Do you find people just don't trust you?

FoxEye said:
I work in IT. I "get" technology. I can set up a TV, router or sky box without reading the manual (normally). It's second nature. And I'm betting most people on this forum are the same. We're not phased by any electronic gizmo.

Yet I'm constantly coming across people who aren't tech savvy, and who won't let me anywhere near their electronic stuff.

Normally something has gone wrong, and they've spent hours (sometimes days) trying to fix it themselves. Almost by accident, sometimes they find a workaround for their problems. It often involves pressing a combination of buttons in a certain sequence, most of which you immediately realise are redundant or do nothing at all. But this is how they fixed it the first time and now they've memorised it, and are convinced this is the correct solution.

Anyway, at some point they tell you about the problem they had. Sometimes they might even ask if what they did was right. But then I hit a problem with many people - they won't let me anywhere near the problem device.

It doesn't matter how many times you explain what you do for a living, or the fact that you've encountered this exact same problem before. It doesn't matter whether they're a friend (or even family) - they don't trust you to make even the most simple fix.

Today I wasn't even allowed to turn on a computer to see what the wireless access key was, because the PC owner was afraid I'd break it. So the new PC that needs to access the wireless network remains disconnected.

It is frustrating and saddening to know you could fix something only for someone to simply not trust you enough to do it. With electronic stuff this is frighteningly common I find.
Click to expand...

It could be your fault. What you need to do is explain what needs to be changed for it to work.

For example -

You "Oh right, your PC isn't connecting to the internet, you just need to put in the wifi key again for the router. "
Person "Ah, how do I do that?"
You "Usually in the notification area in the bottom right you'll see an icon, double click that and it'll become obvious I expect. Want me to do it for you?"
Person "Oh, yes please. Thanks!"
 
Nope not here either. I'm the go to guy for hardware stuff be it the landline not working, the remote not working or the PC running slow. My brother deals with servers and websites. Between us we have all the bases covered.
 
The Halk said:
It could be your fault. What you need to do is explain what needs to be changed for it to work.

For example -

You "Oh right, your PC isn't connecting to the internet, you just need to put in the wifi key again for the router. "
Person "Ah, how do I do that?"
You "Usually in the notification area in the bottom right you'll see an icon, double click that and it'll become obvious I expect. Want me to do it for you?"
Person "Oh, yes please. Thanks!"
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm usually a bit sparing with words; I'd just say "I've got to get some settings off the router. Is there another PC I can use for a minute or two?" TBH, I try not to waste my time or theirs explaining things they don't really need to know.
 
Quite funny that you should mention this, at my previous secondary school I was known as the wizz kid, and worked hard.

Since I moved to my current school things have been the opposite, nobody trusts me with anything, even experiments in chemistry or physics.
They say I'm a nice guy but I'm not the brightest bulb in the box.
 
flibbage0 said:
Quite funny that you should mention this, at my previous secondary school I was known as the wizz kid, and worked hard.

Since I moved to my current school things have been the opposite, nobody trusts me with anything, even experiments in chemistry or physics.
They say I'm a nice guy but I'm not the brightest bulb in the box.
Click to expand...

Probably because no one knows who you are...

Who are you?
 
Can't say I've had that problem. Everyone trusts me. Devices, password, etc. A few mates have even been happy to give me their credit card details over the phone so I can purchase something in their name when they couldn't.
 
People normally trust me. Been in my new job for 4 weeks and some people within our team keep asking me IT questions even though I don't work in a technical capacity - I think it's just because I'm proactive in solving problems so tend to have answers to things that affect everyone. Although I'm not liking the nickname "local IT help desk" :rolleyes:

I did have a colleague give me her credit card and her pin code to buy a meal after knowing me for 2 weeks - although I think that may have been her foolishness more than trusting me!
 
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