Open apology to the community

[kizayaen.livejournal.com]

I'd like to take a few moments of the community's time to try and smooth some of the feathers ruffled by my previous post, requesting the removal of fiannnachruinne's post. I'm not ordinarily a person who likes to make excuses for my actions, but I am one who likes to illustrate the reasons for them, so my reasons and full apology follow below. For those of you who don't care or would rather not see it, feel free to skip ( the cut tag )

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7 years...

[fiannnachruinne.livejournal.com]

7 years today. Okay, technically yesterday at this point of the night. I have been working here on the support phones for 7 years (disregarding a few weeks of training). I can't believe it's really been that long. I think I went numb and past the point of burn out long ago. There are certainly worse jobs out there. Particularly on 3rd shift, things are pretty lax around here and we actually get a fair bit of free time so I guess I really can't complain too much. And I get 4 wks of vacation next year. The company is generous with that. Yay!

A few of the funniest things I've seen.

A tech on the way out set up a message rule to forward the message out to the whole floor. Of course everyone starts replying and everything goes back out to the floor.

Once had a customer call me because the CDs kept falling out of her CDROM drive. System was a desktop chassis. I had her turn the system over.

Two techs for whatever reason set up a rule to auto reply to each other, I believe with some sort of largish attachment. I'm sure you can guess what happened the first time one sent the other a message. It quickly escalated and brought down the entire mail server for some time. They are no longer employed here.

One of my most memorable customers I worked with for weeks. She was convinced her computer was possessed. She claimed it was doing all sort of things I knew should be impossible. Finally near the end, she sent me in a video tape to show me the kind of stuff it was doing. She was messing around in the bios, I think there was some sort of linux involved. I don't know WHAT she was doing. Unfortunately I didn't get to see that video, it was given to the L2s and I only got to see a couple of minutes of it and never the whole thing. Though as I understand it, copies were made. I need to hit a couple of them up to see if I can get a copy.

W00T! [off topic, I know]

[jecook]

The contract job I have ended yesterday.

The permanent job I got from it starts Tuesday. I is a happy kat.

And it's so much less stress. even when I walk in to a 7 hour power outage and the server is half shut down due to the fact that the A/C plant feeding cold air to said server room was not on a generator circuit and half the windows servers ( including the one that runs the help desk software) are OFF due to thermal overload. Fortunately, the ones that actually run the company don't have that sort of idiocy running, and they are also far less dense, space wise. (i.e., a pair of RS/6000 machines tied to some very custom hardware, and also a cute little AS/400)

I'll still have tales of idiocy, fortunately. Even some from co-workers. (and myself even. ::cowers::) Because no matter the industry, people are still dumb, panicy herd animals that tend to forget their passwords.

(no subject)

[katyism.livejournal.com]

This isn't directly tech related, but those of you who work in call centers like mine might sympathize.

I am damn tired of taking the fall when someone gets transferred to my line and my department can't help them. It always goes something like this:

Them: Hi, they transferred me to you guys to ask about my mother's shoe size / find legal help / hook me up with a hot coed / something stupid.
Me: This is the computer helpdesk, I'm afraid that's not a question we can answer. Who transferred you to us?
Them: They did when I called.
Me: Who did, who did you originally call?
Them: I called the operator / financial aid office / kinsey institute / something strange.
Me: I see, and did they say why they transferred you to us?
Them: They couldn't help me, they said you could.
Me: We can only help with computer problems.
Them: Well, they said you could help me. So you are saying you can't?
Me: No, I'm afraid they transferred you to the wrong department. I'm sorry, but I don't handle that subject matter, and I don't know who does.
Them: Well, this is just really terrible customer service.
Me: I'd be happy to send you back to the operator, maybe you'll get a different operator who knows what department you need to talk to.
Them: She told me you were the right department!
Me: There are several operators working at any time. I'll transfer you, explain the situation, and make sure the operator who answers knows what it is you need.
Them: You guys are always so rude when I call, this is really terrible way to treat your students / professors / janitorial staff.
Me: I see no record that you've ever called us before. Just a moment please *transfer*

Our new mascot...

