information requested...

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

I'm trying to gather some info for a (currently) secret project. I'm specifically addressing this to technical support representatives, and would really appreciate feedback. If the project ends up going forward, I will of course tell you all about it.

Questions:

- Do you hate your job?
- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
- Are you happy in life right now?


I might have more questions later, but if you wanna help me gather this info on tech "culture", please reply those questions to azzy23 at earthlink dot net

Thanks!

Comments

[anivair.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
yes . . . yes I do.
- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
a) I don't actually do anyhting I like. A monkey could do my job 90% of the time. b) my boss is a self centered child dressed in a man suit.
- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
No, then I like.
- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
A new boss would be nice. Also, I wish I had some more control over what I actually do (and that some of it was actually fun).
- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Gaming, martial arts, other computer stuff (non-work), school.
- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
no.
- Are you happy in life right now?
barring my job.

[kizayaen.livejournal.com]

Just as a polite suggestion, people may be wary of answering a poll on a public forum which contains the question, "Are you in the habit of comitting felonies?"

[kizayaen.livejournal.com]

Never mind, disregard.

I broke the cardinal rule and opened my mouth before I finished reading the instructions. Didn't see the email address.

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

Oh, I totally dig what you're saying there. It's an important question though, as in my 10+ years of call center work, alcoholism and drug use becomes a huge burnout warning sign. Mostly I hear that people drink to fall asleep, because stress messes up the circadian cycles. I want to do a whole study on drug/alcohol usage and stress levels.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

Personally I'd prefer answering on LJ than to an unknown email address. It's not as if my answers couldn't be collated from my previous posts anyway.

I hate what my job has become - a nontechnical call centre with decreasing authorisation to solve anything, overstaffed with morons and about as useful as nipples on a motorbike.

My co-workers are, in the main, unsuited to being real technicians. This is evident in the fact that none of them have even half my ticket-solving throughput, anything close to my accuracy rate, or any idea what I'm talking about when I use industry-standard or tech culture terms. They're boofheads.

Improving my workplace would require firing almost the entire staff, having a laundry list of outstanding in-house software and management issues addressed, changing the location of the helpdesk, and having our own management grow a spine.

Outside of work, I mainly futz around on the net, try new hobbies every so often, and plan how I'm going to get out of this career and into something incredibly lucrative and rewarding. I've been doing this since October, and am now at T-minus fifteen days.

I don't drink or use drugs. Probably more through apathy than any particular moral stance.

I'm happy that I will shortly be leaving this entire crapfest behind, and will never again have to listen to some corporate fool whining into my headset because they can't find something that's right in front of them, painted fluorescent orange and dancing the Macarena.

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

heh boofheads.

I wish I could escape, honestly... but I have no other marketable skills... *shrug*

I'm going to have to do some work on this, get some really good questions, and an anonymous forum for answers, so it would appear... the 7 or 10 responses I've gotten in email have really really kicked ass though, and this is starting to seem like a realistic idea, gathering this info and using it to draw some conclusions about a generalized "Tech" person, and how we can improve "Tech"'s world a little in a feasable business type-a way, so "Tech" isn't so miserable. :)

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

If you want to make this serious, you need to take it offline. No-one takes netstats seriously, especially not from anonymous people on forums.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

It's a useful, fast and free way to get preliminary indicative data, though. It means that when you run the *real* tests, you'll have a better idea of what questions will be useful and relevant, who to ask, where to ask it, and what ballpark your final results should be in.

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

True that.

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

In all honesty... this was an idea I bounced off a co-worker, thinking I was just being silly. When he said "That's a good idea, don't tell anyone else what you're doing, they'll beat you to it" I got a little paranoid.

Frankly, I had no idea I'd get so much response.... and now I see there is really a good point to this.

I want to research techs. I want to create a sort of management "guidebook" for dealing with our unique personality type. I want managers who don't understand why we're so unhappy to go "Oh. OH! They're unhappy because..." and maybe JUST MAYBE, "acceptable churn" won't be so acceptable.

