I'm not sure whose mental failure is worse

[TheITGuy]

I used to work at an IT 'service desk' (also known as 'those people who are forbidden from fixing the fun stuff'). We had sites all around the world, and I was working a night shift, so I had some calling from a foreign country. They had put all of their customer information in to the automated menu, so I knew who they were, where they were, and that they were a System Administrator.

Now, my mental failure: assumption. I assumed that as a System Administrator, she would have a clue.

The call was along the lines of:
SysAdmin: We have computer giving us the error: 'No signal, check cable.'
Me: Ok. Can you check and make sure all the cables are connected?
Pause
SysAdmin: Everything's connected.
Pause
Me (spotting her mental failure): Is this message really blocky and red, green, and blue?
SysAdmin: Yes.
Me: Is the computer turned on?
Pause
SysAdmin: Oops. This computer is always left on. We must have had a power outage last night.

If you don't understand, go turn off a PC (not a Mac), but leave the monitor on.

[telecom_goddess]

oh my lordy

[judecat]

Don't have to be tech person to know that, even I know that, and I'm just a barely computer literate granny.

[rose_metal_nz]

wow. facepalm.