[ebtb.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we should really sign this guy up to be our spokesperson ESPECIALLY since his spelling and grammar is flawless. I'm already cringing over the fact that he's posting everywhere. I'm sure he's done more damage than good.  LOL I've replaced all mentioning of my company and products with "your comany" and "your product", btw. Other than that, I changed nothing - which is sad.

To Support>>>>>>.
I'm Pushing allof yourProducts on my Web-page plus , in Smart-Computing forums,Cnet forums,Wilders,Forums, Castle-cop forums,and about 3 other Security forums.
I also am Reporting the News from the your blog to the SmartComputing Question$Anwser's Forum.
I am a up, todate Beta Tester for your products and member,of RRT 2005-2006  Beta-Tester name =Dogteams1.
Also i've owned your products since 2005.
I've also tested Weboots SpySweeper 5.0 which i give a thumbs down" to.Because its buggie and also tell all the forums i'm on not to use it.
I've Tested Zone-Alarm" which has everything but the kichen sink throwed into it.My rateing is Dont't use it.
Also i've tested Ewido" which being its free i recomend useing it with your antispyware program plus SpywareBlaster,And a souped up Host's file Also use Marks Rootkit-Revealer from the S Web-page.
My qustion is i can't contact (Alex on his blog to report to him?So could u send this on to him our tell me how i can,help more in Reporting the great news from the your Blog plus all your great Products.
And one more thing is it all-right to post News about your company to keep these great Products going.
Really i would like to be a out in the field Reporter for your company.Which i love doing, for free i don't expect anything,back .I also do a lot of sniffing for these bad guys on the net.I'm going to keep on tracking them down.

    Yours Truly XXXXXXX ( I hate
Spyware&Virus's,Spam,Malware).ect

Taste of blood

[patgund.livejournal.com]

While pulling a fiber channel card out of a G5, I got cut by the blasted thing.

Now I have to figure out what to do with the card. I mean, now that it's developed a taste for blood, I can't just put it up with the rest of the fiber channel cards in storage, it may escape out of the pack and go feral, preying on faculty and medical students in small, dark corners of the school building........

(no subject)

[kizayaen.livejournal.com]

I have decided that it is a new psychological imperative to own a T-shirt which reads:

"I am NOT 'tech-savvy.' I am a motherfucking TECH SUPPORT NINJA."

Seriously, does that phrase annoy the hell out of the rest of you like it does me?

(no subject)

[bornofchaos.livejournal.com]

I want a geek shirt. I give. Any suggestions? Please not one that'll get me fired. Although in fairness, my company is pretty easy-going, mostly 'cos HR don't know what RTFM means. Or PEBKAC.

2 memorable ones today:

Sweetie, you're gay. As a five tent carnival. Acting all surprised when you said "Honey, go easy. I'm a poof" and I said "So I gathered", is funny, but c'mon. Although I will give credit where it's due. I came into work like a fire-breathing bitch, and by the end of the call, you had me clutching myself with laughter. But for Gods sake, stop using your postcode as a password. When I said I'd go over and beat some sense into you, I meant it.

Second was a 53 year old "silver surfer" who stumbled up one of those "Here's your IP, here's your OS, here's what you had for breakfast" sites. And got quite upset when his IP came back. As French. Because he's a proud Briton, you see. And he can't have the internet at large thinking he's from France. But apart from that case of mild....idiocy, he was quite nice.Very enthusiastic. Retired, nothing to do, so he bought himself a top of the range machine and is basically trying to figure it out, one piece at a time. So I threw www.dnsstuff.com at him and told him to email me with any questions.

I've created a monster.

One question though. Why would it do that? I admit when I'm clueless, and happily he accepted my "it sometimes does that when internet traffice is particularly high" non-explanation. But I'm curious. And my Google-fu is defeated by my vodka.

I really hope there's not some policy on not posting here while twisted. 'Cos I been breaking it since I joined. But I'm drinking on yer behalf as well. Or doing my damned best to anyway.