In some cases I've already seen how tiny, simple things would help. In one person I've talked to's case, being allowed to have personal items on her desk would make her NOT feel like she's got one foot out the door. In almost EVERY environment, unrestricted access to things like email and non-verboten sites (like elljay) would improve moral by leaps and bounds.

We are all different, but I'm seeing some really disturbing commonalities here.

Out of say, 20 responses, I would say at least half told me they use marijuana to relax after work. More than half said they drink more than they should, and most of those say they can't fall asleep from stress... which leads to drinking for relaxation.

Most of the techs I know, and who have responded, go home tired from work and sit in front of the TV, or computer... after sitting for 8-12 hours a day. Most of the techs I know have health issues, high blood pressure, weight problems, joint problems, depression issues. This is NOT acceptable churn. It's allowing a class of worker to be decimated, then booting them out the door when they can't function anymore. I don't know, maybe this will help?? At the very least, somebody will have said these things, y'know??

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

It's allowing a class of worker to be decimated, then booting them out the door when they can't function anymore.

Well put.

[jahbulon.livejournal.com]

Oh and btw, I regularly self-medicate and recreate. I don't hate my job because only 3 years of call centre work has burned away my capacity to feel things properly.

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty sure I'm incapable of certain emotions. I ape them very very well though. I can also tell exactly how to behave with a customer by the way they say their name. I get the vibe, and I know to be cocky, or humble, crack a sarcastic joke, or be business girl. On the phone, I'm so emotionally normal that I'm abnormal. In reality, I find myself detached.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

I've had this too, although to be honest I was never a very emotional kid, either.

Have you ever experienced face/voice disconnect? After being on the phones for almost a decade with very little face time, I've caught myself on occasion speaking to someone with a warm, charming tone while my face remained completely blank.

Apparently it's really disconcerting on the receiving end.

[anamacha.livejournal.com]

On the phone, I'm so emotionally normal that I'm abnormal. In reality, I find myself detached.

hmf. I'm getting there. And I rather like my job.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

I don't really have any non-tech skills either, and what I do have is being worn away by working in a team which is being turned into a secretarial call centre.

I'm skipping out and going into real estate speculation. I figure I can do a hell of a lot better than 99% of the schmucks in that area, given that I can do basic math and TS has instilled in me a talent for pattern recognition.

Not to mention that if I really wanted to, I could keep doing this job AND speculate in real estate. But this team's going down the gurgler - I should have quit years ago.

[harmer.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
Pretty much.

- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
1. The amount of management BS is insane. For example, my supervisor and his supervisor will run off to the dollar store during the middle of the work day for 1-2 hours, then come back and fire people for people for being 15 seconds late on their break.
2. The service I give support for sucks. It sucks having to tell people all the time, "Yeah...it does that sometimes" about stupid glitches.
3. Most people I work with are dumb as a stump and give our customers misinformation which I then end up taking the heat for when I correct customers.
4. Kind of part of management BS but my work is extremely strict about breaks and lates. If you take 10 minutes to go to the bathroom, you can beat you'll catch shit for it.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
No, actually I love them. I'm really fortunate to work with awesome, hilarious people. There are however total morons like I mentioned earlier, but they generally don't last long.

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
I dislike the coworkers who don't know what they're doing. It bothers me that I stress so much to do my job well and they're freakin' idiots who don't know what the hell they're doing and don't even care.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
They should chill the hell out. They're always riding our asses about something. Then they stop caring and ride our asses about something else!
They also need to recognize hardworking agents more and let people do fun projects more. There is nothing to work for.

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Usually playing on the net, hanging out with my boyfriend, watching movies/tv. I don't really have any hobbies.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
I drink alcohol a couple times a week.

- Are you happy in life right now?
No, not really. I would really like to quit my job and move to another city.

