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People feel quite threatened by IT staff often. People depend on something they don't understand for their jobs and professions, and this makes for an uncomfortable situation. Just because things are obvious to the geeks among us, doesn't mean that everyone should know, and IT people need to understand that.
In this particular case, it seems safe to say that the caller would know a computer needed to be turned on. He probably just didn't think of it - after all, we've all struggled with something only to find it was something ridiculously obvious we forgot about. In that situation, the last thing you need is some small minded disposable peon who earns a quarter of what you do taking the piss and assuming you're thick.
IT geeks need to learn how to deal with human beings as well as machines - on the whole.
(btw I work in IT)
andym, I did, exact words were "No offence intended it was just a bit of (private) banter, but if you do feel that way then I honestly apologise"
*holds up hands*
Sorry - I didn't read the thread carefully enough.
Hmm my last post disapeared.
Anyway, it's always interesting to read about other folks workplaces as it's a far cry from the world I work in.
Put it this way. The dimwit that did'nt turn on the computer and then wasted the time of another work colegue would be the one brought to task not you. And I would sugest that being that sensitive that perhaps working with other people is perhaps the wrong thing to be doing.
An example of the last diciplinary I heard (I was actually in another building across the road) basically consisted of words begining with F and C preceeded by the word 'You' shouted load enough to worry runway protesters.
molgrips I take your point, but working in IT yourself you'd be honestly surprised how often this user can be so ****in stooooopid. Probably the most IT illiterate person in the whole company, and BTW I aint no ****in geek you mo fo!!
WELL SOME PEOPLE DO NEED A KICK UP THE ARSE ... if confronted by managers etc, explain to them the amount of worktime that was lost because the staff they employ need their hands held all the time etc, the fact you were ther doing the job you are paid to do is a bonus to him and not a drain on his resources - ( in effect turn the complaint around).
Grumm - I wouldn't want to work with someone who found that sort of thing funny and thought it was ok to share around, the one I'm talking about was worse though.
[i]molgrips I take your point, but working in IT yourself you'd be honestly surprised how often this user can be so ****in stooooopid. Probably the most IT illiterate person in the whole company, and BTW I aint no ****in geek you mo fo!![/i] I've never worked in IT or 'know' IT however I bet said person is probably quite lazy in certain other ways as well and routinely gets her way/people to do menial things for her 😉
Only today Ive had someone in their 30's walking round the office asking if anyone had a calculator. The fact that EVERY ****ing computer has one loaded didnt occur to him.
you cant deny it, and youve pissed off a customer, the customer is always right.
if it comes to anything, apologise and be humble.
if it goes further than a complaint, use the fact that it was a private work email and she shouldnt have been snooping (even if it was your colleagues fault for leaving it on there)
using IT as an "excuse" not to use their brains is too common. If I had my way I'd horse whip the lot of 'em. Sh*t job, can you tell?
But lets face it this customer must be a total knob if they can't come up with a cutting putdown for some one in IT!
I've found "have you ever kissed a girl?" can have a quite devistating affect.
[i]"have you ever kissed a girl?"[/i]
Pwnd.
[i]"have you ever kissed a girl?"[/i]
To which the correct reply is:
'I've kissed yer mum, does that count?'
I did more than kiss his mum
Or "whens your job going to india then?"
As soon as I've finished f******g your mum
"I did more than kiss his mum"
I bet you tried to hold her hand as well.
No my hands were covered in lube
[i]using IT as an "excuse" not to use their brains is too common[/i]
100% yes! Funny isn't it? You get a constant stream idiotic requests which can virtually always be answered by simply looking at the screen or applying a modicum of common sense. Not uber-geek knowledge, just a bit of common sense. This is apparently because people 'aren't technical' or 'don't understand computers'.
However, it's not uncommon for IT staff to have to build project plans, manage budgets, deal with suppliers and customers, manage resource and be ready to provide reams of management speak to senior management. In short, they're expected to do the same things that all the non-technical users do but aren't allowed to apply a catch all 'I'm not commercial' get out.
