If I request a time to call you to go over or troubleshoot something, “now” is not an option

Posted by chipredacted@reddit | sysadmin | View on Reddit | 293 comments

If I was available now, I would have just called. Me sending a calendar appointment link should indicate that I do not have the time right this second but I can and will assist. Just not RIGHT now. Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?” John: “Is now good?” No John, no it is not. Bit of a silly rant and I’m grateful I don’t have more to rant about at the moment, but these start adding up and I just want to alt+f4 work for the day lol

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293 Comments

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SolarPoweredKeyboard@reddit

I think you should add "I am preoccupied right now" to remove any confusion.

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flapadar_@reddit

Second this. OP is getting that reply because people who aren't busy right now are happy to get it off his plate as soon as convenient. It's on him that it wasn't clear that now isn't convenient.

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SilentSamurai@reddit

This just reads like a helpdesk rant to be honest. People have issues that need to be fixed. How dare they ask if you can fix it now? Add in a little empathy. It's not you vs. the end user, it's both of you vs. the issue.

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nemec@reddit

> This just reads like a helpdesk rant to be honest. welcome to /r/sysadmin

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jaymz668@reddit

yep, /r/sysadmin has been the hangout of /r/helpdesk for years apparently

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Sparcrypt@reddit

In my experience the entire profession is simply full of people who don’t understand sysadmin is still a support position.

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JAFIOR@reddit

I'm about a month into my first real sysadmin position. Yes, it's still support. It's just support for those that the help desk couldn't help. I still enjoy helping people, so when fix a problem and someone is happy, it makes me feel good. But... the flipside is that half my day is taken away from critical issues that affect large portions of our org. The real problem seems to be that management wants admins to give 100% to both sides, and also have people sit through time-sucking meetings.

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Sparcrypt@reddit

I’ve been at this for 20 years and if I could give you any advice it would be this: embrace the business side of things. At the end of the day *nobody* is going to pay you to sit around playing with computers unless it’s to facilitate a business need so the sooner you understand that stuff comes first the better. It sucks and I wish it wasn’t the case, but it’s also just how it is. Getting into the perspective of “I’m here to help the business and the people working for it” early actually makes the whole thing a lot more pleasant. Otherwise you end up one of those burnt out, bitter, angry at the world admins who hate their job. That said, on the other side of things *do not* let people pull all your time away from your technical jobs then complain that you didn’t get it done. If they wanna stick you in meetings for 8 hours then log that shit and when they come knocking and ask why XYZ isn’t done just point them to why. Anyway I know you didn’t ask, just stuff I wish I’d known a lot earlier!

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Eug1@reddit

Good advice there. I wonder how I would have turned out if I had someone say this to me 20 years ago. Hopefully your content/advice gets pinned or goes near the top of this post.

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Sparcrypt@reddit

I know right? It's definitely high up on my list of "things I wish I'd already known when I first started". I spent way too long in the "oh god this is such stupid bullshit phase" before realising how dumb that attitude was. But live and learn! I at least caught on reasonably quickly.

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JAFIOR@reddit

It's actually great advice. Thank you sir/ma'am.

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angrydeuce@reddit

I just want to know where all these sysadmin jobs are that are so completely siloed that they literally never have to touch anything outside of their own little teeny tiny piece of the infrastructure. Must be so fucking nice.

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NorthStarTX@reddit

In my experience, the fastest way to get into one of those positions is to learn a tech that nobody wants to touch. I ended up doing AD/IPA almost exclusively for four years because nobody wanted to learn the techs that back it, because they translate to almost nothing else. Great job security, but who wants to spend all day every day trying to track down whether user access is broken because of a cert, dns, network problem or LDAP replication error? About the only other thing I did was endless meetings telling people they would have to figure out what access they actually needed because I wouldn’t just give them all admin on everything like they asked.

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jmbpiano@reddit

> Must be so fucking nice. Really? Sounds dull as all get out to me. The shear variety of the software systems, equipment, and business processes I get to play with on a weekly basis is one of the things I enjoy most about IT in the SMB space.

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jaymz668@reddit

Never is a strong word, but not having to touch anything business user facing in years is certainly possible.

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Sparcrypt@reddit

They do exist but yeah, for the most part people here are acting like they have the job they want (all systems no people) and not the ones that make up 99% of the positions.

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spin81@reddit

There's the trade being a support one on one hand, and there's management that doesn't understand that whatever can be planned, should be planned, on the other. Sysadmin being about support doesn't mean I should always have to drop everything, or that I can just juggle whatever people decide to dump on my plate.

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CalebAsimov@reddit

I think a lot of it is just venting frustration for people. Above a certain level, every time you spend helping one person is letting down someone else, and that starts to get really stressful, especially with issues that end up taking a lot of time unexpectedly. You're not going to complain to the users, probably shouldn't complain too much to your coworkers, so, the internet is a good place.

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courtesy_patrol@reddit

I’ve been working at a company for 15 years where everyone, including my jr admin thinks I’m the level 1 support person

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jaymz668@reddit

So is HR, but those rants are also off topic

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Sparcrypt@reddit

If this was /r/hr/ then sure. But where are we again?

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Aim_Fire_Ready@reddit

Wait, helpdesk has their own sub?

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jarrodb4@reddit

Shit where do you guys work? Where i am the sys admin is the euc support (i have 700+ users and yes we have updated windows servers)

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jaymz668@reddit

We support thousands. Our it department is a couple hundred including app dev

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jarrodb4@reddit

Ahh see the key word there is “we”. i wish i could say “we”. In all seriousness though im sure it gets much worse than what i am working with.

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PJBthefirst@reddit

Do we have a sysadmincirclejerk sub yet?

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CaptainBrooksie@reddit

If it truly was me and the user vs the issue I wouldn’t have had multiple occasions where a user told me they didn’t have time to troubleshoot and then minutes later escalate the issue to my manager via their manager.

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Big_Mons@reddit

I see a lot of instances where someone submits a ticket at the end of the day and immediately shuts down their computer after they click SUBMIT. I think some people want to say they submitted a ticket then blame IT for not getting it resolved. Some, not all.

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CaptainBrooksie@reddit

My favourite is when they do that last thing in a Friday and then on Monday they escalate saying “I raised this ticket last week!”.

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angrydeuce@reddit

If they push the issue we shoot them a snip of the elapsed time since the ticket was opened, which is calculated in *business* hours. Meaning, no, Jim, you didn't open this ticket a week ago, you opened this ticket 15 *minutes* ago. 10 of those minutes were the time between 450pm and 5 last friday, before a holiday weekend i might add, and it's now 5 minutes after 8 on tuesday. So get fucked and maybe we will call you before the ticket request exceeds the SLA if you're extra nice.

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JAFIOR@reddit

I like to contact people directly via email or slack/teams/whatever and ask them a lot of specific questions about their issue (I have a copypasta of general questions). Quite frequently, I never hear back from them, and so their ticket gets closed due to "lack of customer response". All chat convos and email traffic with timestamps gets copied into ticket notes. I'm here to help, and I want to help, but I'm not a whipping boy.

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asdfwink@reddit

Yeah it reads like the petty stereotype of sysadmins

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asdfwink@reddit

Oh my. Communication skills??!!

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lazylion_ca@reddit

OP had time to send the email about the issue means he must have time to address the issue, right? Right? Guys?

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burnte@reddit

Agreed, generally if I'm asking for a time it's because I'm hoping now is good, or I'll say now isn't good and I need to set the time later.

