Dear Users... (A thread for Sysadmin, Technical Support, and Help Desk people)

[arthwollipot]

I've kept track of this. It's at the end of my work day now, and so far today I have had to type a password 12 times, and use some kind of MFA token five times. I'm pretty sure I missed a few, too.

[arthwollipot]

Ugh. They've got me doing VoIP again. I hate VoIP. Whoever designed Cisco Unity needs to be severely chastised and sent on a usability crash course.

Right now I have to check an entire team of 45 staff to see if they have voice mail set up, and to set them up if they don't. Fortunately only 11 do not.

What a pain in the bum.

[Blue Mountain]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Ugh. They've got me doing VoIP again. I hate VoIP. Whoever designed Cisco Unity needs to be severely chastised and sent on a usability crash course.

Right now I have to check an entire team of 45 staff to see if they have voice mail set up, and to set them up if they don't. Fortunately only 11 do not.

What a pain in the bum.

The two are sort of exclusive. Cisco products have a reputation for being user unfriendly. I've worked with Asterisk (almost defines "unfriendly") and FreePBX, a web front-end to Asterisk and much nicer to work with.

[arthwollipot]

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain

The two are sort of exclusive. Cisco products have a reputation for being user unfriendly. I've worked with Asterisk (almost defines "unfriendly") and FreePBX, a web front-end to Asterisk and much nicer to work with.

Setting up extra lines and speed dials is the absolute worst. We can't just assign them arbitrarily. No - we have to assign them according to a template, of which there are dozens, with names like "8861_1L 2-4S 5U 6-41S" and we have to find a template, based on this name, that most closely matches the button layout that the client has requested. The client, of course, has absolutely no knowledge of these templates or their limitations.

[arthwollipot]

Pet peeve: referring to software products by the name of the company that provides them. Open the document in Adobe. Request to install Kofax. Diagnose problems in HPE.

Really annoys the crap out of me. But there's nothing I can do about it.

[Faydra]

Ha!

I went to downforeveryoneorjustme.com today, because a website wasn't working for me.

On a whim I put twitter.com in the search box and this is what comes up.

[quadraginta]

Originally Posted by Faydra

Ha!

I went to downforeveryoneorjustme.com today, because a website wasn't working for me.

On a whim I put twitter.com in the search box and this is what comes up.

Thanks.

I got my first real chuckle of the day out of that.

[arthwollipot]

Well that was unexpected. I just got a call on the escalation line - this is the line that T1s use when the call they are on is too difficult and/or is taking too long. The call was really easy to resolve but that's not what was unexpected.

The guy was super complementary about the level of service and professionalism he has always had in his dealings with us. Especially when compared to his old department. It was almost weird.

[JoeMorgue]

Again if you put a trouble call in I need a way to contact you.

90% of my troublecalls are:

- A contextless e-mail that says "NEED HELP!!!!!"
- No call back number, no extension, no site (a lot of our users are mobile and go site to site.)
- Don't answer an e-mail asking for more information.
- Finally track them down only to be told that they weren't the ones that needed help, someone else did and the whole process now has to start over.

[arthwollipot]

I still think that reading the entire archive of the Chronicles of George should be mandatory training for Tier 1 agents.

[arthwollipot]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

I've kept track of this. It's at the end of my work day now, and so far today I have had to type a password 12 times, and use some kind of MFA token five times. I'm pretty sure I missed a few, too.

I've still been thinking about this.

I have three accounts. A normal one for non-admin in the unprotected environment (ab1234 (this is not my real user ID)), an _a account (ab1234_a) for admin in the unprotected environment, and an _f account (ab1234_f) for admin in the protected environment. I also have a fourth account for non-admin in protected, but I don't usually need to use that. Here's how my morning starts.

