(no subject)

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

Reading the post about salesmen who don't listen reminded me of a call I got the other day, that reaaally annoyed me.

Me: Good morning Blah Servicedesk, Bekki Speaking
idiot: Hi, can I please speak to a technician who can help me with a computer problem
Me: Yeeees, you've rung the servicedesk, that's what we're here for, how can I help you?

Turns out, the guy was using the wrong username *rolls eyes*

I dunno if I'm over sensitive because I'm the only female on our desk (aside from our team leader, but she doesn't take calls), but it always gets on my nerves when people assume I can't help them. Sure, I don't know everything, but at least let me trouble shoot with you first.

Comments

[normal1.livejournal.com]

I hear ya, I'm not a female but I have a friend here that gets that all the time. its either that or the guy on the phone that doesnt wanna hang up cause he's "lonely".

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

It always reminds me of this (http://www.queenofwands.net/d/20040324.html) web comic

[tmercenary.livejournal.com]

I wonder if people assume they have gotten hold a receptionist or something when a female phone-tech answers?

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

That's what I think, definitely. That's why I get so defensive when someone acts like that, because I *am* a tech, and am perfectly capable of helping them.

[tmercenary.livejournal.com]

Must be a sterotype people get used to or something. I know when I call the car dealer to have my car serviced, I've 90-95% of the time gotten a female answering the initial call, and the first thing I say is "I need my car serviced" they forward me to the service department, where a guy would usually answer. I guess it's a cultural thing with the way some people are. Whenever I call a business looking to give them some $$$ for services, I don't care who answers, I always ask something to the effect of "This is what I need, can you help?" If not, they either know someone who does and xfer me, or suggest I try someplace else. The helpdesk isn't any different. I don't know why some people assume that it is.

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

I can understand all that, with a car dealer you're ringing the business, not the service department directly, so you'd expect a receptionist. But if you call the number for IT Help, you've gotta expect it to be answered by someone who can help you with IT

[loosechanj.livejournal.com]

One place I worked, if we had to logon while the luser wasn't around, we had to tape a little note with their lusername on it. Or they'd never be able to logon again.

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, I can soooo see that! We're having trouble with out exchange migration, and one of the issues is that their email display name is changing to their network login. No one can grasp this! "Oh yes, my login has been spelt wrong for 6 months, but that shouldn't have anything to do with my email display suddenly changing to the same incorrect spelling".

Had one guy, I tried explaining it to him because his supervisors mail name had changed. I asked if he knew the other guys login name "i don't know his password" - it went downhill from there. I tried talking him through a login screen, and how it has username, password and login to, and he would not believe it had anything on that screen other than password.

Ended up ringing the receptionist at his (very small) site, and got 1/4 through explaining it, and she completely grasped the whole thing, and said "so because his login name is spelt strange, his email is showing that strange spelling! Thanks for all your help!"

[annamaryse.livejournal.com]

OH God ya. Happens all the time. On my team, the MANAGER can't stand that a girl might know something. We do a lot of QA shit for our company (during imaginary down time) and I always get a feeling that he doesn't care when I find something, rather than congratulating me or pointing out to the team that I found this or that. It's terrible. He told me today that if he and one of the guys are trying to work out a problem and I pipe in the answer, he feels like I'm a "Know it All".

I'm really confused. Why should they waste company time trying to figure something out that was already worked out before or that should already be common knowledge, and if they missed the memo and I mention it, why is that wrong? He wants me to stand back and let them try to work it out, which confuses me because these were incidents were the thing was already worked out by other research elsewhere in the company. I don't get it. I really don't. *scratches head*

What the hell, company still gave me a 17% raise today. God, what a weird world.

Sorry, I needed to vent, you touched a nerve. BTW you may want to check out a sister community techgirls

Cheers.

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

Damn, how frustrating for you :( I bet you're even more sensitive than me about even the sliightest suggestion from a luser that you might not be the best person to help them.

Speaking of common knowledge stuff - One of the guys who thinks he's great deployed the wrong package to one of our users, who then rang up and explained that there's two packages with different numbers, and he needs the other one. I fixed it up, then hunted down the email my manager sent 3 weeks ago explaining which package to use, and explaining *why* two packages exists. The other guy replies "Why don't the idiots delete the other one then?"

[jcaswell.livejournal.com]

Know that feeling...only I get it face to face. There was one new teacher this week, came into my office (which has a big sign on it saying Jo Caswell - ICT Support Specialist) and asked where the technicians were. "I'm right here", I replied. "Oh. You're a technician?". The worst of it was I'd been fixing problems in the classroom she was in all morning - and had bloody helped her a couple of times!

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

People are nuts. "oh no, that woman couldn't have been fiiiiixing the problems in the classroom, noooo she must have been cleaning them! She can't be a technician! I wonder if ICT means cleaning?"

[darkblade1.livejournal.com]

I just had that today. I am also not a female, but I know techs who are female and most of them are better than some of the guys we have here. Some guy today kept ripping on this female tech. Honestly, how can you be so insensitive? Has anyone in your life ever taught you some f*in manners?

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

Exactly! That's the worst part, I think, the lack of manners that it shows, That and the utter lack of respect for the techs.

Always brilliant ripping on someones colleague, too :P