I get so MAD!

November 3rd, 2006 at 05:10am Posted by Bill

Number two in a continuing series I call Supporting Corporate Users Sometimes Exercises My Endurance

Or, ‘SCUSE ME? for short.

Ned* called the Help Desk the other day, saying his account was locked out. I looked it up and sure enough, he was in fact locked out. I unlocked it, and he was able to log back in just fine. Now, the only way anyone’s account can get locked out is to enter the wrong password three times in a row. Ned knows this, because this has happened before. It happens all the time. It even happened to me once when, in a blur of flying fingers, I tried to log in one morning (before my bucket of coffee) without realizing that Caps Lock was on. (Which raises an interesting question: Who does the Help Desk call for help? If the Help Desk unlocks accounts, who unlocks the Help Desk? This is a subject for another post.)

So aaanywaaaay, Ned apparently is one who will absolutely never admit that there is the slightest possibility that he may be, gasp, at fault. Our conversation went like this:

Ned: “So what caused this?”
Me: “Well, the only way your account can be locked out is for the wrong password to be used three times in a row.”
Ned: “But I know I entered it right. Could there be something wrong with the server?”
Me (in my head): First, we have more than 200 servers altogether. Second, there is not a single server that is responsible for verifying your login credentials, there are many. Third, they are all working just fine. Fourth, even if they were all simultaneously off-line or malfunctioning when you were trying to login, it would not lock out your account, it would simply not allow you to login. Fifth, it’s O.K. to admit that you fat-fingered your password. You don’t have to try to blame the technology when you make a mistake. I know better, and it just makes me think even less of you.
Me (out loud): “Maybe, Ned. Maybe.”

Sometimes, it’s just easier to agree.

* All real names have been replaced with names of Simpsons characters.

Entry Filed under: Work, 'SCUSE ME?