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lionheart2243@reddit

Yeah I’m actually thrilled when they say “now” so I can get it out of the way and get back to what I’m working on

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rayjaymor85@reddit

Yep. "Hey John, I'm a little tied up at the moment, this link shows you my calendar so grab a slot that works for you and I can be there at that time to get you going again."

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chipredacted@reddit (OP)

I do think I could word my emails better now that people have pointed it out, I assumed that people would take me asking for a time in a range as a “i’m not able to but want to soon” type of message. Trying out and reporting back

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ConsistentMolasses73@reddit

Do yourself a favor and run all your correspondence through chatgpt first to clean it up. You can even give it your unfiltered rage and tell it to make it business friendly.

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Outrageous_Overflow@reddit

Just tried an experiment with that. Quite impressive.

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trisul-108@reddit

Until you start receiving such messages and then you will start using chatgpt to provide you with a summary of their chatgpt response to your chatgpt message ... and end up deleting the wrong account.

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CPAlexander@reddit

did the same thing with Bard a few times. Not bad...

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hbk2369@reddit

offer them time windows when you want to do the work.

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fenixjr@reddit

Learned this when I worked in a position where I had to set appointments for people. I was very flexible and didn't care when they needed to meet me, but then you put the ball in their court to be decisive. If they aren't, you've doomed yourself. Give 2 options. Therefore they still got the choice of what worked better. But you simplified the decision they had to start with. If those two options REALLY don't work for them, they'll let you know anyways.

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HerfDog58@reddit

This is the way. Instead of asking "Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning" tell them "I'm available from 3PM-5PM today, and 10AM-2PM tomorrow." If they respond "I'm not available those times" then it opens the door for you to ask "When are you available" to force them to suggest specific times. If they still say "Now" then I'd be like "Oh, sorry, my open windows for today and tomorrow just got filled up by other tasks, meetings, and tickets. My first available slot is now Friday, the 3rd of Never."

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CPAlexander@reddit

Yup. "Hey, Sorry, been a bit hectic today. I see your email, but I'm tied up right now. I should have time after my meeting ends at 10am tomorrow until lunch, or after my Zoom ends around 2pm. Either of those slots work better for you? If neither, then we can shoot for next week. thanks!"

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robbersdog49@reddit

If you asked me for a time without saying your availability I can only assume your available any time, including now. I don't understand why you think people shouldn't think that? You need to say something like I'm available either 10:00-12:00 or 15:00-17:00 today, what time works best for you? At there moment you're asking them to pick a time add getting annoyed that they pick a time.

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Ellimis@reddit

If at 9am I ask "are you available this afternoon?" then the only information you *have* says that I'm also available this afternoon. If I ask if you're free next weekend are you still assuming I'm also free now?

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robbersdog49@reddit

Both of those have more context than OP's question.

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jarrodb4@reddit

Why wouldnt he just ask “are you abaliable right now” if he intended to meet now. I feel like asking to schedule a time carries with it a pretext of “not at this moment”

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Sparcrypt@reddit

If you don’t specify don’t get pissy that people go with *their* availability and preference. This is a very solvable problem with the skill that is extremely lacking in this profession: communication.

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Dabnician@reddit

Just assume the sale and give them 2-4 windows that work best for you asking which of those they would be available to resolve their issue. don't give them the opportunity to control the interaction.

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epic_null@reddit

now there's a statement true on both sides of the bathroom door.

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superzenki@reddit

Honestly I think you’re fine. Asking “later today” implies not now but that this afternoon is your soonest availability.

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jptechjunkie@reddit

I suggest you send an email to the user and leverage Booking with Me. Removes all the back n forth allowing the user to see your schedule and availability.

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jarrodb4@reddit

You expected a user to use context clues. First major mistake

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PaintDrinkingPete@reddit

A lot of time IT or helpdesk will ask for a scheduled time because there’s nothing more annoying than going to the customer/user and having them immediately say, “can you come back later, I have to get this presentation done before the 1 o’clock meeting!”, for example, so I don’t think it’s out of line to suggest “right now” when prompted if it isn’t obvious that it isn’t an option. Having said that, what I usually say is something along the lines of, “I have time today at 14:00, or we can schedule something later if that time doesn’t work for you, it should take 20-30 minutes”…which makes it clear the 14:00 is the earliest I can do it, and am flexible past that…and I give a (generous) time estimate so that they’re aware.

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MudKing123@reddit

You know what assuming makes you?

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tgp1994@reddit

Got that one dropped on me my first month of helpdesk, lol.

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Key-Piayes@reddit

Oh, I can't assume? Sure, I'll verify every single call whether my client speaks English, has an internet connection, is located where I expect them, is employed, has everything plugged in, has updated their machine, etc, etc. What's that? I need to lower my ticket handling time? Looks like I need to start making assumptions again!

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Geminii27@reddit

Or something along those lines. "I don't have time free until X, but please let me know when you're available after then."

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Twinsen343@reddit

I am on reddit now and looking at porn

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pAceMakerTM@reddit

"**later** today or tomorrow..." = "I am preoccupied right now"

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KampretOfficial@reddit

Being indirect is not gonna win you any favors. Just state your condition clearly.

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pAceMakerTM@reddit

Heh there's a reason I'm a misanthrope

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pAceMakerTM@reddit

LOL people are offended by reality 😂

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Gene_McSween@reddit

I disagree with this. OP clearly stated acceptable timeframes in their message. "Later today or tomorrow morning". People just don't bother with reading or reading comprehension. Personally, I'm so busy, I would have just ignored his right now reply.

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SolarPoweredKeyboard@reddit

Yes, the user is in the wrong but OP suffers because of it. He can either be superfluous in his communication with said user (or all users), or he can try to teach the user some basic reading comprehension. I know I save myself time by being as clear as I can.

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cgimusic@reddit

I'm not even sure the user is wrong in this case. How long should they interpret "later" to mean? It could be anything from 30 seconds to finish a paragraph in the document I'm working on to I'm literally in meetings for the next 3 hours.

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Gene_McSween@reddit

No one should be interpreting this literally unless English isn't their first language and I think you guys are being disingenuous here. This isn't a lesson in literal English; it's an expression and everyone knows what it means. "Later today" does not mean 30 seconds from now or 5 min from now under any context.

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RIFIRE@reddit

It's not about being "right" it's about getting the right result. If OP is doing something that consistently gets the wrong result, it's time to reevaluate.

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smokinbbq@reddit

My new habit is that I set my email to only check every 30 minutes. So people respond with "are you available right now", and that usually means I don't get the message for \~30 minutes, which is pretty far past the "right now" timeline.

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jaymz668@reddit

later today includes in any moment after the message is sent

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446172656E@reddit

Later today could be 5 minutes or 5 hours from now.

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marshal_mellow@reddit

I give some idea of when is a good time for me something like "I'll be available after 2 aside from a meeting at 330" or whatever instead of "later today"

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Destination_Centauri@reddit

I think you should further clarify: -------------------------------- "I am not only preoccupied, but also postoccupied and currentoccupied right now and into the foreseeable far and distant future timeline" to remove even further confusion. -------------------------------- But of course you also need to reassure them, so maybe add: "HOWEVER: once humanity achieves negative-matter-generative capabilities, I will ask my sys-admin-descendant cyborgs to travel back in time, and fix your computing problem before it even begins. -------------------------------- "ALSO NOTE: If you're seeing this message, it's either because: 1) You are currently existing in the pre-occupied-unaltered-time-line, but that should change in a century or two, so kindly be patient and all will eventually be well, and you'll never know you even had a computer problem of this nature. 2) or Time-Travelling-Sys-Admins tried to address your ticket-request 2 centuries after I forwarded it to them, but the reparation of your computing problem triggered a cascading-butter-fly-effect-temporal paradox, leading to galactic scale war. Thus in this situation, your computing problem is not fixable.

