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I had this call tonight. Background is that the company is currently migrating everybody from Office 2003 to 2007, including our exchange (email) servers, which necessitates a 2 week long migration plan, some mail files each night after hours.
TG - Guy in the Tax Departmnt
Me -
TG calls and tells me he's having trouble connecting from his hotel room with VPN
Me: Have you checked to make sure you have a good internet connection with the hotel
TG: Yes.
Me: Ok, what error does the VPN give you.
TG: 43.
Me: . . . anything else?
TG: I don't remember. <Note: Each numerical code comes along with text, which actually tells you what the error is. We don't have a list.>
Me: Ok . . .
TG: <interrupting> I've logged into <company web site for alternate remote access for people without company laptops> and when I go to my email from there, it's asking for another log in. It won't take mine.
Me: <thinking: he's not too dense, at least he knows to check the alternatives> Ok, then you need to do this...
I explain the steps to get this login box to work. It's kind of quirky, and we've gotten a lot of calls on it. I get him logged in, and he gets to his email.
TG: Ok, it still won't let me get my email. I need to print out a document and Fed-Ex it to Washington DC by noon tomorrow or I'm going to have to cancel my company trip to China.
Me: <thinking, and you're waiting until NOW to print this out?> Is it an attachment?
TG: Yes.
We work through a few steps designed to try and get him into his email. Nothing is working. This is after-hours, and migration IS CURRENTLY RUNNING, I tell him his mailbox may be in the process of being moved as we speak and he may need to wait until morning and try again.
TG: I can't believe this. There must be at least 200 people in IT. . .
Me: No where near that many, sorry.
TG: Anyway, with as big an organization as we are, I cannot believe that you guys cannot get people into their email.
Me: You were made aware of the migration, since I have no way of determining when yours will be done, there is no way to tell if it is being moved now or not.
TG: I thought <his building> was suppose to have been moved on Tuesday.
Me: The only mailboxes scheduled that I know of was the VIP mail, which happened on Wednesday night. I haven't heard of anything more specific.
TG: Well, what am I suppose to do here? I need to print out that huge document and sign it and get it sent out.
Me: You have until noon tomorrow to get it out, right?
TG: That's not the point.
This went on back and forth for a while with me biting my lip to NOT ask him why he (A) didn't print the thing out before he left and (B) how he was planning on printing it out at the hotel. I finally told him to reboot and try again, and then call me back.
After I hung up with him, I called our NT guy who was handling the migration. He said he could get the file for him from his email if need be, and his migration had finished. I suspect it finished recently and after he rebooted everything worked.
Of course he never did call back.
Eric the Grey
TG - Guy in the Tax Departmnt
Me -
TG calls and tells me he's having trouble connecting from his hotel room with VPN
Me: Have you checked to make sure you have a good internet connection with the hotel
TG: Yes.
Me: Ok, what error does the VPN give you.
TG: 43.
Me: . . . anything else?
TG: I don't remember. <Note: Each numerical code comes along with text, which actually tells you what the error is. We don't have a list.>
Me: Ok . . .
TG: <interrupting> I've logged into <company web site for alternate remote access for people without company laptops> and when I go to my email from there, it's asking for another log in. It won't take mine.
Me: <thinking: he's not too dense, at least he knows to check the alternatives> Ok, then you need to do this...
I explain the steps to get this login box to work. It's kind of quirky, and we've gotten a lot of calls on it. I get him logged in, and he gets to his email.
TG: Ok, it still won't let me get my email. I need to print out a document and Fed-Ex it to Washington DC by noon tomorrow or I'm going to have to cancel my company trip to China.
Me: <thinking, and you're waiting until NOW to print this out?> Is it an attachment?
TG: Yes.
We work through a few steps designed to try and get him into his email. Nothing is working. This is after-hours, and migration IS CURRENTLY RUNNING, I tell him his mailbox may be in the process of being moved as we speak and he may need to wait until morning and try again.
TG: I can't believe this. There must be at least 200 people in IT. . .
Me: No where near that many, sorry.
TG: Anyway, with as big an organization as we are, I cannot believe that you guys cannot get people into their email.
Me: You were made aware of the migration, since I have no way of determining when yours will be done, there is no way to tell if it is being moved now or not.
TG: I thought <his building> was suppose to have been moved on Tuesday.
Me: The only mailboxes scheduled that I know of was the VIP mail, which happened on Wednesday night. I haven't heard of anything more specific.
TG: Well, what am I suppose to do here? I need to print out that huge document and sign it and get it sent out.
Me: You have until noon tomorrow to get it out, right?
TG: That's not the point.
This went on back and forth for a while with me biting my lip to NOT ask him why he (A) didn't print the thing out before he left and (B) how he was planning on printing it out at the hotel. I finally told him to reboot and try again, and then call me back.
After I hung up with him, I called our NT guy who was handling the migration. He said he could get the file for him from his email if need be, and his migration had finished. I suspect it finished recently and after he rebooted everything worked.
Of course he never did call back.
Eric the Grey