1. Log on to unprotected
2. RDP to jump server, using _a and MFA
3. In jump server, RDP to admin server, using _a (yes, this is a double RDP. Something something something security)
4. Log on to RAS in unprotected
5. In RAS, log on to protected, using _f and MFA
6. Log on to Azure in protected, using _f and MFA
7. Log on to Papercut (used for printing) in protected, using _f but no MFA
8. Log on to Exchange Admin in unprotected, using _a
9. Log on to O365 in Exchange Admin in unprotected, using _a and MFA

If I don't keep switching to my protected window and my admin server window, they go into sleep mode and I have to wake them up again using the appropriate account. If I leave it long enough, both the jump server and the admin server go to sleep and I have to wake them both up. When I go to lunch I have to wake my screen up, then wake up those other windows. These are all additional entries of passwords.

There are other times I need to enter a password of some kind, like checking the email quarantine or accessing the Skype server. In most cases I've got the browser to store the password, and honestly I don't have to use them very often.

Is this absolutely bonkers or do you have to enter your various passwords many times just to do your job?

[Sideroxylon]

Standard and admin.

[arthwollipot]

So - not bonkers then?

[Hellbound]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

So - not bonkers then?

Nope. I have four basic accounts (normal for regular net and protected, and admin for each). I get the added fun of the admin accounts being managed: the password changes daily. So I also have to sign into that system.

And we use two different MFA systems, one for each network.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[arthwollipot]

Hi, I'd like to follow up on a job I've logged?
Do you have the job number?
1234567
Okay, this is a relocation request, it's scheduled for today, as requested.
Oh, okay. Thanks.
*click*

[Sideroxylon]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Hi, I'd like to follow up on a job I've logged?
Do you have the job number?
1234567
Okay, this is a relocation request, it's scheduled for today, as requested.
Oh, okay. Thanks.
*click*

They know it’s scheduled. They were looking for confirmation that someone was actually going to act on it. There is often justified scepticism that someone will show.

[arthwollipot]

Originally Posted by Sideroxylon

They know it’s scheduled. They were looking for confirmation that someone was actually going to act on it. There is often justified scepticism that someone will show.

In some cases it's just confusion. They lodge a request, they get a confirmation of the request, and then nothing until someone shows up at their desk. It's not confirmation that they're looking for, it's reassurance.

Did I mention the other week about the call I got where the caller was so complementary about the service he had received and how much better we were than the IT at his old department? That was a good call, which I passed along to the whole team.

[JoeMorgue]

It's 2021. I wish users would accept that there really is not functional way to troubleshoot "fax" issues.

It's a technology the predates the Civil War that has literally no reason to exist nor upside to being used. It either works or it doesn't. Do any faxes from this fax machine make it anywhere? Yes? Well then there's not a whole lot I can do beyond that. The telecom industry has all but forgotten that faxes even exist and they offer basically no support and I have no way of troubleshooting a purely analog fax transmission.

"If I send a fax to this number it cuts off after page 24 some of the time" is literally a problem I have no way of addressing.

[TragicMonkey]

Grrr. The project I'm currently working on is to develop a single authoritative source for certain critical numbers-- the much vaunted (and mentioned) "source of truth" to replace the multitude of conflicting reports the division currently uses.

So what's the latest ask? One party wants to have different criteria for their version of the One True Data. So there will now be Two True Data, conflicting with each other, and both will be considered "the source of truth".

I'm the only person involved in this who sees this as a problem.

[JoeMorgue]

Why do I have a hunch I'm safe in assuming that one of the "Sources of the One True Data" doesn't want to have responsibility if the "One True Data" is wrong.

I've met a lot of "The Buck Stops Here with Me, but Where the Blame Stops is a Lot More Negotiable" people in my time.

[TragicMonkey]

Originally Posted by JoeMorgue

Why do I have a hunch I'm safe in assuming that one of the "Sources of the One True Data" doesn't want to have responsibility if the "One True Data" is wrong.

I've met a lot of "The Buck Stops Here with Me, but Where the Blame Stops is a Lot More Negotiable" people in my time.

I'm even more cynical than that: the project's point is to move the source of truth to my department, from the current sources. I think the current sources are engaging in some attempts at job security by trying to sabotage my efforts. This will not succeed because (unlike them) I can prove every one of my numbers by pulling the actual detail data straight from the source. Challenge one of my figures and I can provide millions of rows of detail to prove I'm right. Challenge one of their figures and they get mad and can't explain where they got it from. Which is why the powers that is want to move the data to my group in the first place.

