Someone Asks Why IT Employees Are Such Jerks All The Time, They Share 30 Reasons
A few days ago, an artist from North Carolina BJ Smith cut straight to the point and tweeted, "Why are IT guys such [jerks]?" I get his frustration. When I signed with my current ISP, they sent over an employee to connect me to their network only for him to criticize me for the mess that was my apartment complex's cable layout. As if it was my fault.
Usually, these rhetorical questions remain unanswered. But not this time. People working in the industry took their time to reply to BJ Smith. They described the (toxic) nonsense surrounding their jobs, reminding people that everyone has a boiling point while painting a pretty good picture of their everyday routine. One that most of us were probably not aware of before. So continue scrolling and check out what IT workers have to deal with. Maybe it'll help you find some common ground the next time you have them over.
Image credits: BJSmithArt
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To learn more about what inspired the initial tweet, we contacted BJ Smith himself and he was kind enough to have a little chat. "I've had different experiences with IT [guys] at places I've worked. Some were great and I consider them friends," the artist told Bored Panda.
"Unfortunately many others have personalities that aren't well suited for interacting with people. Someone mentioned in an Instagram comment that the work attracts people that don't have the best social skills—I'm paraphrasing. It comes across as arrogance with a condescending tone. Not the best for a working relationship."
That being said, BJ Smith understands that they're human too and have to deal with people that shouldn't be allowed anywhere near technology in the first place.
Got called to a location because their server was making strange beeping noises. Went there. Someone had placed a heavy box on the keyboard that was connected to the server. That's what you get when your server room is also the closet where the cleaner and gardener keep their stuff.
"I worked for an IT company that ran a dial-up internet service early in my career. Part of my job as a webmaster was to answer service calls," he recalled. "Many of those calls were painful, but I had to remember they are our customers and need to be treated professionally."
When it comes to the replies to his tweet, BJ Smith remained humble and said he took the thumping he deserved for making a generalization. "There are great IT people out there. I wrote what I did in a moment of weakness," he explained.
But while many IT professionals gave examples of the BS they go through, BJ Smith thinks that "they also need to realize that not all people they deal with are the same either. I’m not one of the three people that couldn't tell the server wasn't on."
CEO: Here I found this shady free program on getyourvirus.ru and I want you to install it on the server. /S
"I also saw a ton of support too," he added. "I heard from several people who had similar experiences. I even had friends in IT [sending me DM's of] support."
If he had to do it all over again, the artist wouldn't generalize or stereotype the entire industry but he doesn't think he did the wrong thing by expressing his frustrations. And neither do I. If anything, the thread he has started has brought empathy to a discussion that's usually fueled by hostility and mockery. From both camps.
For work I have approx 20 different modules/sites I have to log into, most with unique requirements for usernames and passwords, as well as forced password change cycles. Some of these I will only use about once/year. Not allowed to save passwords, nor write them down electronically or physically.....Yes, I'm going to forget and IT is usually the only place to turn.
Own stupid fault. Should have told them to power the server off with some story how the server didn't properly start up because the southbridge had an undercurrent which cause the flux-capacitor to go in survival mode affecting the data flow in the PCI-X lines which in its turned caused the Kb's to get stuck in the memory slots sending an overflow signal to the PSU which triggered the secondary converter circuit to shut down as you would expect to happen in a case of ID10ts.
"I did the wrong thing by lashing out and insulting great IT people that weren't responsible for the situation I was in at that moment, [but] I hope that everyone can learn from this moment," BJ Smith said.
"Don’t post when you're feeling extreme emotions. Look at these situations from [different angles]. That goes for both the customers and the IT people."
Most computer problems start somewhere between the back of the chair and the front of the monitor.
Yes and? The pure fact that you are in no way affiliated to any internet service provider doesn't get you of the hook. You will be held responsible for anything from dogs pooping in the park to climate change and, even worse, expensive internet subscriptions. /S
IT guys are great interrogators. "I have problem. Excel won't start..." "So what happened when you clicked uninstall Office 2020?"
scope-creep is one thing, but a lot of the time it is dancing goalposts with no actual end in sight. I worked on one project for 3 months, only to get told that there was a load more requirements decided on in a meeting no one in the dev team was invited to. Our manager "forgot" to pass on the information. Roll on another 3 months and the spec changes again, more features. The peice of software has now been in development hell for 3 years, as no-one can understand the simple concept that is, if you change the spec, it takes more time. New features require more time to write.
But than I get this strange screen asking me for a username and password. But my username isn't J.Brown and I don't know his password. /S
Jerks are jerks to everyone. This doesn't happen on IT. Trust me, I work in Marketing: people do not read. Even if they do, they don"t understand what they are reading.