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rabbithasacat@reddit

"The statistical likelihood is that other civilisations will arise. There will one day be lemon-soaked paper napkins. ‘Till then, there will be a short delay. Please return to your seats."

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StingOfTheMonarch82@reddit

I would think "is there a time later today" would cover that he explicitly states the time frame that would be ok to schedule. Now is by definition not later today.

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dreadcain@reddit

Now is a time, emails have timestamps. If you see it 3 hours later you know "now" was 3 hours ago. Don't be dense.

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robbersdog49@reddit

Glad it's not just me that thought that...

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Candy_Badger@reddit

Totally agree. I usually say "I am busy at the moment we can have a call today between X and Y or tomorrow between X and Y" I think giving exact time frames showing people time when you can help them.

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cb1ocked@reddit

That's just good customer service, I don't understand why so many people have such a hard time with this.

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robbersdog49@reddit

Yeah, 'now' is a valid answer to the question asked. OP is not saying when they are free, they're asking when the user is free.

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MasterGlassMagic@reddit

Exactly, I'm not sure why OP expected the client to know they were busy at the moment if they hadn't communicated that.

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Acedrew89@reddit

Just add, “I’ve got the following availability, let me know what works best for you and we’ll make it happen: [insert availability]“. Let’s people know you can’t talk now, but gives them some times that work for you and there is no confusion that would lead to them calling you out of the blue/right away.

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mudgonzo@reddit

Also, I don’t think this is necessarily I’ll willed from the end user. In my experience a lot of end users actually understand that you are busy and might think that since you are dedicating time to them at this moment (sending an email etc) that you might as well want to get it over with instead of scheduling for some time to do it later. Having it included that you can’t right now is definitely the way to go.

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blindedtrickster@reddit

I have a decent 'customer service' persona that I can use whenever I need to. For a situation like this, I'd probably go with something like "Unfortunately, I'm in the middle of working on something else, but I had enough time to call to get enough information so we can schedule a time when we're both available. I'll keep you informed the moment I have the opportunity to look into your ticket." Which is polite code for "Let me know your availability. I'll get to you when I'm ready. Until then, leave me alone."

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ThatITguy2015@reddit

Sometimes the vendor completely ignores whatever you say and substitutes their own logic. Provided the vendor a literal screenshot of my calendar showing available times (specifying time zones), along with calling out now is *not* a good time. They still scheduled a stupid meeting *now*. Somewhat related to OP’s issue, but wanted to vent on people ignoring even the best of instructions.

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Destination_Centauri@reddit

I think you should further clarify: "I am not only preoccupied, but also postoccupied and currentoccupied right now and into the foreseeable far and distant future timeline" to remove even further confusion. But of course you also need to reassure them, so maybe add: "HOWEVER: once humanity achieves negative-matter-generative capabilities, I will ask my sys-admin-descendant cyborgs to travel back in time, and fix your computing problem before it even begins. ALSO NOTE: If you're seeing this message, it's because you are currently existing in the pre-occupied-unaltered-time-line, but that should change in a century or two."

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ginto202@reddit

poorly stated by yourself. Put specific times and days. No one to blame but yourself.

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dvali@reddit

I'm not really with you on this one. If you leave it completely open to them to offer a time, why should "now" be any worse a choice than any other time? If you're not available now, say so, or propose a time of your own.

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amanfromthere@reddit

The only time this annoys me is when they respond like 4 hours after I email them and say "Yea now works". No, "Now" worked 4 hours ago when I emailed you.

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pascalbrax@reddit

I *wish* my users would be available "now" when I contact them. Often, I get an URGENT REQUEST to fix something, I ask what about now and the answer is usually "I don't have time now, can we do it [some day next week]?" (Was it that urgent, then?)

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Encrypt-Keeper@reddit

Yeah like you’re evidently available enough to call me, why would I assume otherwise.

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cor315@reddit

Yes. Imo if they say now it's perfect. Usually if I'm emailing them, it's because I'm free and just looking at tickets. I'd rather deal with the issue asap instead of waiting til another time during the week.

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Crimtide@reddit

Agree.. now is 100% an acceptable response from a user that needs help. People in this sub seem to forget that they are a service department, not a "make me feel good about my day" department.

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Neku_Sakuraba@reddit

Most people in this sub have no customer service background and poor people skills. I spent years doing mixed customer service positions and the skills I gained from them have been extremely useful after starting my first "real" IT position.

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bamzander@reddit

Not only is now 100% acceptable, when they offer now, they are being nice by interrupting their day to get it taken care of so you don’t need to worry about it later. It means they care about your time and value your services.

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Bradddtheimpaler@reddit

This specific scenario I’d just say can’t do it now and suggest a time, but I get the frustration. I triage issues, not users. When they call me directly or show up at my office rather than opening a ticket, it’s them telling me, “hey, I don’t give a shit what you’re working on or what other issues there are. Do my thing right now.”

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yogrark@reddit

Agreed. Instead of saying later today or tomorrow, say will you have time after 2pm or anytime tomorrow? Ambiguous language when asking for specific timing is often frustrating on both ends!

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churchin222999111@reddit

I would assume that you were being too polite to assume that \_I\_ was free now. by offering to help you now, I'm letting you know that you are important to me, and I'll free up some time for you.  what a bizarre take on this.

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ITsPersonalIRL@reddit

I read a lot of rants here I can get behind, but this one I can't at all. If "Now" is not acceptable, I'd let them know I can make myself available at X time. Being upset that someone gives a valid answer to your question is so childish. Honestly, these "takes" are the reason so many people view IT as pompous asses. The resolution to your issue takes like 20 more keystrokes, but you'd rather complain on sysadmin.

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NibblyPig@reddit

I mean it sounds like you're politely assuming they're busy now and you don't want to interrupt them, and they're trying to be helpful by saying no now is fine.

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sleemanj@reddit

> Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?” Is the same as you asking "when do YOU have time?" It's not the same as saying "I don't have time right now". And enough with this "reaching out" business. You're not "reaching" anything. You are discussing. "Hi John, I got your message about [X], I can schedule to discuss this with you this afternoon or tomorrow morning, which would be best for you?"

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Pretty_Gorgeous@reddit

This

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imrik_of_caledor@reddit

Is it just me that doesn't think asking "is now OK?" is a crime against humanity? It's just a question dude, it won't hurt you.

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Smeg84@reddit

If you're using Outlook " Book With Me", I have it set so users can't book out my calendar the same day.

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timeshifter_@reddit

You asked for a time, they answered. Why are you mad? If now doesn't work, SAY SO.

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Le_Swazey@reddit

"No John, no it is not." 😂😂😂

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GirafeBleu@reddit

I'm the opposite. When I communicate with the client, I'd rather do the job right now and not have to plan for later.

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EstoyTristeSiempre@reddit

Exactly, if I'm reaching out is because I read your ticket, and I want to get it done ASAP.

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cuntpeddler@reddit

the guy did nothing wrong by asking if now was ok... he could have escalated through his/your boss and shown what the schedule/revenue impact of you not fixing his computer is, which is sure to get the wrong kind of attention. i probably would have done this if i got a shitty response from you.