You've apologised, make sure you've saved the apology, tell whoever is acting as your boss and forget about it.
"No my hands were covered in lube"
IT geek in hand full of lube shock! You been watching star trek by yourself again? You'll go blind.
If it makes you feel better assuming I'm a geek then well done give yourself a gold star you tw*t. Me thinks your the sort of character we've been discussing.
He shoots - he scores!
Try not to cry now, never mind eh. There might be some reruns off Red dwarf on later.
WTF? You keep hiding behind your keyboard boy
What's wrong with being a geek?
sounds too much like greek, oh sh*t I'm a racist!
A greek geek covered in lube with someones mum and a keyboard??.........am I on right website?!
"WTF? You keep hiding behind your keyboard boy"
Why what you going to do? Slice me intwain with your light sabre?
Grow up or haven't been humiliated enough today?
Kick you in half?
speshpaul what do you do for a living?
sounds too much like greek, oh sh*t I'm a racist!
Possibly, but mainly just a tool.
You could, god forbid, ring them up & apologise directly.
I doubt it would be taken any further if they did complain & it came to light that you had apologised directly.
I complained to Hoover about a vacuum cleaner we bought a few years ago, The thing was a newly released model & it was pretty poor quality. I had an email back from a customer service woman telling me to contact some helpline. But scrolling down it had been forwarded to her from a customer service manager...& his exact words were...
"Contact this idiot & see if we can pacify the bloody whinger"
After forwarding it to the CEO of Hoover UK I was given a refund.
Apologise and laugh it off. I've seen it happen before and in my experience it dies down quickly and seems a big issue to you at the moment but just amusing to others.
I'd be suprised it it came to anything, as Takisawa2 says call them up and eat humble pie, it should leave them nowhere to go.
fight fight fight fight etc
Today i am mostly baiting Geeks on the interweb.
Why, what do you want to do when you grow up?
Hey Spesh you wanna fight?
"Hey Spesh you wanna fight?"
PMSL
Oh dear. And you wonder why you are in the cack at work.
If only we could somehow send a link to this thread to the colleague. 😛
This reminds me of the NTL email that did the rounds a few years ago that culminated in:
"you're clearly too stupid to own or operate a computer so go to your cupboard, get the boxes out, pack it away and do us all a favour" or summit like 😆
thats quite amusing grumm
All this just reminds me how much I hate being office based these days
Spent a good part of my working life supervising roadworks contractors and in general apart from the odd heated argument here and there which was always settled over a pint or two after work we had a good laugh and a joke
The last few years has been spent with desk jockeys and they are for the most part so easily offended and acutely sensitive. All this old crap about not showing them any respect in front of others if you mention they have messed up.
It seems the men are far worse than the women especially the middle aged gents. Just tell this bloke to mind his own business and don't go poking about if you are that easily offended.
Somebody has just forward a link to this thread.
I can't believe that after insulting me via email and then sending a clearly insincere appology the GEEK has the nerve to start a internet chat room thread on the subject. I will definately be taking this to my manager.
Thanks to WCA for letting me use his log in and explaining what a chat room thread is.
Class thread, but do we know for sure that the colleague isn't already reading and/or contributing to the thread????
you could have done worse, my brother emailed his mate talking about how the boss was a nazi. obviously using an automated address system the software duly summoned up his mates name and email address.
sadly the boss in question has a similar name, can you guess what happened next children?
that's right! he was made unemployed
we'll never stop laughing at him about it
I somehow managed to set up an auto-response email that auto-replied and cc'd everyone in my address book to tell them i was out of the office, rather than reply to any address and tell them i was out.
I then had the joy of explaining to my manager at the time why a number of our clients had received emails, cc'd back to all the addresses in my contacts from my Mate John, calling me a stupid kunt etc etc.
Suffice to say a lot of individual emails were sent out on my return, crawling and licking.
Remember revising a colleagues auto replay to something like
Simon will be out of the office until the 26th. On returning please refer to her as Sandra
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