(no subject)

[mustangracer.livejournal.com]

I work with credit card terminals.

One of our "UBER IMPORTANT" (Head up ass!) client calls with an issue hitting an SSL address, keeps failing. I do some basic troubleshooting and tell them I will double check something with the device maker.
They have 2 models of devices that are identical except one is PN #AAA and one is PN#AAB. I have both of those in my inventory so I try to recreate the issue. No dice. Everything works fine here.

Must be their network (they have a jacked up setup). Of course, they say "NO WAY! OUR NETWORK IS UBER! Our IT guy is a god and you are dumb!"

So, they decide that they need to send me the "broken" equipment.

I plug it in. Nope. Doesn't work on my network either. Defective?

Since we didn't sell this specific piece O crap to them...I tell them to get a hold of the device reseller and troubleshoot it.

2 days - crickets.

I email them to see how they want their doorstops shipped back and the EVP has a holy hissy fit on me.
"Why didn't I do more? Why didn't I call their reseller and figure it out??"

Like you assholes are my only client and this isn't costing my company money that we will never get from you.

I take another look. Date's wrong in the device memory.
It's gone back to 2001.

DHCP. SSL certificates expired 11/22/2001.

God they are morons. Who doesn't fix the date/time on something before they even play with it?

Change date/time - renew/release the IP.

Huh, image that. SSL cert date of 10/06/2011 - works fine...

Comments

[lihan161051.livejournal.com]

God they are morons. Who doesn't fix the date/time on something before they even play with it?

Especially when SSL is choking. That's usually the first thing out of my brain when an SSL connection craps out -- date/time skew on the client fooling it into thinking the SSL cert is expired (or in the future, which will break it too). I can only imagine what a mess they'd make of Kerberos .. "what does it mean, "clock skew too great"? .. :p )

[jokergirl.livejournal.com]

I wonder how the date got changed though? Battery dead? Or was it never set from the beginning? It sounded a little like it just stopped working in the description...

[mouser.livejournal.com]

Messed up NTP? Or one set screwey because there's some piece of software that expires and they're too cheap renew it?

[mustangracer.livejournal.com]

Maker of the device has had EPIC battery issues in the past. I'm sure it's related.

But seriously? If you are going to get all high and mighty with my tech skills...check the f'ing DATE on the device first!

[cheezemeister-x.livejournal.com]

Now send them a bill for your work.

I have clients that make stupid mistakes like that. They get one freebie, and then the next time they get a bill for my minimum charge, which is $525.

[featheredfrog.livejournal.com]

Now send them a bill for your work BEFORE you return the device.

$50.00 to perform the fix.
$4500.00 for knowing how to perform the fix.
--------
$5000.00

[pauamma]

You forgot "$450.00 for not noticing my typos" in invisible email ink. :-)