Silly Clients

[Skull]

Yes I see now.
What happened was a very quick power cut so all our PCs turned off and then it takes about 15 minutes for them to boot into a working screen.
While they were rebooting I looked around the office and all the Managers monitors were on and their laptops were still on working screens as though nothing had happened.
In the split second power cut (which happened 3 times in 2 hours) their monitors had obviously gone off and come straight back on again.

It's funny to anyone who knows how monitors work, but its not too unreasonable for someone to assume that the thick-ass VGA cable connecting their laptop to their monitor is providing power. It's a borderline case though

 

[Confused]

I asked for a screenshot once.

The user did a print screen, printed it, scanned it back in, and embedded the scanned image into an excel sheet and emailed it!

I've also been faxed a printed screenshot before.

I get almost the same from one of our customers all the time. Print screen, print, scan, and then embedded into a Word document.

 

[Redgie]

I'm sure everyone in I.T. has this problem, but why is it that clients, friends, family etc. always fail to grasp the concept of only having one option?

"A box has come up saying <Blah Blah Blah>, should I press continue?"
"Is there another option?"
"No"
"..."
"So should I press it?"
"WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO!?


Also had one last night where a family friend called and asked for help setting the PC's clock, she sets the date and then asks "What time should I set"...WHAT DO YOU THINK!?

Thank God I don't do much support anymore...

 

[Admiral Huddy]

Woman : I've noticed the backups you set up aren't working?

Me : (hunch) where's the backup drive, is it plugged in?

Woman : no it's in my bedroom drawer. I unplugged it after you left.

me : So how's the backup supposed to work?

Woman.. Well when you said it was automatic, I thought it would connect automatically using wifi.

fair point I guess

 

[The Dread Pirate]

Woman : I've noticed the backups you set up aren't working?

Me : (hunch) where's the backup drive, is it plugged in?

Woman : no it's in my bedroom drawer. I unplugged it after you left.

me : So how's the backup supposed to work?

Woman.. Well when you said it was automatic, I thought it would connect automatically using wifi.

fair point I guess

You need to clarify things like not unplugging the backup device!

 

[Bunka]

Best one I've heard in a while this morning.

A colleague of mine had a client calling up and going mental because she'd been charged £2m on her invoice. She'd actually mis-read the invoice and was being billed for 2m units. This is apparently a common thing with this client as well.

 

[Admiral Huddy]

You need to clarify things like not unplugging the backup device!

You have no idea just how much sometimes

 

[matt_fsr]

Oh I used to hate the users copying in 400 senior managers in when they wanted things done.

Slightly off-topic, but I have used this ruse with success once before.

Whilst working on a particularly bad helpdesk job, and in the throes of leaving I was somewhat sick of getting email reminders about the wonderful new multi-million £ HQ the parent company was building down south somewhere, which was of no relevance to me and got right up my nose given the pittance we were paid.

So I played the "dumb helpdesk eejit" and hit reply-all to the email (which was badly configured in the first place) and spammed the entire upper management, CEO and board with my request to be removed from the mailing list for such matters, seeing as I was based ~300 miles away!

I got removed pretty quick, hopefully there will have been some red faces somewhere over that one.

 

[matthab]

Slightly off-topic, but I have used this ruse with success once before.

Whilst working on a particularly bad helpdesk job, and in the throes of leaving I was somewhat sick of getting email reminders about the wonderful new multi-million £ HQ the parent company was building down south somewhere, which was of no relevance to me and got right up my nose given the pittance we were paid.

So I played the "dumb helpdesk eejit" and hit reply-all to the email (which was badly configured in the first place) and spammed the entire upper management, CEO and board with my request to be removed from the mailing list for such matters, seeing as I was based ~300 miles away!

I got removed pretty quick, hopefully there will have been some red faces somewhere over that one.

Ah the good old reply all mail span event. Email went to the wrong department we all hit reply all and was asked to be removed etc. 2 days it was still going untill IT got in and stopped it

 

[BrightonBelle]

Woman : I've noticed the backups you set up aren't working?

Me : (hunch) where's the backup drive, is it plugged in?

Woman : no it's in my bedroom drawer. I unplugged it after you left.

me : So how's the backup supposed to work?

Woman.. Well when you said it was automatic, I thought it would connect automatically using wifi.

fair point I guess

She lives with you... what more can I say?