PR-department gets a annual budget of $3 million. IT-department gets a voucher for $5 discount at Best Buy.
No, but I feel that I shouldn't have to. And I also didn't consult your FAQ-database where the problem and the solution in 2 easy to follow steps are documented with screen shots.
And next refuse to do what you tell them because people in their position don't take orders from some nerd in the basement.
Tel a computer do this and the computer does this. Tell a human to do this and the human will do everything except this.
Listen to what I'm _actually saying_, as opposed to what you *think* you're hearing.
Optimistic much. You might need to repeat it 5 times and even then go on call and screensharing to do it yourself or literally say move the mouse lower lower, to the left - no no, not so low, not this button!
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My dad was called to fix a problem at a small cottage hospital, he was told the printer wasn't printing. He went through all the usual questions, is it plugged in, is it switched on, does it have ink etc. He was assured it was plugged in, switched on and had just had new ink cartridges. So he travels to the site. The printer had been unplugged so something else could be plugged in. My dad dealt with this kind of ridiculous shite day in day out, if he was a d**k it's because he lost patience
As an IT person, there is absolutely a burden on us to be very explicit in our instructions so that there's no subjectivity about what we want to happen next. It's also important for demonstrating how little the person we are helping pays attention to detail or cares, if that needs to be illustrated.
As a definite non-IT person the differences n understanding about "computer stuff" still are staggering. I got the undeserved admiration and the image of an IT whisperer because I helped a very nice coworker settle her work station. I crawled under the desk, untangled her keyboard cabe and plugged it into a more accessible USB port so she could pull it 15 cm farther to the left. On another occasion my boss asked me to review a CD for him since his computer didn't have a CD/DVD reader. We all have the same machines. He was quite surprised when I opened his CD slot... I'm not quite comfortable with the adoration I receive...
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That happens because the user doesn't know that most power supplies have a built-in circuit breaker and that unplugging "from the wall" will often reset them. You actually made your own life more difficult by not simply saying from the beginning, "there is a circuit breaker in the power supply that may need to be reset, please unplug the power cable at both ends, wait 10 seconds, and plug it back in starting with the wall plug first. You know WHY it has to be unplugged from the wall but they don't and that is why scenarios like this occur. That call probably ended with the user thinking you were an idiot or just being a d*ck and he would not have been wrong. Next time, explain in advance why you are about to ask them to do something. Impart a little knowledge and the user may end up saving you from other similar calls in the office.
Or maybe the fact that you are relying on them to solve a problem you couldn't solve on your own shows that they know things you don't, so just do what they say, even if it doesn't make sense to you, because it probably makes sense to them, and if they have to give you an introductory course for every thing they ask you to do then solving the issue is going to take a lot longer than it should. Even if it would have made no difference to unplug the cable from one end instead of the other, they insisting you do it like they said and you insisting on questioning them ends up taking more time (and being more stressful) than just doing what they say.
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This I don't understand about modems. Why do you have to completely unplug it & let it sit for a bit then plug it back in & then it's ok? There isn't a single other appliance in my house that requires this odd procedure.
PICNIC = Problem In Chair, Not In Computer. ID10T = Idiot. Used in ticket systems to inform co-workers about the computer skills of the one who submitted the ticket for support.
Step one, tell them they didn't break the program, the code is broken. Now I need you to show me what you did to make it happen, so I can fix it. Always. Thanks, and have a better day.
cust. "I need toner. Me "ok you have a color machine which one?" cust; :"it says I need toner." Me: but is hac a letter c,m,y or K behind it which letter is showing?" cust: "It says It needs toner!" Me: drags a whole set because they can't read. Same thing with an error code.
It's hard to stay friendly when you've been emailing with a person for 3 weeks about a problem with their pc which they could solve themselves with 3 mouse clicks but they keep insisting that that's not part of their job.
Note: this post originally had 38 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I don't know. I've worked with one too many IT people who have no idea what other people do but are complete obnoxious smug bastards when people don't understand their work or jargon.
This is my experience with IT, as well as engineers and other skilled jobs. I see several of those types with posts here, calling people 'low IQ' or 'incompetent' and frustrated that other people don't have the specialized knowledge that they took years learning. Best way to deal with IT is over the phone to help with communication and keep both sides respectful.
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To be fair, only last week I had an issue at work where a piece of software went 'unresponsive' when I tried to update it. I went through FOUR support staff asking me the usual checkbox stuff regardless of what I was telling them (I've been with IT for over 40 years). It was worrying when you know more than the people you hope will help you and they're more panicked than you are... BTW I got the problem sorted... Without their help...
