A new way of thinking

This is my first post on That Damn PC and I’m happy to be here. I’ve spent my life tinkering with computers, blowing up electronic equipment and picking on the end-users at all of my IT jobs… Now I want to give back. I started blogging over the past couple of years and made it a point to be honest, open and most important of all, sarcastic. I have a couple of blogs that I write for in the Philadelphia area (as this is where I’m from) and they all have a twist of sarcasm, wittiness and and sometimes a down right rude tone to them that I am hoping to bring to you, the faithful (and not so faithful) readers of That Damn PC. To get into the swing of things, I’d like to first ask a question and then tell you a little IT-related “issue” I recently came across.

First, a question (or two) — What is the worst situation that you have experienced while dealing with an IT department? What is the worst situation that you have experienced while working in an IT department? Now as you can see, I want your stories from both sides. I believe in what my father used to say, “I don’t pick favorites between you and your brother. I dislike both of you equally.” So please, leave a comment below and I promise, I’ll read it.

Now, on to the story. Just a couple of weeks ago I had a wonderful coworker ask me:

How do I fix my monitor?

I started to rattle off a canned answer before I realized that they had not told me any information about what the issue was. When I pressed them for more information, they had no idea of how to respond. As we went back and forth with questions like, “Is the monitor on? Is it dim? Does it have lines across it?” I came to realize that this issue stems from a much larger problem — We in IT don’t have all the answers. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true. This is especially true when we don’t have all the information.

The reason I’m telling you this is that most of the time when a problem arises relating to a computer, people grab the closest tech-savvy person and ask them to fix it. This does not work. People are trained in different aspects of IT. If you were an accountant, you probably wouldn’t want me running to you each time I was short on cash. Why? Because you’re not a loan shark. Sure you deal in money but that doesn’t make you qualified nor interested in what it is I have to say. The same rings true in IT. A desktop support guy (or gal) is probably trained in desktop computer issues. This doesn’t include servers, networks, car engines or your blender. So please, be kind to your IT guy and give them the information that they need so they can either solve your issue or point you in the right direction.

By the way, in case you were wondering — This user had unplugged the VGA cable from their computer while cleaning. They didn’t think it did anything so they coiled it up, nice and neat, and taped it to the back of the monitor.