[lordchaos.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
It really depends on the day.

- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
If I'm having a bad day it's usually because of customers being rude, demanding, and/or ungrateful. I practically live at my work because I need the money to have some fun. I don't appreciate it when you expect me to give up my few days that I can enjoy on the lake front because you need to look at porn.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
I wouldn't say hate, they get on my nerves.

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
There is a constant forgetfulness to them. All of a sudden they will stop doing something that they have been doing for a year. When we confront them about it all they say is "You never told me about it." One part time guy came in back and asked us if we sold Macs. He was working at that store for about two years at the time. At no point did we ever sell Macs in the history of the company. He then tried to argue that we did.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
The owner not being so cheap and taking a chance here and there. There needs to be more resources for us to work with. For the love of god DO NOT DO UPDATES TO THE POS WHEN THE STORES ARE OPEN!

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
I read books, program, work on web sites, drink, meditate anything to get my mind off some of the unfortunate events of the day.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
Since I started doing tech support I consider myself to have developed a drinking problem.

- Are you happy in life right now?
With all honesty I don't think I am. I would rather not be where I am now. I know where I want to be but I keep ending up at the same place I started.

[taleya.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
Nope, I love it :) Love the hours and....

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
....get on great with my coworkers :D Graveyard shift, only 6 people, and we keep very tight "social" controls on who gets in on the shift - unlike during the day, one rogue element can seriously piss everyone off and damage morale. It's more a family feeling really - we piss each other off on occasion have a spat and get over it. Only one co-worker pisses me off, but that's because he's incompetent and he's soon to be replaced anyway.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
Most staff (including management) generally tend to ignore what we do on GY primarily because they have no freaking idea we do it until stuff breaks. It's good from one POV - no interference, but from another it's a pain in the arse to try and get stuff pushed through during the day when we need it. Acknowledgement of emails sent would be nice...

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Fanwanking on LJ, making Mvids, catching up with my reading and some downloads, socialising, writing, making furniture, catching movies/gigs/whathaveyou with the other half, comp modding, kitbashing, basically whatever I damned well please.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
Rarely drink. Do smoke cigarettes and occasionally choof.

- Are you happy in life right now?
Ayup. Apart from a recent back injury at work _-_

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

a) Thanks for the info
b) Oooohhh.... Michael Praed. *Nice*

[taleya.livejournal.com]

I must admit, The secret adventures of Jules Verne is rapidly becoming my new fannish obsession. I never saw the attraction in the 80's in Robin of Sherwood, but damn, I'm seeing it now. (boy has he improved with age!) I don't care that he's 46, I'd still hit it like the wrath of god :D

[azzy23.livejournal.com]

I actually read a book by Mercedes Lackey, Herald-Mage of Valdemar, ages ago. I was flipping through television stations, and did a double take. There was this guy that looked exactly like the cover art of the main character. I thought it was a weird coincidence, then I stumbled across some board or something where people were 'fantasy casting' the movie version, and the writer pretty much said he was the mental picture she based the character's physical description on.

Jules Verne was such a fantastic show. I was really bummed when it got canned.

[katyism.livejournal.com]

