Coworker vent

[Feralpeg]

Why do people insist on exaggerating problems?

I work in IT support. Coworker comes back and say "I can't print anything." (note the 'Anything'). So I go to her desk, open up the printer properties, print a test page, no problem. She says "I can't print a document the boss emailed."

I go into her email program and go to print a random email. "Oh, I can print that. I can't print a document the boss emailed.". So we track that email down and try to open the attachment. It won't OPEN (and you get a popup saying it won't open) because it was saved in a newer version of Microsoft Word.

She says "that's the popup I keep getting". So she:
1) CAN print most things
2) Gets a popup saying a document can't be opened
3) Tells us she can't print ANYTHING.

Do people really not understand the difference between 'printing' and 'opening'?

Being in IT support for any length of time, you should know that many people are very computer illiterate. I worked in IT for 30 years. I designed and implemented software for clients around the world. Most of them had no idea what was happening when they had a problem. It almost aways took a series of questions to determine the real problem. Often times, it wasn't a problem, but a lack of understanding on the client's part.

Try to see the issue from their point of view and move on. Life's too short to sweat the small stuff.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

My favorite is when I call for help, they walk me through an entire protoco that I have already completed since "9 times out of 10" it resolves the issue. "Did that fix it?" "No." "Did that fix it?" "No." "Did that fix it?". "Nope, just like I told you it wouldn't at the beginning of the call because I already did all those things."

Then they are surprised that something is actually malfunctioning. I guess it is due to the genius folks y'all deal with.

 

[sam_gordon]

1) I was never rude, short, or condescending to my coworker.
2) I am happy I have a job.
3) I get that support people have to ask questions to get "the real problem".

I still don't think people should exaggerate their problem. What's wrong with some honesty?

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

1) I was never rude, short, or condescending to my coworker.
2) I am happy I have a job.
3) I get that support people have to ask questions to get "the real problem".

I still don't think people should exaggerate their problem. What's wrong with some honesty?

I wouldn't call it lying. Perhaps she just doesn't get the concept of troubleshooting. To imply she is actually lying is silly. What does she gain by having a personal visit from you regarding a document not opening let alone printing?

 

[Jennasis]

I find many IT people to be really intolerant of those with little to no computer savvy. DH is an IT guy and I spend a good deal of time reminding him that plenty of people are complete idiots when it comes to computers (I am) and to just smile and deal with them.

 

[ols386]

Believe me, there is plenty of job security. I don't mind helping folks, in fact I kind of enjoy it. But why not say "I can't open the attachment the boss sent"?
Of course, this is the same person who did not know...
1) How to change the wallpaper on the computer
2) How to change the screen saver settings
3) That if a program isn't on the desktop does NOT mean it's not installed

It sounds like that co-worker mis-spoke.

I don't think knowing the difference between 'open' and 'print' should take a computer genius. Keep in mind, I'm not talking proprietary software. I talking basic Windows XP. But again, she didn't come to me saying "I can't print this one document", it was "I can't print ANYTHING." Which she KNEW was a lie because when I sat down at her desk and went to print something "Oh, I can print that."

IT support is only part of my role. I have other responsibilities too.

I think it's interesting that you say she was lying. Again, she could have mis-spoken.

This sounds like my teaching mentor when when student # 36 walked in and I was out of desks! I don't think he is not grateful for his job, he is just venting about his inept coworkers!

Vent away OP...

Our IT guy has us keep a log of what happens when and what program we were using and ya-da, ya-da... It has made an improvement in getting our issues solved! More details the better!

Whatever. I'll give my input just like the op vents, because it's a discussion board.

Inept? Just because someone isn't computer savvy doesn't make them inept.

1) I was never rude, short, or condescending to my coworker.
2) I am happy I have a job.
3) I get that support people have to ask questions to get "the real problem".

I still don't think people should exaggerate their problem. What's wrong with some honesty?

I think you're making a mountain out of a mole hill, but it's your thread.

 

[kelleigh1]

It's a VENT!

OP is frustrated. Wanted to get it off his chest. Wasn't looking for people to tell him how to handle it or to tell him that he was right or wrong. Just wanted to VENT.

This is why I don't vent on message boards...because I don't want the criticism or the attacks.