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BrobdingnagLilliput@reddit

**PRO TIP:** Offer your own availability before you ask for someone else's. "Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. *I'm available today after 1:30 PM or all day tomorrow.* Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?"

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Newdles@reddit

Hey join. Here's my calendly link. Pick your slot. I'll be there.

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CalebAsimov@reddit

I think that's what OP was trying to do, they just didn't phrase it right or possibly are being too subtle.

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joule_thief@reddit

Immediate reply: "I'm available now"

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T_Y_R_@reddit

“That’s fabulous. So let’s go ahead and do something between 1:30 and 4 tomorrow or Thursday. After that I am free starting on the following Tuesday seeing as we are off Monday! Heck yeah three day weekend!”

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cannonballwound@reddit

And that's when you bust out the "Per my last email, ..."

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Cow_Launcher@reddit

And then they take the attitude of, "I am a [$Senior position]. My time is more valuable than yours. You are in a support role, which means you should be available to - ya know - *support* me when I *need* you to and I am here." For wht it's worth, I've been in this industry for 30-odd years and have only had that crap from mid-level management who were slithering up the greasy pole. No actual senior person has ever pulled that on me.

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jarrodb4@reddit

I must be blessed. I support alot of users that treat me like a god because i have an admin override

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stillpiercer_@reddit

There’s a particular user that I work with a lot who literally raises his hands and exclaims out of joy when I walk on-site. He’s an odd bird, but it’s nice to know that he appreciates us.

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RangerNS@reddit

"I'm sorry, Sir/Ma'am; I was not paying attention. Please allow me to escalate this through my management structure and I'm sure X will respond shortly after they have arranged a suitable to team to address this concern. Pending the team charter being approved through by their manager, no one at my level is available to further support you."

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I_Dono_Nuthin@reddit

So you're saying we should respond with that? "You must be a middle-management slitherer, an *actual* higher-up wouldn't say that."

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JezakFunk@reddit

Oh I love when people use this line. Especially for low priority asks that they over exaggerate as urgent due to their position. My attitude shifts from having multiple techs available to none. Refer them to our Fair Use Policy, task out to barely hit SLA. They quickly get the picture that going about it that way is not the best way to ask for service.

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mrjamjams66@reddit

Today I was on the phone and felt we'd need to revisit. I told the person my availability window and they replied with "can I call you at this time that's one hour before the availability window you just said to me?"

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Sparcrypt@reddit

Yeah this rant confuses me… if *you* ask *me* when a good time is then don’t get annoyed that I tell you. I’m free now, if you aren’t then you should have opened with when you are. “Hey, figure out when I’m available then get back to me” seems a strange request.

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Tek_Analyst@reddit

I just default to Calendly now. No point in going back and forth on the “right time.”

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jarrodb4@reddit

Need to get this setup asap. Simply brilliant

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zvii@reddit

How about now?

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hkzqgfswavvukwsw@reddit

Now's not good, Bob. Now's not good.

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pugs_in_a_basket@reddit

Absolutely, and if you're really unable to find something that works for both of you, ask your manager. That's supposedly their job. If you've stuffed your calendar with promised slots, then that's on either on you or you're short staffed. Either way, talk to your manager.

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Chuffed_Canadian@reddit

Yes, always control the conversation. They still get to choose but within the constraints set.

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UpliftingGravity@reddit

I'm new here, but I'm slowly getting the feeling system admins don't have much social skills.

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I_T_Gamer@reddit

Mine is the opposite.... Every time I open a ticket with M$ and provide availability and include the time in which I plan to leave, they call me or try to either at or just after that time. I now pad that time by cutting 2hours off the end of my availability...

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Robbbbbbbbb@reddit

They do this to me also "I'm available until 4pm EST" Email notification for voicemail rolls in at 4:02pm There's a reason we dropped premium support and won't seriously considering MSFT for an EDR product.

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IwantToNAT-PING@reddit

I genuinely believe that it is an active practice among MS support staff to attempt phone contact outside of given windows in an effort to close tickets for repeat non-contact. I wouldn't go so far as to say it's a condoned practice, but we had it happen to us with an Office365 issue a few times, and I've read about so many people on this sub experiencing the same. I would believe that it's a widespread tactic amongst overwhelmed first line support to close tickets and hit metrics while facing an insurmountable workload and having received little to no training.

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erikkll@reddit

Their first line support system might just have a ‘tickets about to expire’ filter that is actively being watched.

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Uncreativespace@reddit

They absolutely do. Been on the customer admin and partner support sides of this interaction (MS doesn't actually use their North Carolina support office for most 365, non-Azure, issues). A significant amount of the time, even if you don't have a designated CSP\\MSP, you're getting 24\\7 partner desks at T1 assigned to a partner company (per region) until escalation occurs.

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jameson71@reddit

It's the name of the game for any and every call center.

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LlGHT_YAGAMl@reddit

Maybe. But I think they are also just scrambling to reach out before their SLA timer goes off

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Zeggitt@reddit

I've said this in other threads: I worked for an ms contractor doing 365 business support for a brief time. We were required to call everyone every day, regardless of contact preference. We were told to mostly ignore timezone. If someone missed a call 5 times, we could close the case. It's not a tactic of first-line-support, it's the tactic of the business. It was 100% turn-and-burn to make metrics look good and keep getting that sweet MS cash.

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Bradddtheimpaler@reddit

Yeah have to be. I always specify email communication ONLY and they’ll call me at like 6:30 and then close the ticket on the second day I don’t answer when they call that late.

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PSdotslash@reddit

100% If the issue seems scary or annoying to troubleshoot, they will try every method they can to close the case on a technicality like a “cust didn’t reply 3 times. Closing ticket.” And it prevents you from adding new comments. This forces you to create a new ticket, which will just get picked up by another random tech. For the original tech, it’s out of sight, out of mind. Only rarely do they hear about it if the cust complains for an escalation/manager… then they dig into all the history and maaaybe give the tech a talking to, but they still won’t do anything actionable about it (change their role, make them train more, fire them, etc) beyond annoying them with a convo.

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tdhuck@reddit

They can close tickets all they want, I always make sure to update the notes/ticket email stating "vendor did not contact me during time frame requested" and I don't care if it doesn't change anything on their end, I still document everything.

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I_T_Gamer@reddit

Yep, almost all techs prior to escalation sound "scripted", and offer little outside "do all the things you already did, again"... Gotta show growth every quarter "or else". /s I hate some things American...

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Living_Unit@reddit

I always put availibility as 10-2, as do occasionally walk into a problem/new task in the morning that needs to be done, and im not staying past my 4:30 exit time..

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CarrBock@reddit

Y’all are getting responses from Microsoft?

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Bradddtheimpaler@reddit

Me opening a ticket with Microsoft always involves me specifically requesting only email communication and they always fucking call after hours.

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nstern2@reddit

HPE just did this to us. When can we send out a tech they ask. X-Y I respond. Then they respond back that they scheduled it for Z. We told them that no one was available at that time and luckily a tech didn't show up. What's the point of asking if they aren't going to listen to what we have to say?

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Capt-Clueless@reddit

How do you have time to be sending out meeting invites if you're so busy that you can't possibly help them right then and there?