People in careers who deal with the general public are all going to deal with people who lie or just can’t get there. You choose to be a duck or be professional, just be thankful your customer is not there in person taking their frustrations out on you physically, like nurses, first responders, waitresses etc do.
Oh, come now. If you have a very ill patient whose care is interrupted because of a computer glitch (whether it's a PEBCAK or a real issue), you are going to get frantic and that can express as hostility. Know thy customer.
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Because the more you idiot proof a process, nation will build a better idiot.
There is no way to out-program the human capacity for screwing things up. Can't be done. This is why IT people have some measure of job security.
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i'm an IT, sometimes i'm a jerk, because someone didn't bother reading an error saying "PRESS RESET BUTTON FOR 5 SECOND" or "FILL INK TONER" or "RESTART THE PRINTER" and just calls me frantically saying their printer is not working, no error message, already pressed the reset button which is all LIES and i should come fast. of course it makes me angry -_-, sometimes their calls even makes me come unprepared, which makes me has to go back to get some ink or things i need to fix their problem easily if they read the error message and told me about it
I don't work in IT but it drives me insane people who click on error windows without reading them. I'm like "but it had instructions... useful ones... now you don't know what you've done!"
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I have been working in computer software for 40 years. Luckily, I don't work in IT support although occasionally I call them when I have an issue. However, I completely agree with project scope creep, changing specs, moving goal posts and adding new features and enhancements. Wonder why the project came in 6 months late and 50% over budget - ya'll kept changing the requirements while we were developing the software. After 40 years, it is still happening and inadequate time to test and QA. Then the users wonder why it has so many bugs and the performance is off. You originally asked for a delivery van and that morphed into Jumbo Jet. What were you expecting?
Ok, so I had my tantrum yesterday based on experiencing my local IT jerk. Today I got to overhear the other side of it. My hubby also works in Tech support, and we are both working from home. He gets a Skype call from a new user, and the support will require the user to restart his machine. In order to maintain contact, I overhear this conversation - Hubby: "Do you have a mobile I can call you back on?". User: "Yes, I do." [Beat]. I giggle. [Longer beat]. Hubby: "Do you want to tell me what it is...?" But for some reason, my hubby is the jerk for asking what most would consider a reasonable question. (After closing the ticket he did go into full sarcasm mode with me, but that's just his way of letting off steam - even with the biases of marriage, I heard nothing in his tone during the call that would warrant being called a jerk)
Not technically an IT person, I did build our computer lab and have built a few computers in my time. Most of the time my "expertise" is needed for something stupid. The power button. One of the tiny palm trees on top of your printer fell in it. When you moved the computers from one side of the room to the other you need to plug them in again. Oh, and, no. I don't know where you can get white toner.
Hardware support once told me of a client who decided to move a machine without powering it down. They told him they only dropped it a little bit, and now it doesn't work.
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Yeah, most users are idiots, but IT guys just assume ALL users are idiots, and they don't listen when an experienced user accurately describes the problem using the proper terminology. I ran a "shadow IT department" at several companies where I worked, because our IT departments were so hostile to users, and they knew I could solve their problems faster and friendlier.
i always welcome any user that can describe the error correctly, but sometimes, they don't bother explaining, just calls frantically that makes me come to their place unprepared.
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Small advice how to make a good start with IT: While sending an email, that something doesn't work, make sure you did and mentioned in the email: 1. Check cable's. Sometimes one lose cable can cause problems. 2. Turn off and after 30/60 sec. Turn on. 3. Make sure there's Ethernet connection, you've paid the bills and no one else has same issues. 4. If you have a blue screen, try to remember last digits of the error. They are the key to cause. Good luck!
That's how I roll. Do everything I can, log it in the e-mail and explain exactly what I was doing when the error happened and what the message is. And if it ends up being PICNIC on my behalf, I always appologise for wasting their time and for my silliness. Never had problems with IT.
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Oh and it gets so much worse... in so many places I've worked at, the T1 helpdesk, who's ONLY job is to collect information from the user before handing the ticket off to the team that does the work, is completely incapable of gathering even the most basic information. Anything from completely blank tickets, to the oh so useful "customer gets popup" (with no other details). Forcing the break/fix team to start from scratch with the customer.
There's IT and there's IT. There's Service Desk, which in my company are the nicest and politest people, patient and understanding. Then there are programmers, webdesigners, systems and hardware, and project managers. I find programmers and project managers a bit frustrating to work with. Programmers when they ask me to test something it has been developed, but it's not according to specs or it's not fully developed. Depending on how complex it was, it takes a long time testing and/or finding out it's not an error but rather not in compliance with the specs. And we have to test over and over again.