This thread is great. I cannot believe the wireless story!

BB x

 

[bitslice]

Now to me walking out a door and looking for a sign in plain sight isn't difficult

Signage is overrated, you pretty much have to known what to expect before you see a sign and even then most are ignored.

We have a stretch of road from the highway to the village, nothing special or dangerous about it, but it must have thirty road signs on it. What is the point?
All of which are ignored because nobody really looks at signs unless they have to.

Just watched a program on how our brain ignores a huge amount of what goes on around us, we function on autopilot most of the time.

 

[tom_e]

The amount of times I've been stood right next to a sign pointing something out or telling someone where to go and people still come up to me and ask me where or what something is is ridiculous, a lot of people do just walk around with their eyes shut.

 

[Steampunk]

Oh I used to hate the users copying in 400 senior managers in when they wanted things done.

It's at that point you email back, calmly explaining how and why the user cannot have what he wants, strongly implying he is an idiot, doesn't know what he is doing, and it's all his own fault anyway. You also "accidentally" leave his own CCs in place to all his managers.

 

[Freeman]

I recently went to a consumer panel with about 25 other people. You use iPads to input your opinion on the product. There were 10 products which were brought through one at a time. The iPad list didn't match up with the order in which they were going to be brought through, so we were provided with pieces of paper with the correct order. Order is important because the numbers need to match up with the product so that you know what you're testing, so the iPad was useless without the paper. This is how it went.

*Before we enter the consumer test room*

Scientist: Please note, the iPad order is incorrect, please use the paper as the reference

*other ramblings about the test*

Scientist: So just to confirm, the paper MUST be used as someone has mixed up the order on the iPad.

*other ramblings about the test*

Scientist: Everyone should have an iPad, and your corresponding piece of paper

*We enter the test room*

Scientist: Ok, before you start can I remind everyone that the order on the iPad is INCORRECT. Please use the paper to refer to your product when it's brought through.

*a few people nod, the rest get on with filling out the NDA/Consent forms*
*silence*

Consumer: *puts up hand* yeah, umm, the iPad order is wrong???

We can't talk or speak once in the room but I really had to hold back "oh for **** sake"

 

[Skeeter]

Oh I used to hate the users copying in 400 senior managers in when they wanted things done.

I used to have a great customer for this. When he logged and issue it was always in a "you are all incompitent on support look at the **** this system does its so rubbish!" tone, and with everyone senior in the company CCed in, right up to CFO (it was financial software).

This was great because 99% of the time it was user error, and naturally its good practice in support to keep everyone in the loop , so obviously the "try spelling your name right" type replies also went back with the CFO CCed in .

The priority/severity/SLA argument was always a good fun one too. "I don't care if the CFO thinks that one cell in that one report that gets used by 1 user once a month should be Teal and not Turquoise, I'm not logging it as a Severity 1".

Glad that world is behind me.

 

[The Dread Pirate]

You have no idea just how much sometimes

You forget I work as IT support so I have a fair idea where you're coming from

 

[Rilot]

These remind me of:

 

[anything I don't mind]

Woman : I've noticed the backups you set up aren't working?

Me : (hunch) where's the backup drive, is it plugged in?

Woman : no it's in my bedroom drawer. I unplugged it after you left.

me : So how's the backup supposed to work?

Woman.. Well when you said it was automatic, I thought it would connect automatically using wifi.

fair point I guess

lol automatic = wifi,

 

[Toadem]

 

[oldbag]

I used to have a great customer for this. When he logged and issue it was always in a "you are all incompitent on support look at the **** this system does its so rubbish!" tone, and with everyone senior in the company CCed in, right up to CFO (it was financial software).

This was great because 99% of the time it was user error, and naturally its good practice in support to keep everyone in the loop , so obviously the "try spelling your name right" type replies also went back with the CFO CCed in .

The priority/severity/SLA argument was always a good fun one too. "I don't care if the CFO thinks that one cell in that one report that gets used by 1 user once a month should be Teal and not Turquoise, I'm not logging it as a Severity 1".

Glad that world is behind me.

Yeah, and to a user, they only remember when there are system issues, not the months of perfect uptime and service. Therefore the view of the support person is of incompetence because the system "is always down".

Plus you rarely get any real form of recognition in the company for all the work done in the background to improve service.

Glad I'm out too.