Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by cmn32480 on Saturday November 19 2016, @09:02PM   Printer-friendly
from the facepalm dept.

Some lighter weekend fare:

If it's Friday it must be time for me to file On-Call and then start drinking so you can start the last day of the week with one of our always-amusing tales of nasty jobs done at nasty times.

This week, reader "Kevin" shared a story from his time working a hell desk late shift.

With just a few minutes to go before quitting time, Kevin took a call from user complaining her computer "was stuck". Kevin couldn't remote in, so asked her to turn it off and turn it on again.

The user claimed to have done so, but also reported the machine was still stuck on the same screen.

Kevin felt the user had probably flicked the wrong switch, so asked if there was a PC-shaped box under her monitor.

"Yes, there's a grey one," was the response.

"Can you hold down the power button for about 10 seconds until all the lights go out", Kevin asked.

At which point the user asked where to find the power button

Kevin explained it would be at the front of the PC, have a power symbol and should respond to a quick prod of an index finger.

"I can't find it," said the user.

Kevin asked what lettering, if any, was on the machine, in an effort to figure out the maker and model. As luck would have it, the Compaq model on the user's desk was the same one on Kevin's. So he spent the next 15 minutes describing its case, the grey bezel on the front, and using baby steps to direct her to the power button.

To which the user said the following:

        "Oh you mean the button I use to switch it off with?"

Please, share your hell desk stories. We all need a good laugh.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 19 2016, @10:32PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 19 2016, @10:32PM (#429656)

    I was doing support for an application used by hospitals. I got a call from a clerk doing data entry, who had been told by the administrator to call the support number if they had any problems. She told me that the program wasn't working. It took several minutes to determine that by "not working", she meant that the computer screen was completely blank. I tried to get her to determine whether any other program was having the same problem, but she wasn't interested in actually resolving the problem. It was clear that the problem had nothing to do with my application, but I wanted to be helpful, so I continued.

    I asked her if the computer was turned on, and she assured me (in a very sullen tone) that the computer was turned on.

    I then asked if the monitor was turned on (this was before laptops were common). She said she didn't know. I asked her to try switching the power switch. She said she couldn't find the switch. Eventually, she mentioned that the bezel around the screen was covered in post-it notes. I asked her to peek under the notes on the bottom-right corner of the screen. She admitted that there was a button there. I asked her to press the button. At first she said it didn't work, but after a couple of seconds, the tube warmed up and the output from the computer appeared.

    Elapsed time: 30+ minutes.

    Starting Score:    0  points
    Moderation   +1  
       Funny=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Funny' Modifier   0  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 20 2016, @03:44AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 20 2016, @03:44AM (#429783)

    I did some help desk and other support decades ago. You can't just ask if it is turned on or plugged in. You have to ask which buttons were used to turn it on. With power, to prevent indignant inaction you can't just straight out ask if it is plugged in. You have to ask which wall socket it is plugged into.

    I had two or three that had their computer "start working" after asking about the wall socket though they say they did nothing.