[arthwollipot]

We have a Corporate Directory that uses two separate things as its Source of Truth, depending on the particular field - the IT systems and the HR systems. We handle the IT end but we do not handle the HR end.

I wish more users would understand this.

[ShowMe]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

We have a Corporate Directory that uses two separate things as its Source of Truth, depending on the particular field - the IT systems and the HR systems. We handle the IT end but we do not handle the HR end.

I wish more users would understand this.

Good luck man.

Users tend to see "Anything that uses technology" as being fair game for IT. I cannot count the number of phones, televisions and gaming consoles people have asked me to fix.

Two systems in the same company that do similar things and hoping users will some day differentiate? A laudable goal, but probably unachievable.

[arthwollipot]

Heard at work:

"Ugh, developers!"

"Yeah, they know everything."

"They think they know everything."

[Blue Mountain]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

Heard at work:

"Ugh, developers!"

"Yeah, they know everything."

"They think they know everything."

"The difficult we do right away. The impossible takes us a little longer."
(I'm a developer. )

[arthwollipot]

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain

"The difficult we do right away. The impossible takes us a little longer."
(I'm a developer. )

Yeah, I thought there might be one or two developers in this thread. And I'm sorry, but it is true. Also funny, given the context in which I heard it.

[Sideroxylon]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

We have a Corporate Directory that uses two separate things as its Source of Truth, depending on the particular field - the IT systems and the HR systems. We handle the IT end but we do not handle the HR end.

I wish more users would understand this.

People need to understand the same demarcation when their lead hasn’t engaged process to extend or establish their IT access.

Had a contractor who kept wanting to discuss access that was being denied to him by a manager. Looked at me mournfully as he told me about his business needs.

[Wudang]

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain

"The difficult we do right away. The impossible takes us a little longer."
(I'm a developer. )

“We chose to write the code and do these other things not because they are easy, but because we were told they would be easy”

[The Man]

"Crazy He Calls Me"

Sung by Billie Holiday, 1951


"Like the wind that shakes the bough
He moves me with a smile
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while"

YouTube Video This video is not hosted by the ISF. The ISF can not be held responsible for the suitability or legality of this material. By clicking the link below you agree to view content from an external website.

I AGREE

[arthwollipot]

Originally Posted by The Man

"Crazy He Calls Me"

Sung by Billie Holiday, 1951


"Like the wind that shakes the bough
He moves me with a smile
The difficult I'll do right now
The impossible will take a little while"

OH ****, SUPERMUTANTS!

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by Blue Mountain

"The difficult we do right away. The impossible takes us a little longer."
(I'm a developer. )

"Actually getting it working is not our problem".

[TragicMonkey]

Originally Posted by catsmate

"Actually getting it working is not our problem".

"This data accurately reflects what is currently in the database. I can't say whether or not what is in the database reflects reality." 100% true but lordy, people hate hearing that!

[Wudang]

"On two occasions I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." Charles Babbage.

[Blue Mountain]

Originally Posted by Wudang

"On two occasions I have been asked, 'Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?' I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question." Charles Babbage.

What's interesting about that quote is immediately after he wrote that, he went on to examine a real problem of the machine's programming being maliciously altered to produce incorrect results, and suggested a solution:

Originally Posted by Charles Babbage

On two occasions I have been asked,—“Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?” In one case a member of the Upper, and in the other a member of the Lower, House put this question. I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question. I did, however, explain the following property, which might in some measure approach towards an answer to it.

It is possible to construct the Analytical Engine in such a manner that after the question is once communicated to the engine, it may be stopped at any turn of the handle and set on again as often as may be desired. At each stoppage every figure-wheel throughout the Engine, which is capable of being moved without breaking, may be moved on to any other digit. Yet after each of these apparent falsifications the engine will be found to make the next calculation with perfect truth.

The explanation is very simple, and the property itself useless. The whole of the mechanism ought of course to be enclosed in glass, and kept under lock and key, in which case the mechanism necessary to give it the property alluded to would be useless.

