Dealing with Users

I work in IT and have done so for the past 15 years.  Yet I’m still amazed by the absurdity of  some of the questions I continually get asked.  The worst part is that many of these questions come from people who should know better!

How is it that in today’s information age people still don’t have a clue how computers work?

Why is it that MIS support staff are expected to be mind readers an know exactly what is on your screen now and how to fix every problem a user encounters or creates for themselves?

Oh and why do many “highly educated” people still get confused about what a hard drive actually is? No it’s NOT the box that you monitor and keyboard plugs into, it’s a thingy (technical term [sic]) that sits inside that box! <sigh>

Anyone who’s actually worked in the “trenches” of the IT Support Desk know exactly what I’m talking about.  Quite simply, its very easy to form the opinion that all users are idiots and should have all sharp objects reformed from their person and said person relocated to a nice quite padded room.  Think I’m being too harsh? Try working on an IT Support Desk for a few months! If *YOU* manage to not got nuts and end up in the aforementioned padded room yourself, then you’re either not doing your job or taking too many do-I look-like-I give-a-sh!t? pills!

So to help out the poor buggers sitting on the IT Support Desk, read on and perhaps learn a little.  If you already work there…well I share your pain.

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