kybearfuzz | Wizard's 1st Rule -- People are stupid (Reply)

This week has been running wild at work. I finally got all of my reports done and Fed-Ex'ed out. It's seemed like it's taken forever even though I've gotten them turned in very early. It, however, was delayed by a few annoying things.

I help people out in computer support for certain software applications in the office. I've been trained to troubleshoot these types of software and I admit I have a working knowledge of computers. The problem often is that people sometime extend this fact to include all software and hardware packages. Now I'm getting calls from people for stuff I have no idea about. It's annoying because my personality often will not let me just say no. I should just refer them to the IT staff in the building, but they have rather short fuses and people don't like going to them.

For example, I got a phone call from a lady in our Cleveland office who wanted to know how to transform an Excel spreadsheet into an Access database so she could print labels for a mass mailing. I have NO idea how to do this. Instead of just looking under the "help" menu in Excel, she just calls me. So I look under help and find out how to use Word to mail merge the Excel information for label printing. Trying to explain this to her was like trying to explain how that box of chocolates is made to Forrest Gump.

Next this blowhard PhD from the office next door wants to know why the password he wants for an application wont work. It requires a non-alpha/numeric character and the one he picked, the ampersand, wont work. Well, I have no clue why it doesn't work and I'm too damn busy to spend time on something trivial and stupid. Has he tried other characters? No. Did he try a different password? No. I finally just gave "I don't know" and went back to my MORE IMPORTANT WORK! It must be nice to be able to screw around all day.

I used to be one of those people who thought that the computer support staff were just gruff, unsociable misfits with no people skills. I realized a few years ago that the people that they supported MAKE them that way. To deal with the slurry of minor and meaningless complaints all day forms a hard skin sometimes. To those of you who deal with computer support for a living you have my admiration. Lucky for me I'll be working out of the office away from my phone tomorrow. Sweet peace.

Based on my mood, this quiz result seems fitting....

nemesis