I'm sorry, but as with every field I'm sure, some IT staff can be jerks. Some just assume and act like they know it all and the rest of us know nothing. Even when they can't solve your problem! Whenever I submit a request, I make sure to let them know everything I've already tried that hasn't solved the problem, basically everything I know they're going to have me do, and they STILL have me do all those things! Like, are you even listening or do you just not trust that I'm smart enough to try the basics before calling you? Then when they can't figure out after 10 minutes, the usual answer is "Oh, I need to refer you to so and so who specializes in xyz". So basically, you don't know it all then.
Tiered support. The further up the chain you go, the more experienced the person. Supposed to save time and money but doesn't.
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The IT Department of my old company was fed up with roundabout 500 employees who would change stuff on the computer or install some downloaded software from the internet. So they configured a standard setup for each department that no one other than IT could change and updates could also be controlled centrally without individual computers having to be repaired after the updates because everything had been crushed
Worked in system software development. I found that sometimes programmers have trouble communicating with each other. Now throw in an engineer or two and expect the project to get done, on time, and working. I was in one meeting where my role was essentially, A, what did B just say? B, is that what you meant to say? Ok, try again. Repeat until everyone agrees.
Try working in IT and being female. Yes, mansplaining is a thing. A nasty, condescending, d*ckish thing.
IT guys are just like lawyers. You don't need lawyers if you don't have a problem (which, in all likeliness, you created yourself), so you associate lawyers with problems. It's the same with IT. Often, they're tried to solve it themselves, but because they're clueless, or because they're forced to work with a poorly written/maintained system, they can't. They get frustrated, and in that state of mind they contact IT. Don't underestimate how much of a problem badly written software is. I've been writing software for 40 or so years, and it's not easy to do it right. Too many clueless developers exist, too.
So why don’t people say that about lawyers, doctors, mechanics etc and all the other people who solve problems? Just bc someone doesn’t have the knowledge you have doesn’t mean you should be rude
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My dad was an IT guy for over 25 years. The PICNIC acronym cracked me up.
My poor husband (Sys Admin at the time) spent hours on the phone with a big wig where he worked trying to help her connect remotely to her laptop.. which come to find out, was unplugged in its carrying case next to her. He repeatedly asked if it was on and online, and every time she responded that it was. This is what IT deals with on a near daily basis.
I've been in IT for nearly 40 years. There's no excuse for the bad behavior. Many are in IT because they aren't good in social situations. Some find they get less work if they are difficult while still being paid the same. Some pick up the "IT culture". Some have egos. Some are covering insecurities. Everyone including IT employees make silly mistakes. If more IT people had better communication skills, they wouldn't experience most of the problems with the "stupid" users mentioned.
sounds like there needs to be an assistant to IT Department, someone that deals with the is it on etc stuff checks the stuff, drives the 4 hours and so on and then if an actual professional is needed they are the ones that call IT and then go through the intelligent steps to get it fixed.
I've worked as the guy in the middle between the computer people with something broken and the computer people trying to help them fix it. By far the biggest issue is 1)not being patient. 2) trying to fix the wrong problem then 3)not following instructions That's on both sides. We had a customer whose server was going down for 20 minutes at a time repeatedly for 6 days . Both sides got angry and stopped listening to each other so they also stopped doing what was requested. Problem turned out to be a blown circuit breaker that happened while they were installing new power backups in the datacenter. Customer was complaining about server A being out but was waiting to report the other 50 servers. Customer also kept hanging up saying the lights just went out again, I have to call the electricians to turn them back on and no one on the other end asked if they came back on when the power was restored. It was a stupid solution that either side could have caught and fixed if they listened.
The problem is that when the end user is having a problem and is female then IT guys ALLways decide they are idiots before even listening to the problem. My last home only received the internet via satellite. Often the receiver would go off for many reasons. I know zero about satellites, so I would ring. Every single time they would go through the disconnecting plugs, waiting 15 seconds before re-pluging and the rest. Never was there a time when it was not the satellite dish out of kilter and needed instructions on how to reset it, I do not pretend to by IT knowledgeable. Do not judge every female by past experiences.
as an IT person, and 100% technical, my main problem is that nobody listens. I'm expected to advise on technical stuff, but what's the point if nobody will listen and they'll still do whatever the f they want. also, when pointing out things that could go very wrong, and they do, I get the surprised picachu face. this is why I hate with a passion anyone working in IT but not having any clue on technical aspects.
... because we are tasked with doing precision work based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge ...
As an IT employee, I can say, no we are not jerks. And no, most clients are not stupid or selfish or ignorant, quite the contrary. I really don't get these generalizations, every workplace of any job can be toxic or it can be pleasant. I worked with people who knew nothing about software and had a lot of questions but they were nice and friendly and I wasn't ever angry at them, or jerk. I had few coworkers who were jerks towards me, but that's another story. And yes, every job can be frustrating, no one is forcing you to do it.