1. Do I hate my job? Yes, I'm starting to realize I do.
2. Why? Because:
Everything I've tried to do to illustrate that I have a vested interest in my job just gets me in trouble, and I never see it coming. That might mean I have a problem, but I think what it really means is that management doesn't grok the idea that little hourly workers like us might care. It's a turnover job staffed by part-time student workers with the rare exception of someone like me who is there full-time with nothing else filling her life. I get yelled at for making helpful suggestions, I get yelled at for contacting the people who have information we need, I get yelled at for not doing things perfectly. No one does them perfectly and we all bitch about each other's mistakes, that's one thing. When management singles me out for no apparent reason, that's entirely different. I came here with a plan to stay and prove to them and myself that I can hold down a job, learn the ropes, and be an asset. I don't think they have any idea and I can't come up and tell them that because they'd laugh and gently let me down.
3. Do I hate my team/coworkerss? Yes and no.
4. Why? They're a fun bunch who like to joke around and we're all around the same age and social class with the exception of a few. But they also see fit to make fun of anyone behind their back. The main clique of co-workers are all old hats who make fun of how new the new guy is, how gay the gay guy is, how fat the fat guy is, how poor the graduate student is, and how bitchy the shy girl is, and so on, when those people are not in the room. I am 100% sure they make fun of me when I'm not there and I want to know what the topic of discussion is. It makes it a not comfortable place to work sometimes.
5. What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
I feel they should recognize our individual achievements since that is my specialty. Sure, anyone can send a canned answer to a user or look up how to set up Outlook on our website and read it to the user. Not many of us bother to devote any research or care to the harder complicated issues. The ones where the user needs an admin to intervene, a straight answer about something from one of the We Don't Talk To End Users Departments, a special typed set of instructions... I do that stuff, the users are like OMG THANK YOU YOU SAVED MY COMPLICATED DAY and the management is like "We can't have you sending emails to the admins, even though it's your job, we don't like the way you do it, and so you will stop. If you can't help a user, just pass them up to a manager" I don't want to do that. I must solve the problem. I want them to recognize that I like problem solving and am better at it than many others, and even if that makes them say "You might be better in some other department, let's find you a job there" that'd be AWESOME. But we're monkeys and there is no real opportunity for promotion here.
6. What do you do outside of work? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?

Outside of work, I am either sleeping or cooking or cleaning for my boyfriend or watching TV with him.

7. Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?

Yes to both. It's what I look forward to when I get home because neither home nor work is a fun place, but the chemicals are at least allowed at home.

8. Are you happy in life right now?

Absolutely not.

[japester.livejournal.com]

contrast and compare:
1, old job, which I finished up at two months agol

• Do you hate your job?
  Yes, with a passion.
  
• If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
  My manager has less spine than a custard. He avlues the opinions of external contractors more than ours and we have all the internal knowledge. They're just old. Pay is significantly below industry average.
  
• Do you hate your team/coworkers?
  I love my co-workers. They're the only thing that keep me here.
  
• If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
  They're competent, knowledgable and people I class as friends. We talk, we rant, we keep things out in the open.
  
• What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
  Acceptance that workers actually have a clue and also provide them with a promotion path, rather than get experience and then leave, which is the current attitude. Paying reasonable wages would help too. 40% below industry average is bad for morale. SLAs would make things easier too.
  
• What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
  Spending time with friends. Kenjutsu, sewing, driving, avoiding issues.
  
• Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
  no, not much of a drinker and I've never smoked. However, I'm an insomniac
  
• Are you happy in life right now?
  no. There are things I want to do that I cannot afford to do. Goals that cannot be accomplished. I know I'm worth more than the speck of dust I'm made to feel like at work.
  

and now .. on to job number two, which I started just over a month ago,

Do you hate your job?
nope. love it.

• f yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
  well, no hate, therefore why rant? ::grin::
  
• Do you hate your team/coworkers?
  No. With the exception of one who was asked to leave last week, they're a cool bunch.
  
• If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
  They're all geeks. We are a very informal group, having meetings at the cafe downstairs on occasion. My boss buys us pizza every so often just for the hell of it. He listens to us when we need to tell him stuff and then does something about it. He actively looks for ways to improve our processes and welcomes suggestions. Jeeze, I could really go on here.
  
  
  
• What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
  We are actively in the process of turning our section from an unmanaged mess into a properly managed system and everyone, and i mean everyone is involved and wanting this to happen.
  
• What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
  Lurking on the intarweb. Some cycling, some reading, searching for social groups. Talking to my girlfriend who's 3000km away. (new city, so don't know many people yet)
  
• Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
  no.
  
