I Am Going To Strangle You

[trailerparkmedic]

I'm not sure where this goes.

I have a project to install <weird IT security shit> on all the office computers and I need to know by the end of the day if this is possible or not. I run into a problem where I can't add additional people to weird IT security shit, which is necessary since the computers are shared.

So after waiting in the online IT queue for 40 minutes, I get the bitch from hell.

Part of getting into the IT queue involves explaining your issue. She starts by asking for more info. I repeat what I already entered, since that's all I know.
Her: I need more information than that.
Me: What information do you need?
Her: More specific information.
Me: This is all I know about the problem. I was doing X and Y happened in Z area. I'm not exactally an expert on <weird IT security shit>.
Her: You don't have to be an expert to give me more information.
Me: And you don't have to be a bitch. Are you going to help me or not?

She started half assed helping me (asking questions I'd already answered) and eventually claimed she couldn't help me because of some technicality. So now I'm in the IT queue again. I hope to God I don't get her again.

[Seshat]

I don't know if this will help, but here's what I like in a bug report:

1. I was in (screen X), and (did thing Y) - clicked on a particular button, filled out a particular form (and what information you added).

2. I was expecting result Z.

3. I actually got result A.

4. The documentation (on page B) is what let me to expect result Z.


Basically:

1. What you did.
2. What you expected.
3. What you got.
4. Which part/s of the documentation and/or user interface (if any) support your expectation.


The more detail you can provide in each stage (within privacy limitations), the more helpful it is. If you can lay it out in that format, it's even more helpful!

This lets us (the tech-geeks) know whether the fault is in the code, or in the user interface (we led you to expect one thing, but designed it to do something else), or in the documentation (see above).

Good luck with your next try to get this fixed.


(Note: I just realised this may have sounded like I was 'correcting' you or something. I'm not - I'm just trying to help you know what I and a lot of the geeks I know like in a bug or problem report. In case it helps at all.)

[Darkforge]

surely she should specifiy what kind of additional info she needed,

I'd ask for the error code that came up, or which version of <weird IT security shit> you had or, I need more info, can you give me info X?

just asking for more information without specifying what they want sounds like vacation_rentals_suck's customers, was her name Dave?

[Blade_Raver]

Sounds like the person answering your call either:

A) Doesn't know the product enough to ask the right questions requesting specific information. (This may or may not be her fault, depending on how that company is organized.)

or

B) Is too lazy to ask the right probing questions on how to troubleshoot/escalate the issue.

At least, that's the impression I'm getting from that incident.

[Magpie]

I must agree with Blade Raver. I've had developers give better advice on what they need to know. You know - the people who are known for not having social skills. (Yes, I know, I'm one to talk ). Giving good bug reports is definitely a skill, but the person doing support should be able to ask questions. And frankly, trailerparkmedic, from what you describe, you might not have been giving a great report, but you phrased it clearly and simply, and it should have been obvious that you'd have done a better job if you knew what a better job was. (Frankly, your description looks like a fairly good bug report to me.)

[trailerparkmedic]

The thing that really irked me about this tech support person is that I actually dug through a few different things to find the error message. I didn't just tell her "I can't add people." I told her "In order to add people the directions say to do X, but when I do that I see Y in Z area."

So, today I tried again. I was in a good mood since I'd had the most awesome tech support person earlier today who spent an hour and a half working on another problem with the same program. She was nice. I liked her.

I get the tech support idiot who doesn't believe a word I say. Ok, I understand that. I do the same thing when I'm troubleshooting problems from certain people who always give me drama.

To make a long story short, he denied that X not working was a problem and accused me of making things up to get attention. I told him I didn't want any damn attention, I wanted this computer to work like the other 5 computers I'd set up THAT DAY. He told me I had no idea what I was talking about and closed my ticket.

The thing that really makes me is that I have to do this AGAIN tomorrow.

[Eric the Grey]

The thing that really irked me about this tech support person is that I actually dug through a few different things to find the error message. I didn't just tell her "I can't add people." I told her "In order to add people the directions say to do X, but when I do that I see Y in Z area."

You do what I wish more of my users would do. You remember (or write down) the error message instead of trying to remember it and mangling it so much that we don't know what's going on. I can't tell you how often I get "It says I can't log in" from my callers...

To make a long story short, he denied that X not working was a problem and accused me of making things up to get attention. I told him I didn't want any damn attention, I wanted this computer to work like the other 5 computers I'd set up THAT DAY. He told me I had no idea what I was talking about and closed my ticket.

The thing that really makes me is that I have to do this AGAIN tomorrow.

Does said tech support record their calls? If so, I would gleefully ask for a manager tomorrow, and insist on having said conversation pulled and get the idiot in trouble for it. There is no call for that.

This is coming from someone who works on a help desk. Then too, I can be a vindictive bastard.


Eric the Grey

[Seshat]

The thing that really irked me about this tech support person is that I actually dug through a few different things to find the error message. I didn't just tell her "I can't add people." I told her "In order to add people the directions say to do X, but when I do that I see Y in Z area."

That would definitely give me enough to start from! I might ask exactly where in the directions it says X, or which version of <software> you have, or other specific questions.

But that's an abnormally GOOD bug report. It's not the uttermost perfect 'I'd expect it from another programmer but not a layman' bug report, but it's FINE. Nothing at all wrong with it. Go you.

[trailerparkmedic]

I finally got the problem fixed today!
Well, it's not totally fixed as I have to talk to someone higher than the lowest person on the totem pole, but I got permission and an escalated ticket and the right email address and everything. Awesome IT girl even gave me a temporary work around.

Today's IT person was so awesome I asked if I could tell her boss that she rocked. I got his email and was able to compliment awesome IT girl's patience and knowledge and point out the difficulties I'd had with the previous two reps. I'm glad I still had the ticket numbers.

[Akasa]

Ah yes, the old "I've been calling repeatedly with this problem and was finally able to get help from this tech, here's proof!" routine. I've been the beneficiary of that routine a few times.

[EricKei]

That sort of thing happened to me the other day with a package that we support (minus the rudeness)-- the errors were so unusual that I had to call the software makers' techs and conference them in with the client...It took three calls before I got someone who said "OK, lemme check something in their Registry really quick *taptaptapclackety* OK try and open it now" ...and it worked! Only down side was, they also had data damage..which is another department entirely. As in, massive damage caused by a power outage that isn't cheap to fix.