I work in IT. High end, really. My ex-wife would, without exception, ask me anything computer related, no matter how simple. Google was a foreign word to her. So I started asking her for zip codes. Hey, what's the zip code for Toledo, Ohio? She would ask me how the hell would she know. I told her, well you are a postal carrier. That never went over well. Guess that's why she's my ex.
Being a d**k or not is a choice. A lot of people have to deal with dumb customers, that’s not just IT. And when I look at our IT department… One guy is super awesome, always happy to help, always friendly. One is knowledgable but socially awkward, thus difficult to talk to, but never unkind. Then there are a bunch of newer guys who get annoyed the second you want anything from them, and then there‘s two people who are arrogant and rude to the point where no one even dares to ask them anything. Seriously, one of them once got mad at me for apologising to her in the wrong way. They’re all in the same building with the same 'customers' (us other workers), yet some of them are d***s and some not.
Around 1981, I bought a very expensive translation program. For me it was almost an entire month's salary. I was a graduate student at the time and I need a translation program that would allow me to scan the document and it would be translated. So I paid over 500 bucks for this program. They sent me software to install on my computer. BUT NO instructions on how to use it. I installed it. But there was NO booklet, I scanned documents and not one damned thing happened. I called them and no one could tell me anything because the lady who answered the phone had no idea how to work it. I did not get mad at her. I emailed the company, FIVE FREAKING TIMES, getting madder and madder and madder. Five hundred dollars is a lot of money. I had to take it out of my savings [my savings was a whole 648 bucks] to pay for it. Finally, after become increasingly irate, I got an email back telling me not to be so rude to the developers. I wrote back and asked that they send me an instruct
I wrote back and asked them to send me an instruction booklet. I never heard from them again. I never used it, I didn't know how. But many, many years later, I found out that the "instruction booklet" was in a file folder in the software. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? However, I told a lot of the professors who were very interested in the product for translation. I told them it was a scam. All the company had to do was tell me how to access the instructions. Nope. And they refused to refund my money.
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I was an older community college student and would sit in a computer lab during computer majors classes. I can say that most IT people were jerks before they got paid for it. Those kids were just as maybe more obnoxious than the baseball players and their girlfriends I took biology with. Oh don't get me started about older students.
Funny how all of these are from IT guys on the "tech" side of the table and not a single one of them admitted that their first response to equipment not working is "the cable's bad" as in the cable supplying the connectivity. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to go check the cable only to find out, after troubleshooting outside my area of expertise, that the fiber only needed to be rolled (actually had one jackass argue with me that the position of the fiber strands didn't matter on a TX/RX circuit) or the SFP was bad or the port was bad. IT guys aren't the beleaguered saints they want everyone to believe they are. The real reason they're such d***s is because the cable guy proved them wrong and now they have to actually go out and work for their money.
I'm a jerk because I work twice as slow with customers than my colleagues and the reason I work slow is because I have to explain too long to too many idiots my gender has nothing to do with my skills so please stop whining, question me, disbelieving me belittle me etc and let me do my f**ing job because I'm way smarter and capable than you!
No, you are not. You probably know more about computers and networking than your customer, but do you have the skills your caller has? Do you know all the functions of the applications they need to use? Can you design a new skyscraper? Can you perform an appendectomy? Can you fly a commercial airliner? Can you even competently manage good service to patrons of high end restaurants? There is no excuse for "I am smarter than you," whether you are an IT supporter or consumer. Back off, buddy.
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Thrying to deal with IT people is a case of 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't'. If you try to keep things on your equipment up-to-date or install anything you need for your work you get told off for touching it, or find that you have no admin rights.
Wow, company doesn't want to pay fines for using software they have no license for. What a bunch of bastards. It's not your task to maintain, update or install software and most of the times IT has valid reasons for not deploying updates or installing programs, like known security issues that they are aware of and you don't.
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This is bullshit! This can be said of all professions. I can think of a lot of asses who are teachers, lawyers, cashiers, salesmen....
I don't know. I've worked with one too many IT people who have no idea what other people do but are complete obnoxious smug bastards when people don't understand their work or jargon.
This is my experience with IT, as well as engineers and other skilled jobs. I see several of those types with posts here, calling people 'low IQ' or 'incompetent' and frustrated that other people don't have the specialized knowledge that they took years learning. Best way to deal with IT is over the phone to help with communication and keep both sides respectful.