• Are you happy in life right now?
  Reasonably. I'm on the path for doing some o fthing things which have been on hold for the last couple of years.
  

[major-error.livejournal.com]

1. No, it's actually alright...
2. It's alright for reasons the exact opposite of how it could suck.
3. No here, too.
4. Competent IT management, skilled co-workers, reasonable end-users (there were a few exceptions, but management has a strong spine and gave them a good talking-to)
5. There really isn't much I could think of that could be done to improve the environment here (dress code notwithstanding)
6. downloading/watching Anime (lots of it), and putting together Trance mixes.
7. I'd estimate an average of 2 drinks a day. I don't drink to "drown my sorrows", though I have had a drink or two to enhance the effect of OTC painkillers taken for the occasional muscle-ache...
8. uneasiness in social situations aside, yes. depression stemming from financial mis-steps has lifted, and I'm finally going back to school to get my undergraduate degree (MIS)

[the-paco.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
Not really.

- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
The only thing I could do without would be the rampant stupidity of the human race.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
Hate is such a strong word.

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
I'm a misanthrope, but for specifics, I don't like peoples inability to learn how to do their jobs. I'm guilty of this at times, but mostly for obscure crap.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
Tech rating system, so when they call up our little logging system would automatically indicate what kind of call it's likely to be. Little stars. 5 stars means you'll probably not want to hang up on them as they're that smart. One means you'll have to find words smaller than two syllables for everything you say.

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Work out, table top roleplaying, video games, girlfriend, etc.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
I drink Guinness and Boddingtons, probably about one to four pints per week on a 'good' week (IE weeks I can and can be bothered getting them). Had to lay off hard alcohol as getting drunk lost it's fun.

- Are you happy in life right now?
I got passed over for a hellaciously well-paying job because of a 4-year-old arrest. My times alone are little but introspective silence interspersed with random injections of loud cussing.

[kayfox.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
Hate is such a strong word...

- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
Idiocy, boredom.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
Not really...

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
Aformentioned idiocy.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
Getting a better job.
- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Sleeping, playing catch up, taking MCP tests for fun and profit.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
No comment.

- Are you happy in life right now?
After I get away from these shitty roomates and job, maybe.

[ihateemo.livejournal.com]

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
No comment.

So "yes" then. :)

[kayfox.livejournal.com]

Not in this country.

[bard-mercutio.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
No, it's quite good as far as jobs go. Sometimes I hate myself for settling for one that's so undemanding intellectually, but hey, I get to play video games while on calls and read in between calls. It's a beautiful thing.
- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.
N/A.
- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
Occasionally. Not so much at the moment; at the moment, I'm sometimes angry with them -- there have been co-workers I completely hated, but they're no longer with the company.
- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
Of the ones I actively hated? One slept at his desk and deliberately gave wrong information to users. The other talked behind people's backs, bad-mouthed me, was mean to customers and took long lunches, thus sometimes preventing me from taking mine. For the ones I'm angry at, I'm usually upset because I'm having to pick up their slack.
- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Reading and writing fanfic and playing PC video games, generally RPG types.
- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
Other than anti-depressants? No. No drugs at all, and I get drunk about once every two months or so. Aside from the drunken episodes, I don't drink at all.
- Are you happy in life right now?
No, but I never really have been. I used to be actively suicidal from junior high through to my adult life, then started taking anti-depressants. There was a short period where things were relatively good, then my personal life went to hell and I've been coping ever since. Things are good, but I'm predisposed to unhappiness.

[bard-mercutio.livejournal.com]

Forgot this one:

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
Clearer division of roles. My boss tends to hire techs then, if they aren't completely brain-dead, adding responsibilities. It means that the primary frontline techs are usually me and whatever newbie just got hired, except that two people can't do this job and the boss tends to blame the tech department, which sucks 'cause he's the one who gave the other techs the idea that they don't have to do any of the frontline work. (The good point is that I've utterly refused to be anything other than a frontline tech and my boss is good with that, so I don't have the headaches associated with heightened expectations.)

