Support WTFs

T

thisgeek

Expert Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2005
Messages
3,372
Reaction score
5
Location
East Rand
South_Bit's thread made me think of this.

I do server support (amongst other things) for an institution. We occasionally get WTF type tickets.

"please check why an urgent email sent to me by xxx at 11:15 on 4/11/2010 was not received."

Uh, yes. We can access their mail server to check its logs. :confused:

We have this helpless desk agent that used to log tickets like this:

"Please do xxx AGENTLY"

Uh, right?

And we get beauties like this:

"The server is down"

Righty-oh then. Exactly which one of the several hundred servers out there do you mean, specifically?

And:

"Please give access to such and such for Riaan."

Uh... who the fsck is Riaan?

Or, the helpless desk agent logs a ticket for a user with a whole batch of instructions:

"Please give access to:
\\serverthathasn'texistedforthepastfouryears\path\thingy\bob\
\\serverthathasn'texistedforthepastfouryears\path\thingy2\aunty\
\\serverthathasn'texistedforthepastfouryears\path\thingy3\robert\

\\serverwedon'tcontrol\path\blah

And give the same access as user Blort"

Um.. okay. So the only thing I can really do with the provided info is to set "the same access as user Blort", which loosely translated means I should set the same group memberships in AD as that user, which I do.

Turns out, hours later.. that this ticket was actually supposed to be for a new user that just started, and NOT actually for the user they put the ticket under. Sigh.

/facepalm
 
You have a pretty bad fault logging system besides the idiot staff.

Fault logs should be by salary ref, and every single network device (including pcs) should be listed in the app by hostname & barcode etc.

Scary how many companies out there operate, something akin to chaos.
 
I've just had an incredibly frustrating support experience.

I work for a rather large company (Employees of said Co may recognize this), but I'm based at a client site, been working for this company for the past 3 years, but they've only just woken up to the fact that I don't have any company issued equipment, so there is a guy at home office who is busy setting up a laptop for me. For some reason, he can't login to the laptop using my credentials - that work fine for me on the company intranet, however. So I figure I'll get the password reset anyway. I log on to the company's internal IT portal, where I have successfully and easily reset my password previously. Hm. Everything I can find is related to HOW to do it, assuming you already have company issued equipment, which I don't... the web-based password reset facility no longer seems to exist. Instead, you have to phone the global help desk and select option 2 to reset your password, where they will then email it to your manager, who is supposed to let you know what it is. Fantastic idea that. Assuming your manager is actually there when you need him, and will actually let you know... which might be a bit too much effort for some.

Anyway, I phone the toll-free number provided, and as soon as I hear the recorded voice start speaking across a very crappy connection, I press 2. And it goes on, and on and on. And I end up god knows where in IVR hell. So I hang up. Take a deep breath, and dial again. This time I actually listen to the voice. It says, "The menu has changed since.. blah". Crap, I think. I continue to listen. "Please enter your employee number followed by the pound sign". boop, beep, boop, baap, etc. #. A lengthy menu is then uttered.. "For business applications, including blork, blark, blirp, bloop, snore, zzzz and fart, press 1. For NT password and bloogle parp resets, press 2." I immediately cut off the squawk by pressing 2. "For NT password.. " Hang on.. I just heard this. Is this damn thing repeating the same menu? Wtf is going on? "press 1. For bloogle parp, press 2." Ah ok, apparently a different menu. Press 1. "Please say your employee number. If your number starts with x, please press 249 in place of x". I say my employee number, not expecting much at all. "I didn't get that." Told you. "Please say or enter your employee number by entering it on your phone keypad". Boop, beep, boop, paap, etc. "I didn't get that. I didn't get that. I didn't get that. I didn't... " SMASH. BANG. I hang up the phone. Gently. Or perhaps not.

I take several deep breaths. I stand up, walk around in a circle, and sit down again. I try again. My blood pressure is definitely higher. I take a few deep breaths, and dial the hateful number again. Same crap, it doesn't bear repeating. However when it gets to the "I didn't get that. I didn't get that..." I just wait. And wait. After awhile, the system says "Please wait while we transfer you to an agent." I wait a bit, and a lady in India answers. I let out a breath, and feel my blood pressure rise a bit more.
"Please give me y.... ...mber" "Pardon?" I ask. Damn crappy line crapped out for a bit there. I'm having difficulty hearing her. "Your employee number!" "Oh." I recite the number. Slowly. "Please confirm your name" I do. "Are you able to get in contact with your manager, because we can only send your password to them?" I confirm that I can.
Then instead of resetting my password, she insists I try do "something" instead. I try, I really do try to explain to her in plain and simple terms, that someone ELSE is trying to set up a new laptop for me, and are unable to sign in with my credentials, and that this person is at a completely different location to where I am, and that I am completely UNABLE to do what she wants. I explain this several times. I explain it in sections, asking, "Do you understand" at the end of every section, to which she answers, "Yes, I understand". YET SHE KEEPS ASKING ME THE SAME FSCKING THING! She just does not GET IT. (Get IT*. Hahah. Hahahhahaha. I kill me). Eventually I just tell her, very quickly before I start swearing, "Thanks for trying to assist me. Goodbye". And I hang up the phone.

