one or two rejects but that's normal). Less devices than I would expect but not unusual $newishtech - $sitetech is having issues with ipads and chromebooks $madman (to $sitetech) - what do you mean "All devices" - can you give me more information $madman (to $newishtech) - can you define 'issues' a few minutes pass and I get a reply $sitetech - I can login with an ipad is I use my staff credential but not if I use the student one $madman (to $sitetech) - so it's not all devices then, just student devices? $newishtech - I think it's the student devices, everything else seems okay Now - a small led light flickers on in my solitary braincell, I logon to the router. $madman (to $newishtech) - did you remove the student wireless VLAN from the router??? $newishtech - no, just the switches. I copy the log file from the router and paste where someone had removed the VLAN. $newishtech (after a short pause) - oops.. Meanwhile, I add the VLAN back in and make sure it's connected to the controller. $madman (to $newishtech and $sitetech) - try it now $sitetech - working now, thanks $newishtech - working, thanks for checking, can you look at $schooltheyareworkingontomorrow too? $madman (to $newishtech, after checking) - yep, that's fine. Remember when I said to be extra careful when working on the router???? $newishtech - yep. $madman (to $newishtech) - I bet you won't make that mistake again. $newishtech - nope, thanks for having my back. I'm not annoyed at $newishtech, we all make mistakes and there was a lot to do and it was the first change over they were working on so was expecting a problem or two. They took my replies as intended and will definitely learn from it. I'm going to have to talk with $sitetech and explain more about working out what the problem is located before saying everything doesn't work though - they have done similar stuff before and not learnt from it. [link] [comments]  |
| Posted: 28 Nov 2019 04:40 AM PST TL;DR check your standards 5 years ago $me: obvious $sa: documentation not his forte $im: IT manager, pretty clueless sometimes So, we are in the process of creating a new shared workspace room, flex workspaces, you know the drill. Everything is prepared, it's just we have an old part and a new part of the building. There is cabling in between but it is old CAT5 and really on the edge of maximum length so throughput is already an issue. Let alone when we connect another roomful of devices. We're looking for alternatives. $sa: "Hi $im, I seem to have found a connection directly between the buildings, it is patched on this port, this row, this rack in the department closet and this rack, this row, this port in the main switching closet." $im: "Excellent, if that is true, the length will be WAY shorter than we have now. $me, can you check and verify this cable works?" I set off to connect this thing to a switchport and check on the other side if I have connection with a laptop. Yup. We all know I made mistake #2. #1: did check if it is patched in the first place, on both side I might add (I checked and saw twisted pairs on that port) #2: didn't check what kind of cable is in there So, I check and get connection, 10Mbit and it is spotty. This is when I check what cable is in there. Ah, it is twisted at least but going into a 50-pair telecoms bundle. *facepalm\* Needless to say, I told them to pull a string of fiber both left and right side of the buildings so it will have enough throughput and can be made redundant, given the fact they were renovating the building at the time. Chances were high one side would be snipped at any time. [link] [comments]  |
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