Current Events > IT techs really can be such smug little pricks

(+) Yeah! (+)

And no it's not always because they're right and everyone else is stupid.

Watching an email conversation right now between two techs from different companies. The chief goal of this conversation doesn't seem to be focused on actually being solution orientated but really just seeing who can swing their dick around the most impressively.

If you're an IT tech the single best career advice I can give you is up your interpersonal skills and don't reflexively treat all other people with as much hostility as you can muster
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Ok.

Also, I would also try to get on the IT department's good side. Usually people who treat them like shit initially don't usually get the best service.
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SavenForever posted...

Ok.

Also, I would also try to get on the IT department's good side. Usually people who treat them like shit initially don't usually get the best service.

I work for a software company so really the entire company is one big IT department with various specialties. I just seem to be watch these weird pissing contests on a daily basis between our techs and third parties
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if you dont want your IT department to hate you, don't be an incompetent with no tech literacy
and don't call up and ignore their advice. they tell you to make your your computer is plugged in for a reason. and that reason is you.
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>tc makes topic about two IT techs being dicks to each other

>CE gets defensive and says "but stupid customers"
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Scottydoesntno posted...

if you dont want your IT department to hate you, don't be an incompetent with no tech literacy
and don't call up and ignore their advice. they tell you to make your your computer is plugged in for a reason. and that reason is you.

This highlights the crux of the problem to me. You're a tech because that's your profession. You're the person with the skillset and experience, the person providing the expertise in the situation. So why have the expectation that other people who are not techs should be on your level?

That's like a chef being annoyed at his customers because they don't know how to make a duck confit at home by themselves so they came to the restaurant to eat it. It's weird.

I understand if you give advice and it's ignored, but I don't understand the immediate hostility some techs have to anyone who's not technically minded. Your end user employs you exactly for that reason.

Anyway I wasn't even talking about techs and customer interactions here, I was talking about techs talking to other techs.
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Frontline tech support is like being a garbage man. No one thanks for picking up the garbage, but if you don't then there is hell to pay.
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pinky0926 posted...

So why have the expectation that other people who are not techs should be on your level?

I don't. I expect an adult that can function enough to get a job to have basic troubleshooting skills. "program not working? maybe i should restart the computer before calling IT. headset not working? maybe i should check it has charge". stuff like that. I shouldn't have to hand-hold a 40-something year old man how to change his password when he receives an email every day 14 days in advance with a step by step guide with pictures showing him how to do it. this is why your IT department hates you.
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also, users who ignore the ticket system, ignore that we have a "it department" number and call people individually, or email them individually (outside of cases that a tech is already working with them with) are the worst. the system is in place for a reason, don't jump the queue
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coz theyre overpaid and working in the best industry, they can afford to be smug pricks
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Literally a bunch of bitter IT tech guys that didn't even bother to read TC post ITT. This was exactly what he was talking about, pissing contestz to show how knowledgeable you are when you are dead wrong. None of you guys ranting about stupid customers has any bearing when it is IT to other IT.

Tedtalker posted...

Literally a bunch of bitter IT tech guys that didn't even bother to read TC post ITT. This was exactly what he was talking about, pissing contestz to show how knowledgeable you are when you are dead wrong. None of you guys ranting about stupid customers has any bearing when it is IT to other IT.

Two year old account with 4 karma post. Gtfo
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Scottydoesntno posted...

pinky0926 posted...

So why have the expectation that other people who are not techs should be on your level?

I don't. I expect an adult that can function enough to get a job to have basic troubleshooting skills. "program not working? maybe i should restart the computer before calling IT. headset not working? maybe i should check it has charge". stuff like that. I shouldn't have to hand-hold a 40-something year old man how to change his password when he receives an email every day 14 days in advance with a step by step guide with pictures showing him how to do it. this is why your IT department hates you.

