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.
November 3rd, 2006
My 9-5 job (which is actually 7am-4pm, but whatever) is computer support. More specifically, there are six of us who support 800+ users, 1000+ PCs, 250+ printers, and various other pieces of networking equipment, spread out over many locations in the Portland area.
Doing tech support in a corporate environment is interesting, and is very different from supporting the general public. I did that for several years, taking calls on Gateway’s 800 number for general tech support, and I know I’ll never go back. There are too many uncontrollable variables to contend with when trying to help Joe Sixpack get the kid’s new computer game Santa left in the stocking to run on the old family PC.
In a corporate environment, on the other hand, especially in-house on-site support like I and my co-workers do, we have a great deal of control over that which we support. All PC are generally configured identically; users don’t have the ability to install any software (since it may be incompatible and/or unlicensed, or may break the computer); we can take remote control of any PC on the network from our own desk; and we are all certified to troubleshoot and submit warranty parts replacement requests to the PC manufacturers. And generally, we are respected by our co-workers, the users that we support.
All this makes for a pretty enjoyable work environment.
However, there are always going to be frustrations. After reading Tanya’s recent blog entry, I was inspired to share some of my tales of frustration with you. So here begins a continuing series I will call…
Supporting Corporate Users Sometimes Exercises My Endurance
Or, ‘SCUSE ME? for short.
Here is the first of many stories…
Lisa* is a user who travels between many of our locations, so her computer is a laptop, and she has a docking station, monitor, keyboard and mouse that stay at her desk. She called me a few mornings ago:
Me: “IT Help Desk, this is Bill.”
Lisa: “I need to log in to Lenny’s* laptop, but Lenny is already logged in to it and he has locked it with his password.”
Me (seeing from the phone display that she is calling from her own desk):
“You need to log in to Lenny’s laptop at your own desk? Is something wrong with your own laptop?”
Lisa: “No, but it’s too heavy this morning, so I left it in my car. When I got upstairs, I saw that Lenny wasn’t in the office today, so I took his laptop and brought it here.”
Me: “I can force Lenny’s account to disconnect from his laptop, but he will lose any documents he may have open that he has not yet saved. I’m not really comfortable doing that without checking with him first.”
Lisa: “Well, he’s going to be out all day, and his manager said that it was OK, he probably won’t lose any important data.”
After verifying with Lenny’s manager that he does in fact approve of this, I forced Lenny’s account off, and helped Lisa log in. Keep in mind that the laptop weighs a little over four pounds and is in a lightweight case that has a padded handle and shoulder strap, and she travels with it almost daily. For some reason, it was just “too heavy” for her that day.
* All real names have been replaced with names of Simpsons characters.
October 18th, 2006