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bebearaware@reddit

I HATE THIS SO MUCH

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altodor@reddit

There's services you can use like "Bookings with Me" or Calendly to automate this. I thought they were a joke until I started using them. Now I kinda evangelize a bit. Set meetings in 15/30/60 minute increments, one set on Teams/Zoom/w\e else and one set that's a deskside visit (sys admin needs this less often than desktop but it's nice to have). Set a "meeting must be at least 6 hours from now" rule and a "must be X minute buffer from next/prior meeting" rule. Send the "single use link" for the time and meeting location of your choosing in an email or ticket response. After a while you figure out who/what needs special appointment types. When I was on desktop I had a special one with special rules for computer replacements. As a sysadmin I have one dedicated to this one dev who periodically needs one specific application updated on one specific server.

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LifeHasLeft@reddit

Just sending a request to schedule something on its own does not mean you aren’t immediately available.

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nanonoise@reddit

We have started using Microsoft Bookings. Constrains them to specific slots based on current appointment in calendar and other defined hours. No bookings over lunch or when I have meetings, or first thing in the morning or last thing in the evening. Bloody brilliant.

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LeftFieldAzure@reddit

I mean, you can't blame them for asking, but I get this all the time and I can relate. These aren't the ones that bother me so much as the ones who insist that I drop everything, every time they call.

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Disastrous_Raise_591@reddit

If someone sends me a message asking to go through something, that tells me they are available right now. You need to state that you are about to go into a meeting or the toilet or whatever when you ask them if they are available later, and give them a time window that works for you. Otherwise, if I've just seen your message pop up, I'll suggest right now if that works for me.

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Ulfsark@reddit

Anybody who does this, gets a bit of a delay added to their ticket, and a 'apologies for just seeing this now...

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totallynewme@reddit

Oooh, I feel you. BUT, as mentioned, you shouldn't open it up like that. Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Let's take a look at 3:04pm today, or maybe 11:17am tomorrow? LMK if either of those work, thanks!"

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pisandwich@reddit

Eh sometimes end users are just free at the moment and checking if you might be as well. Typically we give the end user the opportunity to schedule as a polite gesture but frequently they offer "now" as a possible first response if they're free. It doesn't mean they expect you to do it now, just seeing if it's possible. On the other hand, people get irritated when you call them and want to work on something *now*. It's best to just throw them the ball and work with them. Offering "now" isn't a demand at my workplace at least, it's just part of scheduling.

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Some_Nibblonian@reddit

It’s your communication that is flawed.

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cmi5400@reddit

I love the people who put in a request for help at 4:45 PM on Friday, only to receive an out of office message stating they will be back in 2 weeks when you call at 4:50 PM 🙄. Yeah those get the "please open a new ticket when you return if the issue is still occurring".

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minilandl@reddit

I'm pretty new to the industry but once you get out of helpdesk you deal with a lot less entitled users who want things fixed NOW . Also internal users are a lot more reasonable than if you're working for a MSP could be wrong .

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DeckardWS@reddit

The time when sysadmins could get away with being asocial dweebs with poor communication skills is over. You gave the user unlimited options, and act surprised when they chose the one that benefits them the most. Tell them you're busy in the email. Better yet, give them blocks of time to choose from when you know you'll be available. This is on you.

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microcandella@reddit

Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. ***I can work on this soon but I've got a few things ahead of this that must get finished first. I'm sure you can relate.*** Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?” Them:Um Sure, what time is good for you? It's just that easy. We need to de-BOFH ourselves.

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overworkedpnw@reddit

Used to work for one of the big cloud providers, and customers would do this nonsense all the time. I had one that would insist on scheduling things with me at 6 AM EST, meanwhile my day wouldn’t start until 1 PM EST (I’m 3 hours behind in PST). I’d make the insanely early schlep to the office a couple of times in the name of trying to get a good customer score, but that stopped real fast after I realized the score was all my employer cares about, rather than giving a damn about the work performed.

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bobsmith1010@reddit

i like Microsoft booking tool where you can send them a link so they can book out time. I just started setting it up so may be misunderstanding but it look like you can set how soon they can book a meeting. That way now is not an option.

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stromm@reddit

Never use open ended questions when you want an explicit answer. “Is later today or tomorrow ok?” is an open ended question. Just ask, “please confirm one of the following times: today @1p, today @2p, tomorrow at 10a…”. Then any reply that does not include one of the items you provided gets a “that time does not work for my schedule. Please select one of these times…” and go out another day.

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mello-t@reddit

Just be more direct, “I have an opening tomorrow at 11am”, Then you don’t have to play the game.

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sin-eater82@reddit

Why is you calling them on the spot at your convenience okay but tem saying x ow is a good time" not okay? It's not reasonable to expect people to read your mind that you wouldn't ask them if you were available now. A lot of people would still have the courtesy to ask for a time even if they were available " now". Sorry, not with you on this one. Nobody knows your motives like you do. Plenty of people would still email and ask about a time even if they were available at that moment

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sitesurfer253@reddit

I have been mass emailing a group of users to schedule some maintenance that unfortunately is not automated and requires a bit of 1on1. I'm on my 5th "reminder" email and 9th "my availability is listed multiple times in old in each of the 5 emails below in the chain. No I am not available 4 hours after the window I have provided 5 DIFFERENT TIMES" at this point.

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Clean_Presence_8075@reddit

Yep, i know this all to well, to the point clients just spam calls on teams expecting instant support on the smallest of issue and attempt to avoid logging tickets which is highly annoying as it screws with time tacking for out ticketing system. Makes my day

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sid351@reddit

Bookings ftw.

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hubbyofhoarder@reddit

Thinking tactically, why not just send the person an invite for a time that works for you with the issue as the subject of the meeting? By making it a conversation, you're putting yourself into the situation of of having a back and forth about when you can do the work this person needs with "right now" being an option for them as that's what *they* want. It's the year of our Lord 2023, MFers should have updated calendars. Send them an invite that works for you and they have free on their calendar, and then let them respond. They can decline/suggest new time/whatever. That's exactly the purpose of calendaring apps in business. Instead of putting yourself into a position of having to say "no", make an affirmative offer of a time that works for you to do the work. Overall, that looks better for you and avoids potential conflict.

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maryisamaria@reddit

Maybe OP should have said his availability, but he is still right lol. annoying users.

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Krealic@reddit

If you say "later today or tomorrow", I think that's pretty clear that now doesn't work. At least to me. But as others have suggested, you could take it a step further and suggest concrete times. If someone asks me for help with something and hasn't given an exact time when they'd like to work on it, I assume they mean now or ASAP, and usually if someone is asking me for help, my help is blocking their work. We also have a system at work that will schedule a meeting for your desired duration in the next open calendar slot you both have, so if people want to schedule something with me, I just tell them to do it.

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thatdudejtru@reddit

Man, your title alone made me cough smoke out of nose; I am currently "updating" a laptop for a replacement lmao. I feel your damn pain...

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jackjack95@reddit

you shouldn't ask unless you a ready to help

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jarrodb4@reddit

Any euc support tech knows this

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atheno13@reddit

honestly it be like that sometimes

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Hotshot55@reddit

Why are you even reaching out to people when you're busy doing other work? It sounds like you're somewhat the cause of your own issues.