Those are fine things to be annoyed about but I think you misunderstand this topic. I work in the IT department.
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Scottydoesntno posted...

if you dont want your IT department to hate you, don't be an incompetent with no tech literacy

HURR STOP EXPECTING HELP FROM THE PEOPLE HIRED TO HELP YOU

holy shit ce
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people are dumb I'd hate to be IT. There's way better tech jobs out there
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the only times ive seen a co-worker of mine get smug or annoyed at someone else in the it industry is if they are from another company and aren't doing what they are paid to do. (missing SLAs, the company getting level 1 techs on the job when level 3 or 4 is required, etc. i don't doubt that cases like the OP exist but they can't be the norm
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

if you dont want your IT department to hate you, don't be an incompetent with no tech literacy

HURR STOP EXPECTING HELP FROM THE PEOPLE HIRED TO HELP YOU

holy shit ce

i have a million jobs and helping some tech illiterate isn't supposed to be one of them. the company should hire competent employees that dont waste my time with trivial issues that they should be able to solve themselves
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Scottydoesntno posted...

i have a million jobs and helping some tech illiterate isn't supposed to be one of them.

then obviously you're not the IT help guy
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I'm guessing you've never worked with engineers TC. Their dick swinging contests put IT's to shame.
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

i have a million jobs and helping some tech illiterate isn't supposed to be one of them.

then obviously you're not the IT help guy

you're confusing IT with call center IT.
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Scottydoesntno posted...

the only times ive seen a co-worker of mine get smug or annoyed at someone else in the it industry is if they are from another company and aren't doing what they are paid to do. (missing SLAs, the company getting level 1 techs on the job when level 3 or 4 is required, etc. i don't doubt that cases like the OP exist but they can't be the norm

I would say the majority of my interactions with third parties involve dealing with some smug low level tech who wants to be unhelpful by default.

I don't have a problem with brisk techs that lack fluffiness in their emails. I have a problem with techs who are so jaded from dealing with stupid customers for so long that they've lost the ability to properly test the issue and the desire to actually help the end client.

The structure of a lot of my problems go like this:

Me: Can we take a look at X problem?
Tech: It's not X problem, it's Y.
Me: How do you know?
Tech: *already shitty* Because it's never Y.
Me: Have you checked that? Because I've tested X in various ways (explains them) and X appears to be fine. Is there anything else I can try?
Tech: It's just not Y I know it's not Y.
Me: But how do you know?

Repeat ad nauseum until tech decides to look at issue and yes, it was Y all along.
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IT guys are essentially CEmen

Scottydoesntno posted...

the company should hire competent employees that dont waste my time with trivial issues that they should be able to solve themselves

Is it really wasting your time if you're getting paid?
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AlisLandale posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

the company should hire competent employees that dont waste my time with trivial issues that they should be able to solve themselves

Is it really wasting your time if you're getting paid?

Yeah cause i'd rather work on scripts or the servers or some project i've been given rather than some tedious issue the same user has submitted 3 times this week and never learns.
And even if I did have the "no care" attitude about productivity, it's still the companies time thats being wasted.
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Scottydoesntno posted...

YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

i have a million jobs and helping some tech illiterate isn't supposed to be one of them.

then obviously you're not the IT help guy

you're confusing IT with call center IT.

oh

who tf is TC talking about
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YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

i have a million jobs and helping some tech illiterate isn't supposed to be one of them.

then obviously you're not the IT help guy

you're confusing IT with call center IT.

oh

who tf is TC talking about

people who have been elevated above call center phone answerer
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pinky0926 posted...

So why have the expectation that other people who are not techs should be on your level?

This is a big thing that a lot of IT people should learn and understand. A lot of people out there just aren't wired to be able to figure out the 1s and 0s of technical things on their own very easily. Technical acumen is a very nice thing to have, but it shouldn't be expected of everyone. Especially since if everyone or even most people COULD figure out basic tech things, there would be little to no need for tech support.

Tech support, while typically entry level, is a great starting point in the IT industry. If you remove the need for it, then way less IT people ever get going in IT careers. Me included.
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From my experience, most people are stupid as fuck outside of their discipline. Literally the smartest employee or even the CEO can be and usually will be too dumb to even troubleshoot or make sure a headphone is plugged in or something extremely silly, and they almost never learn.

Doesn't keep me from being a Mr. Nice Guy and I've learned to be super patient.
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Scottydoesntno posted...

YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

YOUHAVENOHOPE posted...

Scottydoesntno posted...

i have a million jobs and helping some tech illiterate isn't supposed to be one of them.

then obviously you're not the IT help guy

you're confusing IT with call center IT.

oh

who tf is TC talking about

people who have been elevated above call center phone answerer

why the fuck are these people solving problems that can be solved with a reboot then lmao

i think you just reacted too strongly here to begin
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Oh definitely. TC is 100% and I work in the IT field. You can't just throw IT mumbo words at people and at the same time you can't talk to them like a little baby who don't understand anything.

