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  • How to email your IT person..

    It's quite simple, really. I'll break it down.

    Subject - this is where you put in the VERY short version of what the issue is. No where is "getting to the point" as important as it is here. Good subject lines include "No one can print to the printer at (location)" or "My computer won't load Word". Bad subject lines include "Something is wrong", "It's broken", and "HAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!11111".

    High priority flag - chances are if you use it your email will be considered whiny and a low priority. Chances are your "high priority" issue isn't really a high priority issue in the grand scheme of things.

    Flag for Follow up - Yeah, you really think a little tag on our email is going to make us jump to respond to your email? Nope.

    Attachments - if you choose to attach something, make it relevant. A screenshot of the error message or the file in question is a good thing to attach. Pictures of your puppy is not.

    The actual message - While it doesn't have the space limitation as the subject line, it is still important to get to the point. We don't need to read though 15 pages about how every computer has hated you since you were 3 years old and how your computer now is possessed. Stick to the facts and don't BS. Include exact error messages and what you did to cause the problem. Also tell us what you tried to do to fix the problem (chances are we'll have to undo it anyway).

    CC field - this is for carbon copy. People in this field will see the email and who else it was sent to.

    BCC field - blind carbon copy. No one will see who is in this field and any "reply to alls" will not go to them.

    Reply - this button is to send an email back to your IT person.

    Reply to All - this button will send your reply to everyone in the TO and CC fields. Chances are you shouldn't use it.

    Forward - this is to send your email to someone else.

    Check spelling - this should be automatic but if it isn't, use it, please.
    Quote Dalesys:
    ... as in "Ifn thet dawg comes at me, Ima gonna shutz ma panz!"

  • #2
    Who To CC: Carbon Copying your boss is ok, it lets him know your having an issue. Carbon copying my boss with make me put you to the bottom of my repair list.

    Following Up: Please don't walk down to my office 10 seconds after you send your email. It does not make me get to your issue any faster. Only mkaes me put you to the bottom of the list.

    Priority Levels: All issues are assigned a priority. Highest priority items get dwelt with first. They go something like this;
    1. Major Issue that affects more then one person
    2. Minor Issue that affects more then one issue
    3. Major issue that prevents a single user from doing thier work
    4. Minor issue that prevents a user from working at full efficency
    5. A cosmetic issue that does not impact how a user works


    If you have a low priory problem, you will need to wait. If you pester me it takes longer for me to get to you.

    Comment


    • #3
      Quoth Daskinor View Post
      If you pester me it takes longer for me to get to you.
      Every time you send me another email asking how long this will take, I add one hour to the estimated time. Two hours if you ask in person, and four if I am at lunch or otherwise off the clock when you ask.
      "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
      "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
      "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
      "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
      "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
      "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
      Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
      "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

      Comment


      • #4
        If you email me and all my co-workers with the exact same issue, we will quadruple the delay on getting to you. We are a small department (hence the four email addresses that are listed under "Web Services"), and yes, we do talk to each other. Bonus delay if you leave five minutes between each email and then claim the previous people didn't read it and are deliberately ignoring you.
        I speak English, L33t, Sarcasm and basic Idiot.

        Comment


        • #5
          How do you prioritize the one where you can tell (because you can access the mail server) that they emailed themselves a virus from home or in some other way did this to themselves?

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Raveni View Post
            How do you prioritize the one where you can tell (because you can access the mail server) that they emailed themselves a virus from home or in some other way did this to themselves?
            depends on if said bug is now munching away on said mail server or not
            could be a 1 could be a 10. 10 at my place of work is a minor change control project with a resolution timeline of 6 mos or less
            This is a drama-free zone; violators will be slapped. -Irving Patrick Freleigh
            my blog:http://steeledragon.wordpress.com/

            Comment


            • #7
              Read Receipts - We use them, we love them.
              So when you claim the 5 e-mails that were sent advising you of a change were never received - and doing the CC: thing with every higher-up in both mine and your food chains, we will be more than happy to e-mail the highest-up - and YOUR boss with the proof that you deleted the e-mails without being read.
              We look forward to the apology that you will be forced to send.

              B
              "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."- Albert Einstein.
              I never knew how happy paint could make people until I started selling it.

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Bandit View Post
                Read Receipts - We use them, we love them.
                So when you claim the 5 e-mails that were sent advising you of a change were never received - and doing the CC: thing with every higher-up in both mine and your food chains, we will be more than happy to e-mail the highest-up - and YOUR boss with the proof that you deleted the e-mails without being read.
                We look forward to the apology that you will be forced to send.

                B
                FYI - reading an email in the preview pane and then deleting it may flag it as being deleted w/o being read.
                Quote Dalesys:
                ... as in "Ifn thet dawg comes at me, Ima gonna shutz ma panz!"

                Comment


                • #9
                  Email retention Yes every email received by and sent from our server is recorded and copied onto an archival server. So when you send an inappropriate email to a customer, We know. When you delete an email, we have the original.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Nifty! Thanks! :bookmark'd:
                    I shall preserve this. (noms)
                    "Is it the lie that keeps you sane? Is this the lie that keeps you sane?What is it?Can it be?Ought it to exist?"
                    "...and may it be that I cleave to the ugly truth, rather than the beautiful lie..."

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Message Body

                      This is what I did.

                      This is what I intended to achieve.

                      This is what actually happened. (include error messages!)

                      This is why I thought it would/should achieve what I expected. (eg, 'it's on page XX of the manual', or 'the button is labelled Y')

                      This is what (if anything) I've tried to do to fix it.


                      That's what I consider perfect bug reporting. It lets the IT folks know everything you know, and everything they need to know. It also covers what a lot of IT folks don't think about: errors in the manual or in the user interface.
                      Seshat's self-help guide:
                      1. Would you rather be right, or get the result you want?
                      2. If you're consistently getting results you don't want, change what you do.
                      3. Deal with the situation you have now, however it occurred.
                      4. Accept the consequences of your decisions.

                      "All I want is a pretty girl, a decent meal, and the right to shoot lightning at fools." - Anders, Dragon Age.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Also sending a email to the help desk, then the personal email of everyone in IT a minute later will get you on the bottom of the list.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth mattm04 View Post
                          Also sending a email to the help desk, then the personal email of everyone in IT a minute later will get you on the bottom of the list.
                          Not to mention sending an email to Helpdesk, an email to the Head of It AND calling Helpdesk to "make sure" they got your email.

                          This annoys the heck out of me.

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