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dlongwing@reddit

I've had to reword my responses to folks so many times. Here's my current version for any who find it helpful. I block out big chunks of my calendar for "Focus time" in the mornings and late afternoons, to stop people from scheduling a troubleshooting session at 9 on the dot or 4:30PM on a Friday, then I send them this template. \--- Hi USER, We need to meet about this issue. Please follow these steps to set up a meeting when we're both free. 1. Go to the calendar section of Outlook and select New meeting: \[Screenshot\] 2. This will create a blank event. You can then add me as a required attendee to the event: \[Screenshot\] 3. Next, select the Scheduling Assistant from the menu: \[Screenshot\] 4. The Scheduling Assistant will give you a list of available/busy times for all attendees of the meeting. Select a time-slot that will work for both of us by looking for a blank space in the assistant where neither party has a meeting. \[Screenshot\] I keep my calendar up to date, so you can pick any time I'm free between 9 and 4. Please note, if you try to schedule a meeting that conflicts with my other meetings, I will decline it without explanation. Use the scheduling assistant as outlined above. Thanks, ME

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dlongwing@reddit

I seriously had to get this granular because I've had users who've never scheduled a meeting before, or who've never used the scheduling assistant, or who ignore the fact that there's a *conflicting meeting on my calendar*. Honestly sometimes my job just feels like adult daycare.

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HughJohns0n@reddit

If it's not on my calendar, it's not happening. It's the only time management tool that has worked consistently for me.

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scriptmonkey420@reddit

On the other side, do NOT just ping me on Teams at the end of the day and make me pry it out of you what you want from me. This was an exchange I had last night at 4:58PM > Dev: Hey ScriptMoneky420 > > Me: Hi > > Dev: Can you join a call? > > Me: What is it about? > > Dev: A migration to Azure > > Me: What about it? What is needed? I have projects I am working on now, is it a PROD issue? or something with DEV/QA? > > Dev: We did the F5 routing change and things are not working correctly, not sure if it has to do with *Our IAM software* > > *Note: I do not do F5, I am the IAM Security Engineer * > > Me: Can you schedule a call for tomorrow to go over this and troubleshoot?

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cdm014@reddit

I will assume that you assume I'm busy right this moment. However, if I'm going to try a problem solved i can likely push stuff off to get it fixed. At the bottom of the email, say i won't be available until 1:45, so just let me know what time after that works

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Kinglink@reddit

I appreciate your mentality. However quite often that's the way a lot of IT works. "How about now" is usually a yes in my organization. Not saying that has to be your rule. But for many IT people they schedule it when they have free time to schedule these things. Maybe start with "Hey John, I'm in the middle of a meeting, but is there a time later today or tomorrow morning .." So it's clear now is not available.

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jake04-20@reddit

It can never hurt to ask though. To insist it be now or demand it is another story, but it sounds like the user just asked.

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GrimmRadiance@reddit

I love being asked this, but it doesn’t mean I’m always available. The more flexibility someone gives me, the better.

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Neku_Sakuraba@reddit

Or you could you know... go about your day and not dwell on something like this to the point you feel the need to make a rant post. Also, my guy, you do realize that they only ask because they want help? It's not that they think they are more important than all the other crap you are probably doing. They just don't know for the most part. It's not a rude question for them to ask, it's completely valid. Not to say people don't just want you to drop everything just for them, those people certainly exist and they are aggravating for sure but is the exception, not the rule.

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Hollow3ddd@reddit

I mean, when I call someone in usually ready to go.

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NETSPLlT@reddit

Poor rant imho. I never assume someone is available and ask them to book within a certain window of my availability, at their convenience. If they come back with 'now', I might be down for that. Surprised you'd rant about it. Do your users get salty about you not being immediately available?

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Chester-Anon@reddit

>Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?” >John: “Is now good?” >No John, no it is not. Then why not just say that? If this makes you Alt+f4, maybe it's time for a vacation.

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FlatchestedMaid@reddit

Here's how I would have worded it: "Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. I am currently busy between the hours of ABC until XYZ today. I should be tentatively available between the hours of EFG to HIJ later on today, otherwise, I am open from ABC hours to XYZ hours tomorrow." This is how I've always done things, and it's helped me out a lot to be overly specific.

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Adventurous_Run_4566@reddit

I can’t imagine getting wound up about this to be honest. From his perspective there’s every chance you’re trying to respect his time and assuming he’s busy right now. Totally fine question to ask imo.

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KarmaCorgi@reddit

My favorites: “I’m free from 12-1” (of course, make me work on it while you go take lunch) “Put some time on my calendar” (you reached out to ME. you can put the time on MY calendar) “X time is good” (does not show up to remote session and is, in fact, not available)

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ShabaDabaDo@reddit

my favorite is when they answer my request for a time with “I’ll be available at x:y time” that’s less than an hour from when they send the email, which is also while I’m off shift.

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DreamWithinAMatrix@reddit

I'm so sorry dude! I won't do it again (until tomorrow)

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Efficient_Will5192@reddit

Your mistake is that you aren't making the first move. you're asking them to make the first move. Look at your calendar, pick a time, Send them the calendar invite for that time. If they decline it, then it's on them to suggest a new time. If they ignore it, ignore the ticket until they followup. If they're upset about it, point out that you tried to schedule time with them but they failed to respond, so the ticket was closed. They can bitch all they want, but you can't help someone who doesn't have the time to be helped.

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Varrianda@reddit

That response makes it seem like you’re available but are assuming they aren’t. Just explicitly say you don’t have time to meet right at the moment…

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MGKudan@reddit

The way I see it is you sending them a calendar invite is you asking "when are you available?" From my experience we in IT are always working around user schedules, not the other way around. I will also say people probably think if you have the time to reply you have time to work on the issue.

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kapinasingh@reddit

I have started booking meetings in people's calendars and tell them if that doesn't work for them, to propose a new time. Minimizes the *I'm available now and I have no regard for your schedule*

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OneEyedC4t@reddit

Says who?

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1235813213455_1@reddit

As a non IT person, if IT asks for a time, now will be my assumption for what they want 100% of the time. Just don't message me if you aren't available, whats the point?

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RCTID1975@reddit

> Just don't message me if you aren't available, whats the point? You're probably going to get downvoted, but I'll provide an explanation. Because helpdesk doesn't know if you're available. That email was sent, and they moved onto the next thing. Ideally what should be happening here is that helpdesk calls you. If you answer, cool, fix it. If you don't, then an email should be sent with the tech's availability, and then you would respond with what time slot works for you. OP is just communicating in an ambiguous way that's causing confusion and then blaming the end user for it.

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RCTID1975@reddit

If now isn't an option, then don't give them such an ambiguous response. Tell them when you ARE available, and let them choose those times. If you communicate poorly, don't be surprised when you get responses you don't like.

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agilob@reddit

>Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?” You disturbed me **now**. Don't ask, just check my calendar, send an invite and talk to me later. Don't disturb me NOW, to talk about something tomorrow. If you disturb me now, I'll offer to talk to you now. Start an asynchronous conversation if you don't want the answer now.

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dalegribbledribble@reddit

OP you arent wrong. I don't know why you are getting so much pushback in here... If your doctor or lawyers office reached out to schedule an appointment you wouldn't write back "NOW?!"

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RCTID1975@reddit

If my doctor or lawyer requested a phone call/virtual meeting, and now was an option, I certainly would.

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dalegribbledribble@reddit

As per OP: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?”

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NashVilleHIM@reddit

Average IT guy

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ottosucks@reddit

ITT: OP sucks at communication

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DK_Son@reddit

Why is now not a reasonable offer? You don't have to accept it. But if you are free, you can get it out of the way. I love when people say now. It beats waiting days for a reply, and having to chase them up every day. You also took that moment to contact them. They may think that you have time now. Totally reasonable thought for someone to have. A sysadmin is not usually packed with meetings, or stuck on the phone. So there are many times where "now" works just fine. I really can't get on board with this rant at all. They are providing a perfectly legitimate time, IF, it also works for you. If you can't comfortably say no, then your people skills are below average.