The thing about IT people is that they're always trying to outsmart each other. They don't care to resolve an issue, they just wanna sound smart. Similar to how when a nerd corrects you, he isn't doing it to truly educate you. He's doing it to feel superior.
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Fony posted...

From my experience, most people are stupid as fuck outside of their discipline. Literally the smartest employee or even the CEO can be and usually will be too dumb to even troubleshoot or make sure a headphone is plugged in or something extremely silly, and they almost never learn.

Doesn't keep me from being a Mr. Nice Guy and I've learned to be super patient.

Yeah I can't count how many times I've gotten a ticket saying something like "computer crashed, nothing is coming on" only to walk over and instantly observe that they've stepped on their power strip. I'm never a prick to people though unless they're a prick to me, in which case I'm going to do my best to make them feel small.
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People make dumb mistakes all the time, you just gotta have integrity and learn to be better than them.
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Yeah they can be sometimes but it's a tiring job telling people to reset passwords and shit all day.

I remember one time I couldn't log into my computer and I had to call our help desk. Dude kept telling me to reset my password but I'm telling him it's not my password but rather my profile was off not letting me be authorized to log in. An hour and a half later and finally the dude gives in and resets my profile and behold it works.
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yeah I'm more than happy to help people with easy peasy problems, which is like 80% of what I deal with
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I must be very lucky because in my 9 years in the IT field, I've never seen IT people trying to one up each other in smartness. I've run into plenty of lazy ass IT people that make more work for others like myself.

Scottydoesntno posted...

also, users who ignore the ticket system, ignore that we have a "it department" number and call people individually, or email them individually (outside of cases that a tech is already working with them with) are the worst. the system is in place for a reason, don't jump the queue

I fixed this at my last job by ignoring any direct phone call or email unless I was already working with the user. My boss had my back on this as well. After not getting in touch with me 2-3 times, they'd come stomping over to my boss and complain. His only response would be, "What's your ticket number?" This shifted the behavior of our employees and there was a noticeable uptick in ticket requests.

Keep in mind, I wasn't always ignoring them. Sometimes I'd be on vacation for a week then they'd get upset that I didn't answer my desk phone. That's why you always call the shared IT line or put in a ticket.
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pinky0926 posted...

SavenForever posted...

Ok.

Also, I would also try to get on the IT department's good side. Usually people who treat them like shit initially don't usually get the best service.

I work for a software company so really the entire company is one big IT department with various specialties. I just seem to be watch these weird pissing contests on a daily basis between our techs and third parties

I won't lie, the immaturity level isn't the best in the IT world.
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thelovefist posted...

Tedtalker posted...

Literally a bunch of bitter IT tech guys that didn't even bother to read TC post ITT. This was exactly what he was talking about, pissing contestz to show how knowledgeable you are when you are dead wrong. None of you guys ranting about stupid customers has any bearing when it is IT to other IT.

Two year old account with 4 karma post. Gtfo

Clearly TC's alt lol
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goldenBoi45 posted...

thelovefist posted...

Tedtalker posted...

Literally a bunch of bitter IT tech guys that didn't even bother to read TC post ITT. This was exactly what he was talking about, pissing contestz to show how knowledgeable you are when you are dead wrong. None of you guys ranting about stupid customers has any bearing when it is IT to other IT.

Two year old account with 4 karma post. Gtfo

Clearly TC's alt lol

No.
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voldothegr8 posted...

Fony posted...

From my experience, most people are stupid as fuck outside of their discipline. Literally the smartest employee or even the CEO can be and usually will be too dumb to even troubleshoot or make sure a headphone is plugged in or something extremely silly, and they almost never learn.

Doesn't keep me from being a Mr. Nice Guy and I've learned to be super patient.

Yeah I can't count how many times I've gotten a ticket saying something like "computer crashed, nothing is coming on" only to walk over and instantly observe that they've stepped on their power strip. I'm never a prick to people though unless they're a prick to me, in which case I'm going to do my best to make them feel small.

One teacher on a previous job couldn't open her Aol email(we blocked it in the past) and sent an "urgent" ticket in that the whole school district had no internet.
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Me: I can't get this display to work on my new PC
Nerd: Give me your whole entire computer specs, the ram, the OS and service pack version, what type of ram, mother board and pins on it, what cable you're using, what kind of ram, PSU, GPU, does your mobo have a PCI-E slot, also ram, monitor you're using, bios settings, please neatly organize it on an spreadsheet so I can better assist you. ALSO RAM

Me: Bro I don't think you need all that.
Nerd: Yes I do. I can't help you if I don't know those info.
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Fony posted...

