Makanagee!

[samwize.livejournal.com]

Me: "Ok, we're going to have to rebuild your machine. It's Windows 98 and irreparably hosed. That means we're going to have to erase everything on your computer. So you're going to have to save all your documents and data files to the server."
Idiot Woman: "Ok. How do I do that?"
Me: "Like this...."
IW: "Ok."

.....

Me: "So you've got everything saved?"
IW: "Yup."
Me: "You're SURE?"
IW: "Oh yeah."
....

IW: "I need all my icons back!"
Me: "Ok, we've put all the stuff you saved into this folder, called "My Documents". What icons are you missing?"
IW: "I don't know. I just click on them."
Me: "..........."
IW: "Well I don't DO computers!"
Me: "It's a vital tool of your job."
IW: "I don't go into that stuff. I just need my icons back."

Ended up with her crying because she didn't save the data from a 12 year old scheduling program and is too clueless to understand what a file or a folder or a shortcut or really ANYTHING is.

I don't CARE if you're "not-technical". I don't give a flying rat's ass if you are "computer illiterate". It's your fucking JOB, you IDIOT! I don't expect you to know how to backup your registry, or scan for spyware, or even how to set up outlook to connect to your email. But you damn BETTER know how to use the basic USER INTERFACE for the machine you've spent the past seven years using! You don't need to know how to rebuild an engine to drive your car. But you DO need to know how to turn the wheel and push on the pedals, even if you're not "mechanical"!

MORONS!

Comments

[dog-star-man.livejournal.com]

As long as you're in the business of supporting idiots like that, you have guaranteed job security. I know from my own personal experience. About 80% of the office I work in is like that and I gurantee it's like that all over.

My favorite thing I did this week was try to explain the difference between Logging Off the computer, Rebooting it and shutting it down completely. Because thay're all so similar ;p

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Extra job security, cash and kudos to those who remember rules #1 and #3, and back up a user's hard disk before wiping it.

[jarad.livejournal.com]

Guaranteed job security is fine, sure. However, on the other hand, you will go completely cream-cheese mental after a while...

[inahandbasket]

not to defend a user...
but she does know how to push the pedals and turn the wheel. She clicks the icons.
What you're asking is basically that they also know how to fill their gas tank and the wiper fluid, and check their oil. Might be quibbling, but she was obviously getting along fine from a user perspective.

That said, I can't stand when people don't understand the difference between a shortcut and a file. It really makes me angry, for no apparent reason.

[jjjiii]

Yeah, I'll agree with that.

Still, she said "Yes" when asked if she had backed up what she needed. If she didn't understand the question, she should have said so.

[bekscilla.livejournal.com]

That's what bugs me. WHat's so hard about saying "I'm not really sure. Can you go through it with me?" Then she could show samwize that she uses the scheduling program, and samwize can then sort out where the data is.

I fully understand the user not knowing where the data is, but I don't think it's right for the user to just pretend that it's all ok when they know they're unsure.

[greylady.livejournal.com]

But... she said the magic words "I don't DO computers" and you were supposed to wave your magic wand and make it all better.

I feel your pain. It's familiar and comforting...

[jjjiii]

"Sorry, I don't DO computers."

"Oh, why didn't you say so? We have a special button for you, it makes all this stuff easier."

"REALLY?? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"Here it is, right on the front of the case here. You probably didn't know this box was under your desk, but that's OK. Just press it and hold for four seconds..."

[bassgirl.livejournal.com]

You don't need to know how to rebuild an engine to drive your car. But you DO need to know how to turn the wheel and push on the pedals, even if you're not "mechanical"!

Awesome. I could have used that a million times at my last job!

[akage.livejournal.com]

AFAIK, anyone in this day and age who doesn't understand the basic "idiot-proof" user interface of Windows does not deserve to hold a job which requires them to use a computer. Plain and simple.

I hope she gets fired for losing all that data, thereby creating a job opening for someone more deserving. She can always work in fast food, if she can figure out the register with the picture buttons.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Windows, for all its rampage towards a Fisher-Price interface, is not intuitive by any stretch of the imagination. There's also some debate about how much maintenance of their tools end-users are expected to perform. Part of the problem is that users will lie about their levels of knowledge and what they have done. It's irritating for those of us who then get yelled at for not anticipating that the user was a clueless lying maggot.

Really, if I took my car to a mechanic and he/she asked "Have you frobbitzed the crinklehoffer?" and I replied "Yes", even though I had no idea what that was, and then the car started spitting blue smoke because the mechanic had assumed they didn't need to frobbitz the crinklehoffer, would that be the fault of the mechanic for not assuming I was an untrustworthy idiot?

[koryweb.livejournal.com]

See, therein lies your mistake.

There is this perception among non-IS staff that we are servants to them. Not unlike janitorial staff, when they make a mess, we are expected to clean it up. We are 21st century merry maids.

General employees are not required to apply logic to the technology they are working with. That's our job. Apparently anyway. I love the vacant "Why are you telling me this?" look I get from users when I try to explain to them what an error condition means and how to fix it in future. It's probably the same look I'd give the janitor/custodian if he/she tried telling me how to clean vomit off the floor.

The car mechanic example only works on a macro level when talking computer maintenance and use. Primarily the user has a financial responsibility to taking proper care of their vehicle. Not to mention the risk of life and limb. With IT...we are just part of the service; part of the job. Going back to cars...how well do people treat rental cars or company provided vehicles when they know they aren't financially responsible for the wear and tear of their use?