Load More Replies... To be fair, only last week I had an issue at work where a piece of software went 'unresponsive' when I tried to update it. I went through FOUR support staff asking me the usual checkbox stuff regardless of what I was telling them (I've been with IT for over 40 years). It was worrying when you know more than the people you hope will help you and they're more panicked than you are... BTW I got the problem sorted... Without their help...
People in careers who deal with the general public are all going to deal with people who lie or just can’t get there. You choose to be a duck or be professional, just be thankful your customer is not there in person taking their frustrations out on you physically, like nurses, first responders, waitresses etc do.
Oh, come now. If you have a very ill patient whose care is interrupted because of a computer glitch (whether it's a PEBCAK or a real issue), you are going to get frantic and that can express as hostility. Know thy customer.
Load More Replies... Because the more you idiot proof a process, nation will build a better idiot.
There is no way to out-program the human capacity for screwing things up. Can't be done. This is why IT people have some measure of job security.
Load More Replies... i'm an IT, sometimes i'm a jerk, because someone didn't bother reading an error saying "PRESS RESET BUTTON FOR 5 SECOND" or "FILL INK TONER" or "RESTART THE PRINTER" and just calls me frantically saying their printer is not working, no error message, already pressed the reset button which is all LIES and i should come fast. of course it makes me angry -_-, sometimes their calls even makes me come unprepared, which makes me has to go back to get some ink or things i need to fix their problem easily if they read the error message and told me about it
I don't work in IT but it drives me insane people who click on error windows without reading them. I'm like "but it had instructions... useful ones... now you don't know what you've done!"
Load More Replies... I have been working in computer software for 40 years. Luckily, I don't work in IT support although occasionally I call them when I have an issue. However, I completely agree with project scope creep, changing specs, moving goal posts and adding new features and enhancements. Wonder why the project came in 6 months late and 50% over budget - ya'll kept changing the requirements while we were developing the software. After 40 years, it is still happening and inadequate time to test and QA. Then the users wonder why it has so many bugs and the performance is off. You originally asked for a delivery van and that morphed into Jumbo Jet. What were you expecting?
Ok, so I had my tantrum yesterday based on experiencing my local IT jerk. Today I got to overhear the other side of it. My hubby also works in Tech support, and we are both working from home. He gets a Skype call from a new user, and the support will require the user to restart his machine. In order to maintain contact, I overhear this conversation - Hubby: "Do you have a mobile I can call you back on?". User: "Yes, I do." [Beat]. I giggle. [Longer beat]. Hubby: "Do you want to tell me what it is...?" But for some reason, my hubby is the jerk for asking what most would consider a reasonable question. (After closing the ticket he did go into full sarcasm mode with me, but that's just his way of letting off steam - even with the biases of marriage, I heard nothing in his tone during the call that would warrant being called a jerk)
Not technically an IT person, I did build our computer lab and have built a few computers in my time. Most of the time my "expertise" is needed for something stupid. The power button. One of the tiny palm trees on top of your printer fell in it. When you moved the computers from one side of the room to the other you need to plug them in again. Oh, and, no. I don't know where you can get white toner.
Hardware support once told me of a client who decided to move a machine without powering it down. They told him they only dropped it a little bit, and now it doesn't work.
Load More Replies... Yeah, most users are idiots, but IT guys just assume ALL users are idiots, and they don't listen when an experienced user accurately describes the problem using the proper terminology. I ran a "shadow IT department" at several companies where I worked, because our IT departments were so hostile to users, and they knew I could solve their problems faster and friendlier.
i always welcome any user that can describe the error correctly, but sometimes, they don't bother explaining, just calls frantically that makes me come to their place unprepared.
Load More Replies... Small advice how to make a good start with IT: While sending an email, that something doesn't work, make sure you did and mentioned in the email: 1. Check cable's. Sometimes one lose cable can cause problems. 2. Turn off and after 30/60 sec. Turn on. 3. Make sure there's Ethernet connection, you've paid the bills and no one else has same issues. 4. If you have a blue screen, try to remember last digits of the error. They are the key to cause. Good luck!
That's how I roll. Do everything I can, log it in the e-mail and explain exactly what I was doing when the error happened and what the message is. And if it ends up being PICNIC on my behalf, I always appologise for wasting their time and for my silliness. Never had problems with IT.
Load More Replies... Oh and it gets so much worse... in so many places I've worked at, the T1 helpdesk, who's ONLY job is to collect information from the user before handing the ticket off to the team that does the work, is completely incapable of gathering even the most basic information. Anything from completely blank tickets, to the oh so useful "customer gets popup" (with no other details). Forcing the break/fix team to start from scratch with the customer.