One teacher on a previous job couldn't open her Aol email(we blocked it in the past) and sent an "urgent" ticket in that the whole school district had no internet.

User: Did something happen with the server over the weekend?
Me: Which one? We have over 70.
User: You know what I mean!
Me: No I don't...nevermind. What's the problem?
User: Well my computer was fine when I left on Friday. I come in today and it won't come on.
Me: So you think a server powers your comput....nevermind. I'm coming over.
*walks to desk*
Me: Looks like you turned the surge protector off. Have a nice day.
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Veggeta_MAX posted...

Me: I can't get this display to work on my new PC
Nerd: Give me your whole entire computer specs, the ram, the OS and service pack version, what type of ram, mother board and pins on it, what cable you're using, what kind of ram, PSU, GPU, does your mobo have a PCI-E slot, also ram, monitor you're using, bios settings, please neatly organize it on an spreadsheet so I can better assist you. ALSO RAM

Me: Bro I don't think you need all that.
Nerd: Yes I do. I can't help you if I don't know those info.

Considering this situation is a gross exaggeration, you're the type of person tech savvy people hate helping the most. Just give us all the information to begin with. We hate having to pull people's teeth to get to the issue. "idk dude it dont work please help" doesn't cut it.
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Ah, the funniest dumb mistake I seen was someone complaining his CD drive wasn't working, CDs would not fit. His computer was upside down.
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TheAnthraxBunny posted...

Considering this situation is a gross exaggeration, you're the type of person tech savvy people hate helping the most. Just give us all the information to begin with. We hate having to pull people's teeth to get to the issue. "idk dude it dont work please help" doesn't cut it.

I'm no car guy but if my front lights aren't working correctly and if the dude asks what kind of engine I have imma knock his lights out.

And sadly this does happens quite frequently on support boards. Whenever someone has an issue there's always that one guy that comes in and ask for all this extreme needless information only to never reply back. Unless you call him a troll. Call them a troll and they'll come back to defend themselves and virch hard.
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LightHawKnight posted...

Ah, the funniest dumb mistake I seen was someone complaining his CD drive wasn't working, CDs would not fit. His computer was upside down.

Haha
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BlazinBlue88 posted...

User: Did something happen with the server over the weekend?Me: Which one? We have over 70.User: You know what I mean!Me: No I don't...nevermind. What's the problem?User: Well my computer was fine when I left on Friday. I come in today and it won't come on.Me: So you think a server powers your comput....nevermind. I'm coming over.*walks to desk*Me: Looks like you turned the surge protector off. Have a nice day.

Really, there's no need to be condescending at all about this.
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Veggeta_MAX posted...

BlazinBlue88 posted...

User: Did something happen with the server over the weekend?Me: Which one? We have over 70.User: You know what I mean!Me: No I don't...nevermind. What's the problem?User: Well my computer was fine when I left on Friday. I come in today and it won't come on.Me: So you think a server powers your comput....nevermind. I'm coming over.*walks to desk*Me: Looks like you turned the surge protector off. Have a nice day.

Really, there's no need to be condescending at all about this.

It's hard not to be when someone can't realize their power strip got turned off.
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voldothegr8 posted...

It's hard not to be when someone can't realize their power strip got turned off.

I get it because I often make rants and complaints about it but we have to shake it off. People being completely ignorant to even the basics of technology is what pays us.
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voldothegr8 posted...

Veggeta_MAX posted...

BlazinBlue88 posted...

User: Did something happen with the server over the weekend?Me: Which one? We have over 70.User: You know what I mean!Me: No I don't...nevermind. What's the problem?User: Well my computer was fine when I left on Friday. I come in today and it won't come on.Me: So you think a server powers your comput....nevermind. I'm coming over.*walks to desk*Me: Looks like you turned the surge protector off. Have a nice day.

Really, there's no need to be condescending at all about this.

It's hard not to be when someone can't realize their power strip got turned off.

In all honestly, 9 times out of 10 the janitorial staff accidentally hit the button or bumped a power cord when they vacuumed under the desk. It's understandable. Most of what my previous post contained was hyperbole anyway.

As long as people weren't shitty to me when calling in about their issues then I had no problem. More often than not, the people I interacted with were very sweet and if it was something simple like a loose power cord then I'd plug it in and we'd both have a little laugh over it.
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