If people knew when thye were frontline and when they were backup, it'd help a lot. Except that it really wouldn't, because it would just be a more formalized system for when the other techs can avoid dealing with users.

[harry-whodunnit.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?

No, not at all. I'm just coming up on my sixth month here, so perhaps the shine hasn't had time to wear off.

- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?

No. There's one I wish would shower more regularly, another who needs everything spelled out to him in the simplest possible terms who routinely tells me that she hopes I die in a fire (and means it) but overall, they're good people.

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?

I'm fortunate to have some pretty sharp managers here. Most of the complaints I had at my last job (and they were legion) have already been looked at and either fixed or had procedures put in place to minimise the annoyance. Probably the only suggestion I could make here would be to add keyboard controls to the user interface we spend the most time on rather than just mouse.

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?

All of the above. I play PC games and table top RPGs with friends, jog with the office group, read voraciously. I'm thinking about taking up guitar to get away from the keyboard in the evenings.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?

I drink from time to time. Not as often as I did at my last job, when the stress was piled on by the bucketload.

- Are you happy in life right now?

Reasonably.

[ihateemo.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
No
- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
No
- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
More pay
- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
I play in a band.
- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
:)
- Are you happy in life right now?
Yup.

[shmuffle.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?

No, it's more of a background "dread"/drudgery, though I do hate it after bad days.

- If yes, why? Rants are totally fine.

Customers with unreasonable expectations for a consumer service and below dirt cheap hardware. Customers who Expect to be grovelled on because they're the almighty customer, yet they're allowed to treat you like dirt. Co-workers who are fucking stupid.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?

Not in general.

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.

Most give an honest effort, though there are always the few that are stupid and don't pick up on the polite, simple hints.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?

I'm a first level call centre person. 90% of the time I'm calling '2nd level' (HAH! a joke in my company) is to ask what's been reported by so-and-so. That's a huge waste of everyone's time and insults me. AND CAN WE PLEASE FORCE THE SALES PEOPLE NOT TO LIE TO OUR CUSTOMERS IN ORDER TO GET THEM TO SIGN UP?? We don't support Macs, but they'll work (some of us might give pointers even, though you should be grateful). We don't support home networks, but they'll work (again, maybe pointers). We don't support wireless, but it'll work (pointers).

[I don't seen the problem with supporting these, but the people who are responsible for my continued employment deem them to be a waste of call time.]

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?

Gaming (AD&D, other RP systems), uni work, reading, random coding, stressing over life.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?

I drink 1 - 2 times a week depending. Drugs aren't for me, fine for anybody else.

- Are you happy in life right now?

A little. Work is only a part of that though.

[foofish.livejournal.com]

- Do you hate your job?
In some ways, yes.. In some ways, no. If I look at pay, benefits, advancement, I love it. But when looking at how I actually spend my day, I feel more like a condom salesman in a nunnery. I'm second in the chain of command in my team's management.. I'm basically glorified floor support, except I run reports and motivate my team.

- Do you hate your team/coworkers?
Just the stupid ones.

- If yes, why? Try to be specific. Feel free to list examples.
New guy on the team.. He prefaces every question he asks a caller with "I have a question for you." Every time he comes back from hold, he says, "This is Myname from User Support." Which wouldn't bother me as much if User Support wasn't what they called the *last* helpdesk he worked at, for another company, in another state.

- What ideas would you throw out to improve your workplace? Processes?
Get rid of people who don't do their jobs properly.

- What do you do outside of work? Gaming? Jogging? Reading? When you're not at work, what are you doing most of the time?
Reading, sleeping, internetting.

- Do you drink or use drugs with any regularity?
I drink more since becoming a sup than I ever have in my life. I used to partake in leafy substances, and I've seriously considered going back, but I've lost contact with all of my "smoking buddies."

- Are you happy in life right now?
Fuck no.