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Substantial_Recipe21@reddit

I get this a lot and its totally fine. Perhaps give them time slots to choose from on your availability or use scheduling assistant and do it yourself

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Baethovn@reddit

When you offer a time/date/invite for availability, but users still think “Now” is appropriate.

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myrianthi@reddit

I like to provide clients with a Calendly link which only allows scheduling an hour out at the soonest.

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TheJesusGuy@reddit

Now is the only time possible according to my everyone including leadership.

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kevin_k@reddit

That reminds me of one of my favorites: Me: We're waiting on (part of X) but you'll have (X) in the timeframe we discussed. Other Person: So, by the end of the month? Me: Well, on the twentieth, we said two weeks. So ... Other Person: Twenty, twenty-five, thirty - in my book, a week is five days. Me: Oh. Well, on Earth, a week is seven days.

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breakingd4d@reddit

I’ll amend this a little I get annoyed when I ask “what are a few days and times this week you’re available ?” And they only reply with “is now good ?” And not with any other times as well

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Substantial-Ant-4010@reddit

I shut these types of issues down years ago, by learning how to communicate clearly. I also try to head off potential issues by providing additional info. For instance: I get a ticket requesting access to a shared mailbox. Old reply: access granted New reply: I have granted you access to the sales@domain shared mailbox. It may take up to an hour to update access. Here is the link for adding a shared mailbox to Mac Outlook.

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kevin_k@reddit

"I'm looking for (whatever day+time it is at the moment) in my calendar later today or tomorrow and I just don't see one"

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Garrettinb4kh3fm@reddit

I always ask the user to provide a couple times they'd be available, and end the sentence with, please allow an hour's notice for scheduling.

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Illnasty2@reddit

Lol…I do that all the time with Microsoft Support. Please provide a time - Now

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ksabev@reddit

You can request a time at home. At work you mark 30 min in their calendar, if they are ok with that they'll accept. If not they can propose a new time.

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stufforstuff@reddit

>Bit of a silly rant Ya think?

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Bear4188@reddit

Now is a perfectly reasonable response to "When are you available?" you need to indicate that you are not available now.

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supercamlabs@reddit

is this a breakfix situation? or something you can fix in 5 mins?

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HumanMycologist5795@reddit

Either John may have been busy later, or perhaps John wanted to help you as soon as possible letting you know that he is available now if you wish, as he perhaps does t know how pressing the issue is. The same thing happens at my work. No big deal. The same thing happens to me. Where iI am, I'm the only DBA and I'm the team lead. If I run into any issues, they can't help me, but if they run into issues, I help as soon as I can. But we all get busy at times.

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HauntingAd6535@reddit

Don't ask them to suggest a time tomorrow. State you will have the time tomorrow and you'll check their calendar in Outlook, as an example, and block out time on their calendar. Done.

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SublimeApathy@reddit

The best is when they reach out for help on a weekend, then complain in writing (email CC bosses) that you didn't respond fast enough and now they're in a bind because they can't complete a task for a meeting first thing Monday. "Correct, you asked for help at 237pm on a SATURDAY, BRENDA. Someone will pickup the ticket and reach out sometime Monday morning because you know, WEEKEND."

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dapipminmonkey@reddit

Something I've started doing is giving specific times to meet with enough time between now and my first availability to see the message and put it in my calendar. Hey, let's get together on this, this is my upcoming availability: - Thursday, June 15, 2023 * -- 9:00 AM - 11:30 AM * -- 2:00P PM - 5:00 PM * Friday, June 16, 2023 * -- 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

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screampuff@reddit

You lost me. For the same reason the person shouldn't say "now", is the same reason you shouldn't call them out of the blue. If you are initiation the request to provide something, it is you who should mention your availability.

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jaymz668@reddit

"Now" is in fact later today.

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AptCasaNova@reddit

I hint that I’m not free now by saying ‘can you advise a time this afternoon or tomorrow am when you’re free for a call?’.

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The_Wkwied@reddit

https://nohello.net/en/ When people IM me with 'hey', unless it's someone on my team or my boss, I'm not going to reply. I'm here. My activity status shows available. If you have a question, feel free to ask, and I'll answer it when I can. If you just want to say 'hello' to me... No thanks. I have work to do. Oh and then you put in a ticket? Great, I'll pick up the ticket. I guess that's what you wanted to ask me about? If you should submit the ticket? Yeah, always, submit the bloody ticket. If I need to reach out to you, I will - I have in the past. But if you are asking me 'hey, should I put a ticket in for X?', then the answer is *always* yes. And unless you are calling in to the helpdesk, if you send an email/chat, we all automatically assign that priority as 'it needs done when you have time'. If you need help now, call. If you need help later, shoot us an email. If *we* determine that we need to touch base on a chat/email ticket, we'll reach out to you. If you never reply on a time for us to talk/chat to troubleshoot or get more info, then... your problem isn't that big of a deal according to you. Break/fix is a two way street. We don't have the magic power to know when something is broken, so you need to tell us first. If you don't reply or your communication skills are comparable to a playground swing set, don't push the blame on to us!

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j4ngl35@reddit

Yeah how is this a reasonable response? 99% of the time I'm not sitting on my thumbs just waiting for something to come in, especially at an MSP. Give me a time so I can schedule it or I'm going to be working on other shit /rant

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Clede@reddit

If you say "later today", what's the earliest acceptable option? 5 minutes from now? 1 minute?

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eggcountant@reddit

I get plenty of emails requesting a meeting 5 minutes after the email is sent. I don't check my email in real time.

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skiitifyoucan@reddit

maybe my line of work is different but i would never "just call" someone unless it was urgent/emergency. If someone messages me and says hey I need 5 minutes of your time, when would be good? Often I'll say let's do it right now just to get it out of the way.

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Intelligent_Ad4448@reddit

If I have time to reach out I usually have time to fix it now and hoping they’re free now to get it off my plate. I’d just mention in the email you’re preoccupied so you want to schedule a time. Communication is key my friend.

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PC509@reddit

I usually give a time (this afternoon, tomorrow morning, etc.) for them to work with. I like their attention, though. At least they are responding. I hate the ones that go dead silent for days while you try and connect with them to fix their issue. Nothing. Silence. Three strikes and we close the ticket. Then, within seconds they get back to you wanting it fixed because it's "an emergency" and need to get back to work NOW.

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TheoreticalFunk@reddit

I think it's okay to just say that. "I'm not available now."

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RouterMonkey@reddit

How is the user to know that now isn't an option. You are actively involved with their ticket right now, and even 5-10 minutes later is 'later today'. If not isn't a good option, then say that. "Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. I'm involved with another issue at the moment, is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?”

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Trylion_ZA@reddit

yeah pretty much. no need for an attitude

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butter_lover@reddit

this is really easy for me: "my calendar is up to date, please just place an item there in a time that works for you and is open for me".

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DeathKringle@reddit

"Is there a time I can call you later today or tomorrow as all my Current Callback slots are filled and if you continue to need help I will need to schedule something at a different time"

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rustytrailer@reddit

An email asking “is now good” is a hell of a lot better than a user walking up to your desk and immediately going in to their issue while you are in the middle of eating your lunch. Not a day goes by

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fitting_pieces@reddit

“Now” is acceptable for C suite or other VIPs. For anyone else, you specify times- “Hey… I’m available at 2:30 pm today. How does that work for you?”

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Difficult_Arm_4762@reddit

Just message with hey so and so can you provide a few days/times this week to follow up on this issue? That seems to get the gist of the request that’s it’s for future time not now.

