Him: Can you give me my password for (system1)?
Me: Sure... It's password.
Him: It's not working.
Me: Your username is userID. Can you double check that it's correct.
Him: I have otherUserID and officeID.
Me: Ahh.. Just delete all that and put userID in where it asks for it and don't use the office ID, so just leave the second box blank.
Him: It's not working. It won't let me type letters into the second box.
Me: I know. Leave the second box blank and enter the ID I gave you into the first box.
Him: It's not working. I put in userID and then otherUserID.
Me: That's not what I said. I said leave the second box blank and only put in the ID I gave you into the first box.
Him: Still not working. I put in userID and officeID.
Me: Again, that's not what I said...
Went on for another minute or two. This is the second time I've had this conversation with this guy. The first time was before starting this blog. I rest easy in the knowledge that this guy's chance of being here for more than 30 days are slim to none.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Lost in translation.. again
Him: Is there a reason employee was locked out of her computer all weekend?
Me: As I understood it, employee was just locked out of email, but (the other firm) changed their password for them this morning.
Him: How did that password change?!
Me: I'm not sure what happened to employee's password that locked them out, but I do know that it was rectified this morning.
Him: That doesn't change the fact that employee was locked out all weekend and that someone changed their password. (other firm) shouldn't even be allowed to change passwords without permission.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
This person locked themselves out of the system and (like so many) never set up their profile to allow them to recover the password. There are no weekend staffers since this sort of thing is pretty rare. But you can't say to certain people that they are wrong. Or that they made up a conclusion out of the words you used...
Me: As I understood it, employee was just locked out of email, but (the other firm) changed their password for them this morning.
Him: How did that password change?!
Me: I'm not sure what happened to employee's password that locked them out, but I do know that it was rectified this morning.
Him: That doesn't change the fact that employee was locked out all weekend and that someone changed their password. (other firm) shouldn't even be allowed to change passwords without permission.
WHAT REALLY HAPPENED
This person locked themselves out of the system and (like so many) never set up their profile to allow them to recover the password. There are no weekend staffers since this sort of thing is pretty rare. But you can't say to certain people that they are wrong. Or that they made up a conclusion out of the words you used...
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Don't lie
Him: My printers don't work. It says it can't find them.
(I use remote management to restart his spooler and check other service, they're fine)
Me: I'm really pressed for time right now. Just give the system a restart and let me know if it works.
Him: I did before I called.
Me: Make sure everything is saved, I'm going to remote in.
Him: Go for it.
(I log in and check to see if there are any issues with the printers, then look at the computer uptime)
Me: This computer has been on for 2000 hours. Turn it off. Wait five minutes and turn it back on. Call me if it doesn't work.
(I use remote management to restart his spooler and check other service, they're fine)
Me: I'm really pressed for time right now. Just give the system a restart and let me know if it works.
Him: I did before I called.
Me: Make sure everything is saved, I'm going to remote in.
Him: Go for it.
(I log in and check to see if there are any issues with the printers, then look at the computer uptime)
Me: This computer has been on for 2000 hours. Turn it off. Wait five minutes and turn it back on. Call me if it doesn't work.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Corporate sponsorship?
Nobody, and I mean nobody is trying to sponsor me. I can't say I'm surprised. However, if the company that makes this product wants to sponsor me by sending their product to the subject of EACH blog post, I'd be most delighted.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
This is how it ALWAYS goes down
People are impatient. So if they know something is coming down the pipe for them (in this case, a new laptop) they hunger for all the information they can get. Their appetite isn't satiable, either, oh no. If you tell them it's 3-5 days until it ships, they will always call you the next day and ask for a new estimate... Um... 2-4 days?
It's even less fun when they ordered it themselves because they call me to find out if I've got it after they check the FedEx/UPS website for status. They're downright cranky if it says "Out for delivery" and I haven't used my magical sysadmin powers to summon their package before they call. I really don't care if it the delivery guy takes until 6pm to drop it off and the mail room doesn't throw it in my office until 3pm the next day. I really don't. :)
Somewhere towards the end of the cycle, I need to set up the local profile for these guys since they're never in the office and without me signing in for them they won't be able to use their laptops when they arrive. Fun. So I send out a customary email when I need a password, requesting they reply directly to the email and not leave a voicemail (to avoid confusion). Here's what happens EVERY time.
