Sorry about this rant, but sometimes being a techie is hard work
Let me expand
user: (in angry tone) "Why isn't my PC working?"
me: "I am afraid we have a power outage, so your computer will not be usable until the power is back on"
user: (angrier) "Well, it is YOUR job to keep my computer running. My phone works, so this is a poor excuse. My computer should be able to work even now. Do you know how much money is lost in lost work time now?"
me: "I am sorry, but I am afraid it is out of our hands un...."
user: (still angry) "Well, I don't care! This is highly unprofessional. When will you have fixed the power problem?"
me: "I am afraid we do not know when the power company will have power back on the grid, but I'll be happy to call you once it is back"
The user rambled on some, being most unpleasant.
Then, another case:
A user had requested a file transfer from one server to another. Not normally a job we do for users (they can copy those files themselves!) But some special circumstances were present. The user called me an hour after the file was copied, verified, and an e-mail had been sent. He was angry. Claiming the file was not there, I did not know what had happened, so I apologized if it was gone and went to look for the file. The user had hung up on me at this point. Then, when I find the file intact I get another call from a colleague. Asking about what I had done with that file - he had received an extremely rude e-mail accusing me for unprofessional behaviour and laziness - because the file alledgedly was gone. This e-mail went to my boss. My boss' boss. Head of the entire organization. The user's boss, the user's boss' boss and a couple of my colleagues. I explain the file is there, and my colleague checks the time stamp which verifies my story. Shortly after I call the user telling him again over the phone where the file is. He is angry. Very angry. Then he says "oh. There it is, I must have missed it". And hangs up. No apology. No followup mail to anyone about it being HIS mistake.
Then of course, in addition to treating admins and IT personell like junk you have a huge whopping heap of people with negative IQ. Seriously, send a person to a computer course three times and you should guess that person would know how to check her mail instead of calling our first line helpdesk every day.
Frankly I get sick and tired sometimes. People should be allowed to use their brains just a bit. If their computer does not work right after they unplugged all their cables MAYBE they should consider the possibility that their keyboard is NOT wireless and thus will not work as one either.
Or, users who have used computers every day for fifteen years, don't know how to save a document in Word and try to lecture me - with a 4 and a half years specialization in IT (and I graduated with the best grades you can get I might add)- on how to perform some trivial task... Well, it gets tiresome. Would the same person tell a doctor humans have three kidneys? No? Well, the level of stupidity is comparable.
So I have a question to employers;
Would you hire a carpenter who couldn't use a hammer to save his life? No? So why on earth are you hiring so many people who have NO idea how to use the one vital tool in their profession?
AUGH!
