5 hours later, "Should we try the (device) everyone is actually using?"
Posted by lionseatcake@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 44 comments
Spent 5 hours today helping two of my tech deal with a communication issue. We have software that we install locally which accesses a device on their network.
All ports are open, firewalls temporarily disabled, can ping in cmd cannot connect the application to the device.
We are not IT. We are software support talking to the customers "IT" who's favorite phrase is "what should I do".
5 hours later, after troubleshooting a device who's IP is showing 10.10.10 when the default gateway on the Host computer is 192.168.1 he says, "should we try all of this on the time clock all the users are actually using?" 5 minutes later the issue is resolved.
Apparently at some point, device A stopped working, they had Device B on hand to take its place, and for some reason left Device A accessible.
This would have been a 3 minute call if we knew that. We had no way of even knowing to ASK that question..but we know now...always an exciting day in tech support...
Strongit@reddit
A pretty big part of dealing with clients in IT is knowing the right question to ask, and it's frustrating as hell
lionseatcake@reddit (OP)
And sometimes they still surprise you. We are used to troubleshooting this particular thing. We aren't big. We have ONE device (2 models) and one piece of software.
These problems are the most common we get called for.
But to think of some random device they have that hasn't worked for over a year still connected and not being used when you're talking to the only people that interact with it...
We ask all kinds of questions but there was just no inkling of a shimmer of a thought to ask THIS one 😅
MoreRopePlease@reddit
Now you have a new question to add to your checklist!
Delicious_Big8371@reddit
My checklist can't get any bigger boss....
pjshawaii@reddit
Especially when users lie.
Diaggen@reddit
Users ALWAYS lie.
harrywwc@reddit
remember: at some point, we too are "(l)users"
Delicious_Big8371@reddit
And just like them I lie to myself all the time.
druex@reddit
Or answer an interpretation of your question.
"Is device in a certain state yes or no?"
"Well 3 months ago..."
flecktonesfan@reddit
Oh, that drives me nuts. Don’t try to interpret where you think I’m going with my line of questioning… just answer the direct question I asked.
meitemark@reddit
Some people does have the mentality of politicians and therefore cannot, even at gunpoint answer "yes" or "no".
Outside-Rise-3466@reddit
Imagine being married to someone like that. Except, I don't have to imagine.
MostPopularPenguin@reddit
This is what made me so successful at my last tech support job. Learning what to ask and how to ask it early made the difference
Preblegorillaman@reddit
Or when you spiral and you are starting to understand the issue and each question gets you further and furrher in the shit.
"Can someone try this login information on the HMI? I want to check something"
"We don't know how to do that."
"Uh, well okay I think I know a workaround based on the info I got about the issue. We need to swap video signals that feed a KVM extender. Does anyone know what a VGA cable looks like? Blue connector?
"No, we understand how to use the mouse, but not anything else"
"... okay is there someone else on site that would know this?"
"No"
"Damn, okay abyone you can call?? I know it's 10:15pm, but still"
"Uh, well there's the PLC contractor... "
"Grea"
"Who lives 45 minutes away"
"Of course. Well, call him up!"
ITrCool@reddit
I work in an MSP. Can relate.
HigherOctive@reddit
The hardest thing for me to learn when I first started in support was to NOT assume that the user had any ability or common sense.
You can't find an application on your computer? Maybe mention that they deployed a replacement computer to you when your old harddrive failed.
Your computer isn't booting? Maybe check to see if your monitor and/or your power strip is turned on.
computingCuriosity@reddit
From someone who's worked in the web development and IT support I can see how this would happen!
At least it was a learning experience.
😅😂
Rathmun@reddit
Hands off the A records!!!
TheITCustodian@reddit
And the $#&@ MX records!
NotYourNanny@reddit
I can see how that would happen. Makes me one to light someone on fire.
oweiler@reddit
Tech Support are the unsung heroes of IT.
Starfury_42@reddit
I have had far too many calls where the caller isn't at the computer or they're calling for someone who's too "busy" to call in - and they expect a fix inside 30 seconds.
lionseatcake@reddit (OP)
Dude,we operate primarily on remote connections, all our customers know this.