Recognizing the lack of responibility users have, I make it a point to educate them on how it is worth their while to take better care of their PCs. "Your computer is slow because of all the spyware you've inadvertently downloaded. That's why it took forever to generate that report and made you late for your kids' concert. Try exercising better judgement when surfing on the company computers in future and it'll save you time in the long run."

...teach a man to fish...

I will also say that when a user says they have completed a particular task, I hold them to it. If I feel special, I'll give them an "Are you sure?" or "We're gonna wipe EVERYTHING off the drive now...anything you didn't save will be gone...unrecoverable...lost...comprende?" In the cases where they didn't actually back up all their data, if the user tries to lash back at me...I repeat my line of questioning and their response. It's not really professional I know, but what are they gonna do? Run to their boss and confess to lying about something which subsequently destroyed important company data? Not likely. Besides, I have to earn my BOFH points somehow.

[akage.livejournal.com]

I'd agree, it's not intuitive. But it is nearly ubiquitous. If you're a regular schmoe and you've used a computer in the last 10 years, there's probably a 90% chance it had a Windows OS. If they've had a computer for any length of time, there's just no excuse, IMHO, for not grasping basic file navigation. I've seen 3-year olds who know how to navigate a directory tree.

[samwize.livejournal.com]

This is key. I'm not arguing that windows is easy or makes sense; I'm arguing that it's a basic tool of modern office work and the users have a responsibility to learn how to use it.

Unfortunately, no one here is interested in learning how to use their computer. I'm willing and able to train, but they just don't see the need. "I just click on the...thing." It's the same reason we have ten year old computers running ancient operating systems. "Well, it always worked before!"

As to all the people saying "backup the hard drive", I have no place to store it. Our server (running NT4.0) has a 12 gig apps drive that's full and a 1 gig system drive, with everything else of comparable size. We had just enough room for her documents.

No. The fact is, she just fucked up. She doesn't have the knowledge to perform one of the basic functions of her job and it bit her in the ass. No, she won't be fired. she's good friends with the company president (who is the one who's determined our policy of Pleistocine Era Computing), and is the wife of the plant foreman. I'm pretty much the _only_ one here who can use a computer efficiently.

[akage.livejournal.com]

Which brings me to a favorite personal peeve of mine..the "But it worked before!" whine.

This one never fails to amaze me, especially when it's used when I explain that some piece of hardware is broken and is going to have to be replaced. "But how could that be, it worked yesterday!"

To which my response is usually along the lines of, "Everything works until it doesn't. That's the definition of 'broken'--it used to work, and now it doesn't." Usually that shuts them up, either by making them realize how dumb their comment sounds, or by confusing the heck out of them. ;D

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Ah, the old "It's electric, right? Like a light bulb? What do you do when a light bulb burns out?"

[ihateemo.livejournal.com]

BUT IT WORKED YESTERDAY!!

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

And today it does not. Thus we have the Great Circle of Life.

[sober-panda.livejournal.com]

Everyone knows you never frobbitz the crinklehoffer. It will only make him angry.

[eightofspades.livejournal.com]

Eh, whenever I'm replacing or wiping a computer or hard drive, I grab the folders the users typically forget. This includes non-shortcut desktop files, favorites, etc. I also take a scan to see if they forget anything anywhere else - I prefer to keep my users happy, given that I work with all of them.

Frankly, if the guy in charge of scheduling and coordinating the emergency plant repairs doesn't know much about computers, more power to him - he does his job well enough, and he's not the youngest around - it's not the meat of his job. My job is know about computers, and in the process of being patient, get them to know more.

On the plus side, I deal with far less user-support now that I've been patient (= they know my time is valuable.

[megpie71.livejournal.com]

(It's 2am. It's solstice. This may be somewhat incoherent).

While I have every sympathy for the OP (having dealt with the spiritual sistern and brethren of this user on a regular basis), there is a limit to how far we can expect the self-described non-technical people to take an interest in our job. Most of these people learn to use computers as a fairly straightforward process of muscle memory - the only part of the brain which is in use is the retrieval module fetching out the next keystroke. I would guess that very few people outside the technical field would be interested in *why* the computer does what it does, far less how. They click the icons, and/or hit the keys in a specific sequence, and behold, the magic happens.

Expecting this type of user to be able to figure out firstly where her data is being saved now, and secondly, how to click on a *different* sequence of icons in order to get the data saved somewhere else, without step-by-step instructions is (to continue the automotive metaphor) rather similar to expecting them to be able to figure out how to replace a sparkplug without ever having lifted the bonnet of a car. These users know how to push the pedals, slip the automatic transmission into "Drive", and find the fuel cap. After that, it's all advanced stuff.

I have to admit, it's taken me the better part of about six years total in the technical support field to realise that I am (and every other techie is) unusual in my desire to understand how a system works. Not just the "which buttons do I press to get this result" sort of "how", but the "what happens if I press button Q instead of button X?", and "what can I do to save myself time when I'm using this application?" sorts of "how".

[lions-tambua.livejournal.com]

OFNP!

Own Fault, No Pitty!

[i-interrupted.livejournal.com]

i tried to explain to this guy how to make a folder. he was driving me nuts. he told me he just took a computer class so he's pretty savy...one class...for teachers. i could feel my brain shrinking. this lasted for 20 minutes..and i just wanted him to put a folder on his desktop