/bang head on desk. Really hard. Numerously.

*The company internal IT website is called "Get @IT" or something similar.
 
I had a call logged this morning that went something like "John deleted a file. Please restore it."

Turns out the user deleted his Adobe reader shortcut :(
 
I get a lot of "Hi, is the Internet down?"

I always respond, "no its perfectly fine". Then keep waiting until I hear the actual issue which is normally along the lines of email not been received or something.
 
thisgeek said:
South_Bit's thread made me think of this.

I do server support (amongst other things) for an institution. We occasionally get WTF type tickets.

"please check why an urgent email sent to me by xxx at 11:15 on 4/11/2010 was not received."

Uh, yes. We can access their mail server to check its logs. :confused:

We have this helpless desk agent that used to log tickets like this:

"Please do xxx AGENTLY"

Uh, right?

And we get beauties like this:

"The server is down"

Righty-oh then. Exactly which one of the several hundred servers out there do you mean, specifically?

And:

"Please give access to such and such for Riaan."

Uh... who the fsck is Riaan?

Or, the helpless desk agent logs a ticket for a user with a whole batch of instructions:

"Please give access to:
\\serverthathasn'texistedforthepastfouryears\path\thingy\bob\
\\serverthathasn'texistedforthepastfouryears\path\thingy2\aunty\
\\serverthathasn'texistedforthepastfouryears\path\thingy3\robert\

\\serverwedon'tcontrol\path\blah

And give the same access as user Blort"

Um.. okay. So the only thing I can really do with the provided info is to set "the same access as user Blort", which loosely translated means I should set the same group memberships in AD as that user, which I do.

Turns out, hours later.. that this ticket was actually supposed to be for a new user that just started, and NOT actually for the user they put the ticket under. Sigh.

/facepalm
Click to expand...

Get spiceworks and implement it properly.
 
w1z4rd said:
I get a lot of "Hi, is the Internet down?"

I always respond, "no its perfectly fine". Then keep waiting until I hear the actual issue which is normally along the lines of email not been received or something.
Click to expand...

My response would be "if I could bring down the Internet then I wouldn't be wasting my time providing you with support".
 
Is there a thread for "most ridiculous support requests"? If not we should start one.

How's this one that came to us a few weeks ago:
-----
this collect, flatline, dispose (tattoo) and return PC to me.

PC emerald 945G GTP serial ********
-----

Ummm?
 
Not really a support thing but quite funny
Someone at work tried to send me a zipped excel spreadsheet and inside was the shortcut. I called them trying to explain it was the shortcut and the answer is, it opens fine on my computer.
I laughed heartily that day
 
Themba you scumbucket :twisted:

You signed up for Mafia and clearly are not interested in playing. You could at least have messaged me in reply to my prods or to say that you have lost interest (what happened to community huh?).

Because of your inactivity, you are mucking up a tense and tautly written game script. Thanks buddy.

SCUM!

## Vote Themba
 
Crowley said:
I had a call logged this morning that went something like "John deleted a file. Please restore it."

Turns out the user deleted his Adobe reader shortcut :(
Click to expand...

I had something like this once, someone had a link to a file on my server, on their desktop. When IT made changes to the network, this link no longer worked... they tried to make it my problem. I did not authorise the link, nor was their any reason to have the link, but yeah...

themba990 said:
Not really a support thing but quite funny
Someone at work tried to send me a zipped excel spreadsheet and inside was the shortcut. I called them trying to explain it was the shortcut and the answer is, it opens fine on my computer.
I laughed heartily that day
Click to expand...

OMG, I have had to explain this to people on more than one occassion...

B
 
Guido Vittorio said:
Themba you scumbucket :twisted:

You signed up for Mafia and clearly are not interested in playing. You could at least have messaged me in reply to my prods or to say that you have lost interest (what happened to community huh?).

Because of your inactivity, you are mucking up a tense and tautly written game script. Thanks buddy.

SCUM!

## Vote Themba
Click to expand...

##Vote Themba

bum :twisted:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X