And still, the number of times people have called for me to help them with something on the computer...while they're OBVIOUSLY in their car is insane.
People are hilarious.
Starfury_42@reddit
I've had to end calls for people in their car trying to do stuff on their laptop. Our calls are recorded - and if I ask "are you driving" and they say Yes - I tell them to call once they've parked because it's not safe to continue. Let them complain because my boss will back me 100%
lionseatcake@reddit (OP)
Man when I was in a coding bootcamp a handful of years ago, there was a chick in there doing Lyft at the same time.
I thought was crazy as hell. Like, bootcamps aren't cheap. There's no way you're paying attention. And you're also driving people around...
Sometimes she would forget to mute her mic during the middle of when the instructor was presenting, but she couldn't hear us trying to tell her or read our messages to let her know so she didn't have to get embarrassed in front of everyone.
Archangel4500000@reddit
I had an incident with a customer calling saying their big printer would no longer connect to the network. I spend 45 minutes on the phone with this woman before I finally managed to extract the information that the printer guy had been there like an hour ago working on that printer.Â
Told her to call him to come back and hung up on her. The printer guy called and apologized an hour later and said he forgot to reconnect a board in the machine......
God damn I hate that lady. (For more than just this incident.) Thankfully I believe she got fired a while later.
xxvivivild@reddit
Sounds like a classic case of the good ol' "Should we try the (device) everyone is actually using?" saga. The joys of troubleshooting mysteries in the wild world of tech support never cease to amaze. Glad you cracked the case, even if it took the scenic route!
henke37@reddit
90 % of solving an issue is figuring out what the issue even is.
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
Hitting a nail - £0.50
Knowing which nail to hit - £99999.50
maroongrad@reddit
finding the nail after being told fifty times it's a screw, and that it's in a different machine? Priceless.
PM_UR_VAG_WTIMESTAMP@reddit
Finding the nail after being told 50 times it's a screw, except the nail is actually fine, it's the board that's rotten. And the board is rotten because a pipe leaked, and a pipe leaked because a hole in the ceiling caused it to freeze, and it also froze because they didn't think to install heat.
Big-Membership-1758@reddit
If you give a user a cookie…
newfor2023@reddit
They'll eat it over a keyboard and then complain it's full of crumbs.
TheFluffiestRedditor@reddit
and then complain about the lack of cookie
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
But if you train them how to bake cookies, they'll complain that it's too hard and that you didn't give them another cookie.
...Users are cats. GNU PTerry.
TheFluffiestRedditor@reddit
I like cats, I don't like users, and thus the analogy falls apart. I prefer to go with Agent K's statement, "A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals."
NotTheOnlyGamer@reddit
And for anything related to user support, the next part of the exchange is valid too:
"Is it worth it?"
"Oh, yeah, it's worth it - if you're strong enough."
MadRocketScientist74@reddit
Troubleshooting a user login issue: Laptop had just been nuked and paved, and user was logging in for the first time. I had told them, repeatedly, that the old username and password were no longer valid, and to use their email address and password.
They got the email as username part. Took 2 hours for them to admit they were using the old password...
zippy72@reddit
Maybe this is why I enjoy House so much: "customers lie"
darthpimpin69@reddit
Something I’ve learnt as a mix of end user, family IT, and customer service. People are dumb, ask every question, even if it might seem stupid and obvious.
eviloutfromhell@reddit
Yeah true. When I'm at doctor and they ask a seemingly obvious and dumb question, I just answer it straight. I know people are dumb, they just want to rule out the dumbness.
honeyfixit@reddit
To borrow a line from every elementary school teacher i ever had, "The stupidest question is the one you don't ask."
chedstrom@reddit
I've had plenty of customers who get upset when I ask obvious questions, like what is the pc name and IP so we validate its the correct ones. I also had to tell a few that refusing to answer my questions would cause a denial of support. I'd rather they get upset because I asked those questions then get upset cause we wasted a lot of time for their F'up.
NotYourNanny@reddit
That's not IT so much as "it," as in, "You're it!" You know, what you yell to the guy who is the slowest as fleeing the room when something comes up?