Email request sent, almost immediately the phone rings.
I ignore it.... and they don't leave a message.
15 minutes later an email arrives with exactly this body:
Hey, I just tried to call you to give you my password but you weren't there. I'll just email them to you. When will I get this?
Then, about five minutes after the email is sent they call back again (this, too, I ignore) and leave a voice mail about how they hope they got the right information to me.
I'd like to say that it's ironic that they'll keep on this stuff like white on rice, yet when there is a problem they'll put off dealing with it until it's absolutely too late... Perhaps it is. Or perhaps that's just reality.
It's even less fun when they ordered it themselves because they call me to find out if I've got it after they check the FedEx/UPS website for status. They're downright cranky if it says "Out for delivery" and I haven't used my magical sysadmin powers to summon their package before they call. I really don't care if it the delivery guy takes until 6pm to drop it off and the mail room doesn't throw it in my office until 3pm the next day. I really don't. :)
Somewhere towards the end of the cycle, I need to set up the local profile for these guys since they're never in the office and without me signing in for them they won't be able to use their laptops when they arrive. Fun. So I send out a customary email when I need a password, requesting they reply directly to the email and not leave a voicemail (to avoid confusion). Here's what happens EVERY time.
Email request sent, almost immediately the phone rings.
I ignore it.... and they don't leave a message.
15 minutes later an email arrives with exactly this body:
Hey, I just tried to call you to give you my password but you weren't there. I'll just email them to you. When will I get this?
Then, about five minutes after the email is sent they call back again (this, too, I ignore) and leave a voice mail about how they hope they got the right information to me.
I'd like to say that it's ironic that they'll keep on this stuff like white on rice, yet when there is a problem they'll put off dealing with it until it's absolutely too late... Perhaps it is. Or perhaps that's just reality.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Okay, so I don't have an inbox
But even if I did, it wouldn't do any good. People seem to think it's cool to invade my space when they have a problem. (It's not). So if I'm out of the office for a while I often come back to something sitting on my chair. A package, a box, a letter, something. Most of the time it's just because there isn't a better place for it, and I don't care too much. But sometimes... sometimes...
Today I got three pages of printed forms placed on my seat. I read them over quick trying to decide why they heck they were there and how to fill them out. I grabbed my pen (stored in my backpack, were it cannot be stolen... and started reading over the form. None of it seemed to apply to me or my job. There was some chicken scratch writing on top but it didn't immediately look like words, so I tried to decipher them.
What I see appears to say:
4th floor 7rn. Phg printer B+W
Then I see some arrows pointing toward a black streak that runs down the middle of the page. "Aaaahhhh," I think. "There is a problem with a printer. That shouldn't be hard to remedy. Now, who is asking for this since I can't even match up the words with the names or locations of any printers."
No names. Nothing but a note saying as you saw above.
My phone reports 5 voicemails. "Ahh! There must be a message for me!" Nope. Nothing. Just a guy who has been whining all day about his wireless not working (which, at this time, I have fixed three times by having him turn it back on). Lovely.
Emails? None. There are ~40 people upstairs. There are probably half a dozen public printers and a dozen or so private printers. I would like to think that if it was a public printer other people would have asked about it....
INTO THE TRASH!!
Today I got three pages of printed forms placed on my seat. I read them over quick trying to decide why they heck they were there and how to fill them out. I grabbed my pen (stored in my backpack, were it cannot be stolen... and started reading over the form. None of it seemed to apply to me or my job. There was some chicken scratch writing on top but it didn't immediately look like words, so I tried to decipher them.
What I see appears to say:
4th floor 7rn. Phg printer B+W
Then I see some arrows pointing toward a black streak that runs down the middle of the page. "Aaaahhhh," I think. "There is a problem with a printer. That shouldn't be hard to remedy. Now, who is asking for this since I can't even match up the words with the names or locations of any printers."
No names. Nothing but a note saying as you saw above.
My phone reports 5 voicemails. "Ahh! There must be a message for me!" Nope. Nothing. Just a guy who has been whining all day about his wireless not working (which, at this time, I have fixed three times by having him turn it back on). Lovely.
Emails? None. There are ~40 people upstairs. There are probably half a dozen public printers and a dozen or so private printers. I would like to think that if it was a public printer other people would have asked about it....
INTO THE TRASH!!
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