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NuAngel@reddit

You almost have it, just add a quick: "I'm busy at the moment, but is there a time later today or tomorrow..."

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Inshabel@reddit

I only send that to people when I have time, because 9 out of 10 times they will answer "now?"

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iC0nk3r@reddit

Do you guys even like IT?

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kdavis37@reddit

I disagree. Most of the time, "is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?" suggests that you're being courteous to THEM and are allowing THEM to say not right now.

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IdleWanderlust@reddit

I probably don’t want to meet with you later either, but now is absolutely not the time I want to do it.

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thortgot@reddit

Have you tried recommending a time? I find that is the best and most efficient solution.

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fieroloki@reddit

I'm currently taking a shit John.

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TheForceofHistory@reddit

Got a now last week, on Friday at 4 pm, June 9. "When did the problem start?" was my email response. Ans. "May 17th" "Do you have a ticket?" Ans. "No." "Please submit a ticket and a member of our team will get with you next week. I am currently busy with a pressing matter."

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Little_Cinematics@reddit

I feel like half the time I ask people for a time that works for them they always say now lol. I usually just get to it then when I can.

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RikiWardOG@reddit

they say now 20 mins later when you just hoped into a meeting. You reply asking for a time to schedule and they don't respond. Then you follow up a day later and about 2 hours later they say now is good... there's no winning

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robotbeatrally@reddit

If I request a time, and they respond with can we do it right now, I will reply as if they confirmed the time I requested and send them a calendar invite. most of the time people don't even say anything. xD

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Angy_Fox13@reddit

I like when they're available right away. Get it over with.

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hans_gruber1@reddit

I recently tried to set up a meeting to go over some requirements for a project, no reply until 7am a few days later saying "I'm free now?" Cool story bro

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Nik_Tesla@reddit

I guarantee that if I call that person or walk to their desk right that moment, they won't be there.

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SamR1301@reddit

I have a C level that constantly has issues and she sets a time, say 4:30, and either has exactly 15 minutes or isn't there at that time. I dislike her greatly.

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BastardOPFromHell@reddit

You are asking for my time. If you are not willing to accept the time I offer which may be now, then you select a time and I'll tell you if I am available.

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Toribor@reddit

Additionally: Messaging me to tell me that you just opened a ticket doesn't make me notice it any faster, it's just yet another distraction between me and actually having the capacity to help.

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cory906@reddit

Or you'll get a reply an hour later with "now is good." OK John, let me just drop everything since you have time RiGHT NOW.

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Spacesider@reddit

All the people that say that during lunchtime is good... But this personally didn't bother me! I've always prefered being an early starter, so I eat lunch earlier than everyone else. So when I am back at my desk that is when everyone else is heading out for lunch, it is perfect.

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hkusp45css@reddit

I respond, cc:ing their boss and my boss with something like "I genuinely want to help you but, I need you to schedule a time in the future where I can give you my undivided attention. Which is why I asked you to do that several hours ago. I am unable, like most professionals, to drop what I'm doing on the spot to assist you at your immediate convenience. Please review my calendar and pick a spot in the near future where we can get together to solve your issue."

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I_cut_the_brakes@reddit

Fuck those people, that email sits for a while before I reply.

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32542GME@reddit

I hate this because my calls sometimes need a third person involved. In my messages I usually state: Please confirm a goodtime slot for you so we can coordinate a meeting. Their response(2 hours later): I'm available now ???????????

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garlicriceadobo@reddit

This one…aggravating af

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GustavoSwift@reddit

This drives me crazy, when I ask for availability I am not asking for "tomorrow" or "now" or anytime... Pick something on the calendar for 30 minutes.

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RagnarStonefist@reddit

It's almost as good as: I've scheduled you for 8:30 on Tuesday - that good? John: Yeah! See you then (8:30) ... (8:45).... (9:00) John: I ran long on my last meeting, do you have time now

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hkusp45css@reddit

"Nope, please review my calendar and send me a meeting proposal."

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wrootlt@reddit

And if you decide screw it, i can try working on it now and ask them to join, the suddenly go away and after you go and start working on something else after 30 min they return and say they can join now.. :D Granted, very often same crap happens when you do schedule time and they are not available or start asking to postpone.

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jareb426@reddit

Depends on the user for me. If it’s somebody who sucks at replying then I’m pretty happy when they ask if now is ok.

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hkusp45css@reddit

If someone sucks at replying, their issue can continue to be an issue, until they become better at being a professional. Their problems aren't any more important to me than they are to them. I'm not going to drop what I'm doing because people can't manage a calendar.

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sowhatidoit@reddit

MS Bookings App integration is what helped my team solve this very issue! You can use any service scheduling app. Calendly and Google come to mind if your organization doesn't have access to MS Products.

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f0gax@reddit

I don’t know. This one may be on you. How long between when you sent and when they replied? If it was an hour or more then “later today” could be “now”. And they’re just asking. It’s doesn’t appear that they just called you and said “work now!”

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Pristine_Curve@reddit

Me: "Hi, I'd like to help with the issue reported when is a good time?" Not a problem: "Now would be great." Conversely, this scenario is the more frustrating option. Problem: [no response at all until 3hrs later] "I just got back from lunch why isn't it fixed?" Me: "You didn't reply to my meeting request, is now a good time?" Problem: NO! I have to catch up now, I'm way behind because of all the computer issues!!! Me: "Ok what time would be best?" Problem: [no reply] Problem: [4:56pm] Is IT going to fix this or not?

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xzer@reddit

I get the mild annoyance and imo just sending a calendar invite on an open scheduling time with them without a direct message confirming is enough. Part of the confusion might be the DM (if I understand that's what your doing)

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BossCrabMeat@reddit

Is "NOW !" good?

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BadSausageFactory@reddit

I suggest replying no about an hour later. That sets the tone for future comms.

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zeyore@reddit

sometimes I could go now, but instead I say 'I can be by first thing tomorrow morning.' i just prefer mornings.

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2clipchris@reddit

>Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Is there a time later today or tomorrow morning I can reach out?” The problem with your statement is you gave full control to the user. IMO good customer service is communicating with customer on terms both agree on. I don't believe you should drop everything or work around a person's schedule. When doing this you are creating expectation your work is not as important as theirs. This how you become someone's personal IT which is not worth it in most cases (there are exceptions). Instead you should write: Me: “Hey John, thanks for reaching out about your issue. Let's set a time later today or tomorrow morning to troubleshoot. May I reach out to you this afternoon/evening or does tomorrow work for you?”

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MaxHedrome@reddit

Use calendly, it forces them into a scheduled time slot

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PotentialFantastic87@reddit

I.T. always works around our users' schedules. This is ordinary and expected. "Now" should be viewed as a positive.

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I_cut_the_brakes@reddit

IT *always* doing anything one way is stupid. Believe it or not, I have tasks that don't involve help desk as well.

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torbar203@reddit

I also like the "I'm free this week except Thursday before 1pm" "10am thursday is good"

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moderatenerd@reddit

Job requirement: Must be a good communicator. All End Users: I demand you fix my "Not actually an emergency" problem now!!! It's an emergency. Me still struggling to get offers away from hell desk...

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dessimus@reddit

You could start with "I am not currently available, do you have time after X...". When replying to the email/ticket, it suggests you are currently looking into the issue right now to user so they may decide to clear their current plans if you *are* available right now.

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zipcad@reddit

That’s why you wait two hours and reply let’s schedule a time in the future.

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