There's IT and there's IT. There's Service Desk, which in my company are the nicest and politest people, patient and understanding. Then there are programmers, webdesigners, systems and hardware, and project managers. I find programmers and project managers a bit frustrating to work with. Programmers when they ask me to test something it has been developed, but it's not according to specs or it's not fully developed. Depending on how complex it was, it takes a long time testing and/or finding out it's not an error but rather not in compliance with the specs. And we have to test over and over again.
I'm sorry, but as with every field I'm sure, some IT staff can be jerks. Some just assume and act like they know it all and the rest of us know nothing. Even when they can't solve your problem! Whenever I submit a request, I make sure to let them know everything I've already tried that hasn't solved the problem, basically everything I know they're going to have me do, and they STILL have me do all those things! Like, are you even listening or do you just not trust that I'm smart enough to try the basics before calling you? Then when they can't figure out after 10 minutes, the usual answer is "Oh, I need to refer you to so and so who specializes in xyz". So basically, you don't know it all then.
Tiered support. The further up the chain you go, the more experienced the person. Supposed to save time and money but doesn't.
Load More Replies... The IT Department of my old company was fed up with roundabout 500 employees who would change stuff on the computer or install some downloaded software from the internet. So they configured a standard setup for each department that no one other than IT could change and updates could also be controlled centrally without individual computers having to be repaired after the updates because everything had been crushed
Worked in system software development. I found that sometimes programmers have trouble communicating with each other. Now throw in an engineer or two and expect the project to get done, on time, and working. I was in one meeting where my role was essentially, A, what did B just say? B, is that what you meant to say? Ok, try again. Repeat until everyone agrees.
Try working in IT and being female. Yes, mansplaining is a thing. A nasty, condescending, d*ckish thing.
IT guys are just like lawyers. You don't need lawyers if you don't have a problem (which, in all likeliness, you created yourself), so you associate lawyers with problems. It's the same with IT. Often, they're tried to solve it themselves, but because they're clueless, or because they're forced to work with a poorly written/maintained system, they can't. They get frustrated, and in that state of mind they contact IT. Don't underestimate how much of a problem badly written software is. I've been writing software for 40 or so years, and it's not easy to do it right. Too many clueless developers exist, too.
So why don’t people say that about lawyers, doctors, mechanics etc and all the other people who solve problems? Just bc someone doesn’t have the knowledge you have doesn’t mean you should be rude
Load More Replies... My dad was an IT guy for over 25 years. The PICNIC acronym cracked me up.
My poor husband (Sys Admin at the time) spent hours on the phone with a big wig where he worked trying to help her connect remotely to her laptop.. which come to find out, was unplugged in its carrying case next to her. He repeatedly asked if it was on and online, and every time she responded that it was. This is what IT deals with on a near daily basis.
I've been in IT for nearly 40 years. There's no excuse for the bad behavior. Many are in IT because they aren't good in social situations. Some find they get less work if they are difficult while still being paid the same. Some pick up the "IT culture". Some have egos. Some are covering insecurities. Everyone including IT employees make silly mistakes. If more IT people had better communication skills, they wouldn't experience most of the problems with the "stupid" users mentioned.
sounds like there needs to be an assistant to IT Department, someone that deals with the is it on etc stuff checks the stuff, drives the 4 hours and so on and then if an actual professional is needed they are the ones that call IT and then go through the intelligent steps to get it fixed.
I've worked as the guy in the middle between the computer people with something broken and the computer people trying to help them fix it. By far the biggest issue is 1)not being patient. 2) trying to fix the wrong problem then 3)not following instructions That's on both sides. We had a customer whose server was going down for 20 minutes at a time repeatedly for 6 days . Both sides got angry and stopped listening to each other so they also stopped doing what was requested. Problem turned out to be a blown circuit breaker that happened while they were installing new power backups in the datacenter. Customer was complaining about server A being out but was waiting to report the other 50 servers. Customer also kept hanging up saying the lights just went out again, I have to call the electricians to turn them back on and no one on the other end asked if they came back on when the power was restored. It was a stupid solution that either side could have caught and fixed if they listened.
The problem is that when the end user is having a problem and is female then IT guys ALLways decide they are idiots before even listening to the problem. My last home only received the internet via satellite. Often the receiver would go off for many reasons. I know zero about satellites, so I would ring. Every single time they would go through the disconnecting plugs, waiting 15 seconds before re-pluging and the rest. Never was there a time when it was not the satellite dish out of kilter and needed instructions on how to reset it, I do not pretend to by IT knowledgeable. Do not judge every female by past experiences.
as an IT person, and 100% technical, my main problem is that nobody listens. I'm expected to advise on technical stuff, but what's the point if nobody will listen and they'll still do whatever the f they want. also, when pointing out things that could go very wrong, and they do, I get the surprised picachu face. this is why I hate with a passion anyone working in IT but not having any clue on technical aspects.
