to the IT people on the forums

[the game]

So I know we have some IT Professionals here. I'm curious how many of you deal with clients? I do hardware support for my university and I've gotta tell you the people who don't take care of their computers is staggering. I'll never understand why people insist on using damaged power cables. Had a faculty member bring their laptop in because the battery was shit. She brought this cable in with it. Pretty sure this is why the battery is shit. She saw nothing wrong with this cable. After I fixed the laptop I didn't even give her the option to take it back with her. I went down to inventory and got a different charger. I just hope there's no further damage besides the battery with that laptop.

[urasim]

People are lazy and stupid. Can't say I've ever met anyone who cared for their shit. I got out IT because people were unbearable, and no amount of money would ever get me back in. I honestly don't know how anyone can deal with the constant stupidity.

[Blueobelisk]

My laptop charger was always fucked up, back in the day when I only had a laptop. Using it on my lap with a pillow all day would always twist it and I'd go through chargers like crazy. They'd even start sparking it would be so bad.

[Deleted]

the term PEBKAC exists for a reason.

[PACOX]

Do you know how many people would be out of their jobs of people would just "do the right thing"? That applies to doctors, lawyers, first responders, etc. Dealing with people who don't take the best care of their stuff comes with the territory.

[Daerio]

I've seen plenty of people still using equipment that had cabling so damage it was sparking, they'd wrap it in electrical tape and keep using it or sometimes not bother with the pretense of the tape.

Those are retail locations where they don't want the equipment to go down, and they also don't pay to own or maintain the equipment themselves. I'd like to say that has a lot to do with it, but it really doesn't. People don't take care of their own shit, much less somebody else's.

[Zoibert the Bear]

If you are familiar with the OSI model, you can probably guess why I always tell my boss that we have a Layer 8 issue going on.

[Noxx79]

I worked in IT at an insurance company.

A woman brought her laptop in covered with MILK.

When were were cleaning it out to salvage what we could, I smelled a distinct smell.

She poured milk all over her laptop to cover up the fact that she spilled WINE on the laptop (evidence that she was drinking while working).

Some people are stupid. Some don't care, and when it's a COMPANY asset, they generally just don't give a damn.

The ONLY way to stop that is to make people responsible for damage on their equipment, but that's way above mine, and probably your, pay grade.

[heerobya]

IT is hard, that's true. It's either a complete lack of care for anything they own/use, or a complete lack of willingness to pay or anything new or worth buying (including proper service and support).

I've been IT for over a decade now, been a manager and now Project Manager for 3+ years, and it only gets worse the more responsibility you have.

What's almost the worst thing? How it breaks otherwise good people/techs and turns them into lazy assholes. You see it once you get out of the "trenches" and have to manage people. You feel bad for them, understand why they are slacking at their jobs and being rude to customer and shit, but at the same time, you can't have that for the sake of the business and growth etc. so you make tough choices.

It's really a terrible combination of the service industry and technology and all the problems/issues that creates.

IT has the same headaches as the service industry (waiters and bar tenders and such) and all the headaches of managing and fixing/caring for technology.

[zealo]

Terms like Pebkac and ID10T doesn't exist without reason.

In general, the worst part of IT is dealing with users who are not computer literate to varying degrees.

[Kathandira]

the term PEBKAC exists for a reason.

ID 10 T issues.

- - - Updated - - -

Terms like Pebkac and ID10T doesn't exist without reason.

In general, the worst part of IT is dealing with users who are not computer literate to varying degrees.

Damn, beat me to it, lol

[Noxx79]

Terms like Pebkac and ID10T doesn't exist without reason.

In general, the worst part of IT is dealing with users who are not computer literate to varying degrees.

I don't mind the people who are not computer literate - as long as they're honest about it. If you work in IT, you need to understand that not everyone has nearly had the same exposure to technology as you.

No, the people I can't stand are the people who THINK they know what they're doing or know JUUUUST enough to screw things up.

[Acidbaron]

Golden rule in any form of employment. If your employer doesn't care you shouldn't care.

[zenkai]

I have a problem with cold natured women plugging in personal heaters into their UPS and frying the battery.

[Dadwen]

I've seen cords chewed up, cigarette burns all over laptops, some come in looking like they were using it for their dinner plate even had a couple come back that looked like they were ran over (Ummm I don't know what happened it was in my bag and I must have dropped it just a little...BS *dam thing was a HP Elitebook 8460p and even the metal on the top and the bottom of it (the bottom cover) was bowed in), had one a while back guy was bitching up a storm about his POS laptop and I start looking at it and there is pink lemonade all though it under the keyboard battery etc... I ask him about it and weellllllll I don't know how that could have happened derp derp.....

*I have to wonder if they treat their own computer the same as the company equipment...

[Masark]

There's a reason stories like this are written.

[ItachiZaku]

Yep, but we should also remember that we've been doing this for awhile, so what is second nature to us, is foreign to them. Like, they can't do your job but you probably can't do their's either (or want to might be better verbage).

[Forgettable]

the term PEBKAC exists for a reason.

This man gets it. Don't forget to tell them to RTFM!

[zenkai]

Yep, but we should also remember that we've been doing this for awhile, so what is second nature to us, is foreign to them. Like, they can't do your job but you probably can't do their's either (or want to might be better verbage).

Yeah but some stuff people do should be common sense. hehe

[the game]

I've seen cords chewed up, cigarette burns all over laptops, some come in looking like they were using it for their dinner plate even had a couple come back that looked like they were ran over (Ummm I don't know what happened it was in my bag and I must have dropped it just a little...BS *dam thing was a HP Elitebook 8460p and even the metal on the top and the bottom of it (the bottom cover) was bowed in), had one a while back guy was bitching up a storm about his POS laptop and I start looking at it and there is pink lemonade all though it under the keyboard battery etc... I ask him about it and weellllllll I don't know how that could have happened derp derp.....

*I have to wonder if they treat their own computer the same as the company equipment...

We had a macbook come in once that had liquid damage. it smelled like urine. We refused to work on it.