 

[sam_gordon]

I wouldn't call it lying. Perhaps she just doesn't get the concept of troubleshooting. To imply she is actually lying is silly. What does she gain by having a personal visit from you regarding a document not opening let alone printing?

She says "I can't print anything."
I get to her desk and she says "Oh, that prints fine."

That's "not getting the concept of troubleshooting"?

Yes, it was a "little white lie" or "stretching the truth" or whatever you want to call it. It was an INTENTIONAL misrepresentation.

In truth, she did have a problem. I'm not discounting that. Why is it wrong for me to want accuracy when someone is reporting a problem? Do I EXPECT it? No. But it would be nice.

 

[Boston Tea Party]

I am on your side, IT dude. DH is in IT.

He arrived home from Canada after an 11 day trip, went to work this morning, and is now stuck there because of a glitch with the security system for a remote location - one of the many hats he wears.

Meanwhile...everyone else is gone to begin their holiday while he waits for the alarm people.

Sounds like you need to file this lady under the cries wolf tab...

 

[ols386]

It's a VENT!

OP is frustrated. Wanted to get it off his chest. Wasn't looking for people to tell him how to handle it or to tell him that he was right or wrong. Just wanted to VENT.

This is why I don't vent on message boards...because I don't want the criticism or the attacks.

You don't vent on the dis boards and not expect people to give you their opinions.

There are no attacks. Just opinions.

 

[ead79]

I feel your pain, but sometimes you've got to acknowledge that IT folks can be bristly to anyone who isn't a computer expert.

Sometimes it makes me chuckle when one of the older folks at our office has a computer issue and IT comes to help them. Sometimes it's something really basic, but the older folks just didn't grow up exposed to computers the way us younger folks did.

That being said, sometimes I just can't come up with a clever or intelligent sounding way to describe my computer problem. In fact, my old computer at work went out in a blaze of glory that even the IT folks hadn't observed before. It made a sound like the launching of an airplane off an aircraft carrier, then it proceeded to reboot itself constantly and at such a fast rate that you couldn't even get into the BIOS or make it stop without literally unplugging it from the wall. There was no way to describe that intelligently, so I just had to tell them that my computer had lost its mind and was rebooting itself in an endless loop.

The IT guy at my dad's office has literally insulted him multiple times. I'm the first to admit that my dad is less than computer savvy. We're working on it, believe me. He also doesn't like change, so if he's had Outlook 2003 for years and knows where all the buttons are, getting Outlook 2010 is really going to throw him for a loop. However, when helping my dad with a problem, the IT guy literally told him, "I hope you didn't reproduce." Keep in mind that my dad outranks the IT guy by several levels, so that doesn't seem the proper way to address a superior to me. So my dad might not be a computer genius, but he is an engineering genius, which the IT guy is not. So it goes both ways.

 

[sam_gordon]

I feel your pain, but sometimes you've got to acknowledge that IT folks can be bristly to anyone who isn't a computer expert.

Sometimes it makes me chuckle when one of the older folks at our office has a computer issue and IT comes to help them. Sometimes it's something really basic, but the older folks just didn't grow up exposed to computers the way us younger folks did.

That being said, sometimes I just can't come up with a clever or intelligent sounding way to describe my computer problem. In fact, my old computer at work went out in a blaze of glory that even the IT folks hadn't observed before. It made a sound like the launching of an airplane off an aircraft carrier, then it proceeded to reboot itself constantly and at such a fast rate that you couldn't even get into the BIOS or make it stop without literally unplugging it from the wall. There was no way to describe that intelligently, so I just had to tell them that my computer had lost its mind and was rebooting itself in an endless loop.

The IT guy at my dad's office has literally insulted him multiple times. I'm the first to admit that my dad is less than computer savvy. We're working on it, believe me. He also doesn't like change, so if he's had Outlook 2003 for years and knows where all the buttons are, getting Outlook 2010 is really going to throw him for a loop. However, when helping my dad with a problem, the IT guy literally told him, "I hope you didn't reproduce." Keep in mind that my dad outranks the IT guy by several levels, so that doesn't seem the proper way to address a superior to me. So my dad might not be a computer genius, but he is an engineering genius, which the IT guy is not. So it goes both ways.

But you see, I was never rude to my coworker. For some reason, others on here acted like I cut her down in front of everyone. I guess they read what they want to read and assume the way things are written is EXACTLY what happened. But you know what happens when you assume.