... because we are tasked with doing precision work based on unreliable data provided by those of questionable knowledge ...
As an IT employee, I can say, no we are not jerks. And no, most clients are not stupid or selfish or ignorant, quite the contrary. I really don't get these generalizations, every workplace of any job can be toxic or it can be pleasant. I worked with people who knew nothing about software and had a lot of questions but they were nice and friendly and I wasn't ever angry at them, or jerk. I had few coworkers who were jerks towards me, but that's another story. And yes, every job can be frustrating, no one is forcing you to do it.
I work in IT. High end, really. My ex-wife would, without exception, ask me anything computer related, no matter how simple. Google was a foreign word to her. So I started asking her for zip codes. Hey, what's the zip code for Toledo, Ohio? She would ask me how the hell would she know. I told her, well you are a postal carrier. That never went over well. Guess that's why she's my ex.
Being a d**k or not is a choice. A lot of people have to deal with dumb customers, that’s not just IT. And when I look at our IT department… One guy is super awesome, always happy to help, always friendly. One is knowledgable but socially awkward, thus difficult to talk to, but never unkind. Then there are a bunch of newer guys who get annoyed the second you want anything from them, and then there‘s two people who are arrogant and rude to the point where no one even dares to ask them anything. Seriously, one of them once got mad at me for apologising to her in the wrong way. They’re all in the same building with the same 'customers' (us other workers), yet some of them are d***s and some not.
Around 1981, I bought a very expensive translation program. For me it was almost an entire month's salary. I was a graduate student at the time and I need a translation program that would allow me to scan the document and it would be translated. So I paid over 500 bucks for this program. They sent me software to install on my computer. BUT NO instructions on how to use it. I installed it. But there was NO booklet, I scanned documents and not one damned thing happened. I called them and no one could tell me anything because the lady who answered the phone had no idea how to work it. I did not get mad at her. I emailed the company, FIVE FREAKING TIMES, getting madder and madder and madder. Five hundred dollars is a lot of money. I had to take it out of my savings [my savings was a whole 648 bucks] to pay for it. Finally, after become increasingly irate, I got an email back telling me not to be so rude to the developers. I wrote back and asked that they send me an instruct
I wrote back and asked them to send me an instruction booklet. I never heard from them again. I never used it, I didn't know how. But many, many years later, I found out that the "instruction booklet" was in a file folder in the software. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW? However, I told a lot of the professors who were very interested in the product for translation. I told them it was a scam. All the company had to do was tell me how to access the instructions. Nope. And they refused to refund my money.
Load More Replies... I was an older community college student and would sit in a computer lab during computer majors classes. I can say that most IT people were jerks before they got paid for it. Those kids were just as maybe more obnoxious than the baseball players and their girlfriends I took biology with. Oh don't get me started about older students.
Funny how all of these are from IT guys on the "tech" side of the table and not a single one of them admitted that their first response to equipment not working is "the cable's bad" as in the cable supplying the connectivity. I've lost count of the number of times I've had to go check the cable only to find out, after troubleshooting outside my area of expertise, that the fiber only needed to be rolled (actually had one jackass argue with me that the position of the fiber strands didn't matter on a TX/RX circuit) or the SFP was bad or the port was bad. IT guys aren't the beleaguered saints they want everyone to believe they are. The real reason they're such d***s is because the cable guy proved them wrong and now they have to actually go out and work for their money.
I'm a jerk because I work twice as slow with customers than my colleagues and the reason I work slow is because I have to explain too long to too many idiots my gender has nothing to do with my skills so please stop whining, question me, disbelieving me belittle me etc and let me do my f**ing job because I'm way smarter and capable than you!
No, you are not. You probably know more about computers and networking than your customer, but do you have the skills your caller has? Do you know all the functions of the applications they need to use? Can you design a new skyscraper? Can you perform an appendectomy? Can you fly a commercial airliner? Can you even competently manage good service to patrons of high end restaurants? There is no excuse for "I am smarter than you," whether you are an IT supporter or consumer. Back off, buddy.
Load More Replies... Thrying to deal with IT people is a case of 'Damned if you do, damned if you don't'. If you try to keep things on your equipment up-to-date or install anything you need for your work you get told off for touching it, or find that you have no admin rights.
Wow, company doesn't want to pay fines for using software they have no license for. What a bunch of bastards. It's not your task to maintain, update or install software and most of the times IT has valid reasons for not deploying updates or installing programs, like known security issues that they are aware of and you don't.
Load More Replies... This is bullshit! This can be said of all professions. I can think of a lot of asses who are teachers, lawyers, cashiers, salesmen....
