And the hits just keep on comin'

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

I've had about three times as many calls with stupid issues as the ones I'm going to detail here, but the other issues would only sound stupid to someone familiar with details of my work's policies, so here are the generic ones:

(Background:  I work in the email/remote access queue for internal tech support.  Not hardware support or anything else like that.  I know how to do hardware support, but other people get paid for that, so call them!)

1.  Guy with nearly 2GB personal folder wants to know why he can't move more email into it.
2.  Wireless network in hotel keeps dropping client, they don't know how to fix it, so that's my fault.
3.  Lady two time zones away from me, working from home, spills coffee on her portable computer's keyboard, it no longer POSTs, and she wants to know what I am going to do about getting her onto the company Intranet so that she can do her work.

Lady calls up, saying that she is trying to dial in to AT&T (note: we use AT&T, but we are not AT&T) so that she can use that to connect to VPN to get to our company's Intranet.  OK, fine so far.

HER:  I don't usually use AT&T, you understand, so it's been awhile.
ME:  OK... (thinking she will just ask to have her password reset or something)
HER:  Yeah, I usually dial in through the Internet.
ME:  Oh.  (Of course!)

So the lady double-clicks the icon for the AT&T software...

HER:  Well, I'm having some trouble with it.
ME:  OK...?  (get on with it!)
HER:  It's not working.
ME:  (sigh)  In what way is it not working?
HER:  It doesn't come up.  But I do see it.
ME:  It doesn't come up, but you do see it?  (WTF)
HER:  Yeah.

Turns out she means that the software starts but is minimized on the taskbar and can't be maximized.  We finally fix that.  She is now trying to set up her AT&T software.

HER:  It's asking for my region.  It says Missouri, but I'm in Florida!  What should I put for my region?
ME:  Well, I don't know what choices it gives--are they all states or do you have some areas, like Southeast or something?
HER:  It says all fifty states.
ME:  (pause)  Well, you would probably want to choose Florida, right?

So we get through setup and she dials in and after I reset her password (ha!) she can get in.

HER:  OK, I'm going to see if Microsoft Office comes up now.
ME:  (I think you mean Outlook, but I'm past caring.)  Just to remind you, you still have to login to VPN to get into the company's Intranet.  You're only connected to AT&T now.
HER:  OH!  I forgot!

So we get through logging into VPN and she's just about to let me off the phone when she hits me with...

HER:  So do you know how I can use AT&T with my cell phone?
ME:  You mean like switching your cell phone account to AT&T?  (so not my issue, CALL THEM!)
HER:  NO!  (tone of "duh")  I want to know how to USE AT&T WITH MY CELL PHONE!
ME:  (flash of understanding) You mean you want to connect your cell phone to your computer so that you can dial using your cell phone and not be connected to the wall jack anymore?
HER:  YES!  Do you know how to do that?
ME:  (ugh, no way)  No.
HER:  Oh.

*grumble*

Every single call today has left me wondering where we get these people.  This AT&T lady, for example, is a software development analyst.  That means she probably makes about twice what I do.  "It doesn't come up but I do see it" INDEED.

 

x-posted to my journal and to customers_suck

Comments

[infy.livejournal.com]

Wow, the parallels astound. Are you sure we're not working for the same company? =P

You've pretty much described my day. (Oh, oh, the pain...my head.)

[kalidor.livejournal.com]

I know exactly how to make it work with her cellphone.

Bet hell if I woulda told her. Just another thing to break if she tried.

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

Exactly. It's completely unsupported, discouraged (because it's sort of wireless), and a whole can of worms I did NOT want to open!

[kalidor.livejournal.com]

I dun even wanna go into the teleconferance I had this morning ... head throbs

[tadiera.livejournal.com]

I felt kinda bad to be on the otherside of the table today.

My email account wasn't working, so I finally called up the company helpdesk again today. Found they'd given me the wrong username. Sigh. Still couldn't login. We go through a few things, she keeps asking about me logging in - for some reason she thought I couldn't... login... to my PC? Uh, yeah, OK. I setup my PC myself, thanks. And I told her at the beginning of the call that I couldn't login to the Microsoft Exchange Server. And told her what server I had filled in. Dunno why she thought I couldn't login to the PC.

She finally remotes in to my PC and I found out I'd typo'd the new UN. It was too early in the morning.

So enh, it was kinda give and take. They gave me the wrong UN to begin with and then I typo'd it.

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

Of course there are crazy people on both sides of the headset! :D I could tell plenty of stories on my coworkers. No wonder everyone in the company thinks everyone at the helpdesk is an idiot and they won't hire any of us for anything, ever.

[krrayn.livejournal.com]

it's all about a small group of people giving the rest a bad name, either way. I try to keep in mind that the vast majority of users are actually competent, but then that's why I don't hear from them; only the ones with problems are the ones that call. That's why I have a job, right?

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

Thoughts like that really make me want to quit. Because why should I work my butt off for the small percentage of people who can't be bothered to read user guides and can't spell their own names? I don't see why I should assist in rewarding blatant stupidity.

[tadiera.livejournal.com]

Yeeeeah.

There's always a few people on a helpdesk who're just weird. ;)

[kandyman.livejournal.com]

"ME: (flash of understanding) You mean you want to connect your cell phone to your computer so that you can dial using your cell phone and not be connected to the wall jack anymore?"


Nope, thats my job.

Welcome to Verizon Wireless

*sobs*

[redqueenmeg.livejournal.com]

*sympathy* Well, let's hope she's T-Mobile. You don't want to work with this one! ;)