Passages from the Life of a Philosopher, Chapter V: The Difference Engine [Project Gutenberg]

[arthwollipot]

There are people who really are very uncomfortable talking on the phone.

"Uh, yeah, I'm... I'm just calling... uh. I'm calling to... um, ask whether... um...I'm calling about ahh..."

I really can't get annoyed because it's not their fault, but it does make the call difficult.

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by arthwollipot

There are people who really are very uncomfortable talking on the phone.

"Uh, yeah, I'm... I'm just calling... uh. I'm calling to... um, ask whether... um...I'm calling about ahh..."

I really can't get annoyed because it's not their fault, but it does make the call difficult.

It applies to the people on the other end tood.
I've spent 100+ minutes on to Eir's "customer support" lines for a friend over the last couple of days. Most of them are script-monkeys

[Darat]

Originally Posted by catsmate

It applies to the people on the other end tood.
I've spent 100+ minutes on to Eir's "customer support" lines for a friend over the last couple of days. Most of them are script-monkeys

But isn’t that is what they are employed as?

It’s a sad state of affairs and lots of people really don’t understand how many companies now run their customer services. The people you talk to can’t do anything but what is in the script and if it isn’t in the script it doesn’t exist!

When people ask to speak to “a manager” they think they are going to speak to someone who has more authority in the company and can overturn SOP. The reality is that most of the time you are just going to be speaking to the manager of the customer service team, they have no authority outside the CS team, but they can approve holidays for the team members - as long as it is within company policy of course.

It’s often made even worse because you will find that the “customer service department” isn’t even part of the company you think you are dealing with! They will have outsourced their CS department to a company that provides script monkeys.

And to be one of these outsourced monkeys has to be one of the ********* jobs going.

[CORed]

Originally Posted by catsmate

It applies to the people on the other end tood.
I've spent 100+ minutes on to Eir's "customer support" lines for a friend over the last couple of days. Most of them are script-monkeys

If you are knowledgeable enough to solve the problems that the script-monkeys can solve yourself, the trick is getting past the script-monkeys to somebody that actually can solve your problem. With some companies, that is next to impossible.

[Darat]

Originally Posted by CORed

If you are knowledgeable enough to solve the problems that the script-monkeys can solve yourself, the trick is getting past the script-monkeys to somebody that actually can solve your problem. With some companies, that is next to impossible.

Next to? It needs to be impossible!

[catsmate]

Originally Posted by Darat

But isn’t that is what they are employed as?

Yes. And given Eir's customer dissatisfaction rates it shows.

Originally Posted by Darat

It’s a sad state of affairs and lots of people really don’t understand how many companies now run their customer services. The people you talk to can’t do anything but what is in the script and if it isn’t in the script it doesn’t exist!

When people ask to speak to “a manager” they think they are going to speak to someone who has more authority in the company and can overturn SOP. The reality is that most of the time you are just going to be speaking to the manager of the customer service team, they have no authority outside the CS team, but they can approve holidays for the team members - as long as it is within company policy of course.

It’s often made even worse because you will find that the “customer service department” isn’t even part of the company you think you are dealing with! They will have outsourced their CS department to a company that provides script monkeys.

And to be one of these outsourced monkeys has to be one of the ********* jobs going.

Generally I agree. I never did phone support in my twenty plus tears years in IT. But I've dealt with lots of people who did (one of whom finds the 999 control centre a relaxing change).
But I've got to experience to say to the script monkey that A, B, C, D, E, F and G don;t work, therefore the problem is I, J or K which are down to you. So escalate them beyond the appeasement level, and right now. I want to talk to the person who can fix the problem you have caused. And this morning I did that by talking over the script monkey until he escalated it, and repeated this until I spoke to person#4 who could actually see the relevant system and fixed the problem.

The only time I want to talk to a manager, with actual authority, is when I'm discussing (in great detail) what will happen if my friend does not receive concessions W, X, Y and Z. Which was call #2 this morning and got him his new toys...
Which I'll be setting up for him. Oh well......