I have no problem with someone coming to me and saying "I have a problem and I don't know how to describe it."

However, what no one has been able to answer why it's OK to give WRONG information INTENTIONALLY. Yes, I get "misspeaking". I get not understanding what you're talking about. But saying "I can't print ANYTHING" when you KNOW there are somethings you CAN print is OK?

 

[doxdogy]

OP I understand your venting. I am by no means IT support, but I always get the why won't it do this question from my bosses. From what can't I get a secure tunnel to why won't it print for me. Or they will ask me how to do something and when I show them tell me forget it too much to remember. Which means, next time I will have to do it for them. By the way they are not "older" workers. They are both younger than me. I am almost old enough to be their mothers.

 

[Feralpeg]

I know that troubleshooting can be frustrating, but I doubt that she intentionally lied to you. It's about phrasing. Have you never said something like "Well, that was a disaster"? In reality, it may have been bad, but certainly not a disaster. It's like saying "I hate that". Most people don't really hate things when they say that. It's just a form of exaggeration.

I realize you are venting, but if this sort of thing gets to you, support may not be your thing. This is what IT support is all about. It's about taking what seems to be a huge problem for the user and figuring out that it's not a big deal at all. Look at it on the bright side, often, people will think you're amazing!

 

[sam_gordon]

deleted. It's probably better to let the thread die.

 

[Feralpeg]

But see, I could turn that around to people on this thread who think I'm overreacting... this really wasn't a big deal. I didn't make it into a big deal. I posted on the Dis to "get it off my chest" and I'm made out like I'm about to bring an automatic rifle into the office.

I've been in "official" support for 10 years, and "unofficially" for about 7 before that... yea, it's not my thing. I *KNOW* part of support is digging down and figuring out what the real problem is. Why is it too much to ask people to be accurate?

If someone posted on the Dis that the ADR system wasn't working, but then it turned out the computer they were on was blocked by a corporate firewall, wouldn't they be taken to task? Yes, I'm over simplifying.

I never got the impression that you made it a big deal. You're venting. I totally understand that.

As for asking for accurate...won't happen. At least, not all the time. After 30 years in the business, I can assure you that people are of a couple of types.

1. Didn't really pay attention to the details...just know there is a problem.
2. Exaggerator
3. Think they know what is happening and skew the facts accordingly.

They don't do it to be difficult. It's just who they are.

Let it go and have a good holiday!

 

[ols386]

But you see, I was never rude to my coworker. For some reason, others on here acted like I cut her down in front of everyone. I guess they read what they want to read and assume the way things are written is EXACTLY what happened. But you know what happens when you assume.

I have no problem with someone coming to me and saying "I have a problem and I don't know how to describe it."

However, what no one has been able to answer why it's OK to give WRONG information INTENTIONALLY. Yes, I get "misspeaking". I get not understanding what you're talking about. But saying "I can't print ANYTHING" when you KNOW there are somethings you CAN print is OK?

I didn't think you were rude to the co-worker, nor did I think you cut them down in front of everyone.

Still don't think from what you describe that your co-worker did anything INTENTIONALLY. I think you MIGHT POSSIBLY have read that into the situation (although you were there, so maybe you know best).

I guess I'm not saying it's ok, but is it going to change anything if the co-worker actually said it intentionally or not?

 

[ols386]

I was just wondering, if the co-worker did say it intentionally, would that been of some benefit to her? Did she have something to gain if it were intentional?

 

[sam_gordon]

I guess I'm not saying it's ok, but is it going to change anything if the co-worker actually said it intentionally or not?

No, it doesn't change a thing. As someone else said, it's the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome. I'm sure anyone in support can tell you they have known "problem children". When people exaggerate like that, they get a reputation. And believe me, support people talk.

I did have someone tell me what they classify certain failures as...I-D-10-T.

This one was not one of those (she did have a problem), but I still find that classification amusing.

 

[ols386]

No, it doesn't change a thing. As someone else said, it's the "boy who cried wolf" syndrome. I'm sure anyone in support can tell you they have known "problem children". When people exaggerate like that, they get a reputation. And believe me, support people talk.

I did have someone tell me what they classify certain failures as...I-D-10-T.

This one was not one of those (she did have a problem), but I still find that classification amusing.

You're talking to a non-IT person, and I have no idea what that means, lol.

What does it mean?