you know the computer thing is it plugged in?
"Are you sure all the wires are connected, USB and power?" (Relating to a scanner.)
"Yes, I've checked several times."
get there, USB is firmly connected but the power connector was hanging like 2cm belown the desk, clearly visible when you looked at the back of the scanner.
At that same trip dropped in to check a complaint about a broken DVD-drive. Turns out it didn't read DVDs because it was a CD-drive.
I once spent 10 hours travelling from Toronto to Iowa (and back to Toronto) to flip a switch on a printer that multiple people had failed to figure out how to flip.
You can be as much of a dick as you want, so long as you are right, and can get shit done.
If you are the kind of IT supergenius that responds to a "my laptop won't connect to the company network" ticket with "ok I'll just remote into your laptop real quick", you better the friendliest guy around.
Users don’t want help. They want reassurance. They want you to be on their side until all their problems are solved. If you can fake that until they believe you they’ll do whatever you want to solve the problem. Especially if you tell them it’s a super secret IT guy thing.
I’ve met a total of three users who didn’t respond well to you treating them like someone picked from the audience to help a magician.
This is so true, doing everything you can to take it from an antagonistic relationship to a "we're in this together, lucky for us both I know some cool stuff" kinda scenario? Golden. Back when I dabbled, the worst repeat customers would end up requesting me, and end up happy. I moved on lol, those folks suck.
Interestingly I did industrial controls for a while too and it's the exact same dynamic. Client just wants to know their [PC | gigantic 24/7 mfg plant] is gonna be okay, it wasn't their fault, and they were right to call for help.
Edit: clarity
Being dependent on support guys that are not that bright can be really annoying, especially if you are from the field too. As an IT student while working off my civil service days I had a few situations like that.
For example, one didn't understand why plugging the Ethernet splitter (splits 4 twisted pairs into 2x 2 twisted pairs) into the switch instead of the structured cabling wasn't working.
Also because you waited until Friday at 16:53, DM'd me with no details instead of logging a ticket, lied about the business impact, and didn't ~~RTFM~~ ~~Google search~~ ask Gemini/ChatGPT beforehand.
[Updated for 2025]
In their defense sometimes it's hard to tell if a rack server is on from a layman's perspective. They are in a rack with other machines so it can be loud and then will still have lit LEDs front and back.
He ain't wrong. I've literally powered down, and back up, a server that solved the issue.