Wonder why it's not working

Posted by Otaku_X_Gamer94@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 45 comments

Years ago I was working in a large IT ServiceDesk and was in a voice account. While I there, not sure if this is a generation thing but the amount of end users skipping steps in instructions is quite large.

Have this one call that his softphone app is not working, that it's not able to open. I remote in to the computer and tried reinstalling the app but still not opening, then after reinstalling just then user said was given instructions on how to install the application. I asked to show me the document with the steps, I read and checked the steps in the document. Found the reason why it was not working, I asked the user if they done the first part of the document. He said no like there was nothing wrong skipping it, in the word document in large bright red lettering "DO NOT SKIP THIS PART, THIS IS REQUIRED FOR THE APPLICATION."

I then proceeded to clean uninstall the app then did the steps in document exactly, just then was able to open and connect to the softphone successfull.

TLDR: end user skipped a required step before installing then wondered why its not working.

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drzowie@reddit

It is part of the human condition. We skip steps.

My moment of truth about that came in the early 1990s, when I was trying to teach my office mates emacs. Emacs was, famously, self-teaching. It used to open with a splash screen that said something like "C- means press Control, M- means press ESC. For a tutorial, press C-h T. To load a file, press C-x f".

I would tell people (graduate students at Stanford University, so not stupid people) to run emacs at the UNIX prompt and follow the directions for the tutorial. 3/4 of them literally could not see the center sentence in that block of text on the splash screen. I would make them read the center block aloud to me one sentence at a time, and the epiphanies were dramatic and surprising.

I am sure that "directions blindness" has been around as long as there have been written directions. I wouldn't be surprised if there are cuneiform tablets complaining about it.

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gotohelenwaite@reddit

TBH, those keypress instructions are unintelligible.

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songbolt@reddit

Interesting. Maybe that explains my father. At the computer for years he would refuse to read the installation or other message windows that would appear and instead call out to me in frustration...

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Marshall_Lawson@reddit

to be fair what the absolute fuck is wrong with the people who created emacs

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drzowie@reddit

emacs is absolutely amazing. It's a text editor that does one thing very, very well, and that one thing is everything.

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dr_stevious@reddit

I feel that I must post this video here... it's satire, but with much truth behind it 😊 (plus the character portrayed reminds me of my PhD supervisor):

https://youtu.be/urcL86UpqZc?si=KnuDhqMLWnOSJ-eQ

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drzowie@reddit

OMFG, I though the aurora was the best thing to happen to me tonight. I stand corrected! Thank you, Dr. Stevious.

djshiva@reddit

People have always skipped steps but I have found that people are even worse these days. If there are 4 steps, they will ALWAYS skip at least one or two. Half the time they give up after the first one.

Also, if I ask more than one question in an email, only one will be answered.

WorkWoonatic@reddit

This is why we have installation packages for everything and take away user access to install anything

If it's something you need, we'll give it to you.

syntaxerror53@reddit

Now if you could just give them the program that when run, points to the Start Button, then the Power Icon, then the Restart Option. That would fix 95% of issues.

Sebekiz@reddit

This is the way.

blind_ninja_guy@reddit

To be fair, even as a programmer I have run into plenty of documentation that is so dense with different options and such that I am basically just like I don't know which one to follow. Too many options.

Terrible_Shirt6018@reddit

Yet you still did it wrong. You should clean uninstall and then make them install it while following the instructions to the letter. Otherwise they'll always call you for everything.

Left_Edge_8994@reddit

Job security yo.

RedsVikingsFan@reddit

It’s not generational. eye-dee-10-tees have been doing this shit since computers first entered the workplace (and probably even before that)

Dark54g@reddit

Yep, definitely a chair to PC interface issue.

tailaka@reddit

Problem Exists Between Chair And Keyboard: PEBCAK

Inspiration_East@reddit

Could also be a mechanical problem with the nut on the keyboard.

SilentDis@reddit

Layer 8 of the OSI model is somehow fundamentally non-deterministic.

HolyCrapLionsTour@reddit

I would give you an updoot but you're sitting at a "nice" number.

Tyr0pe@reddit

Not anymore, feel free to updoot

wrincewind@reddit

Since machinery existed, I'd say. "you mean I have to prime the pump before using it? I did t think thst was important so I just skipped it."

Agehn@reddit

"You need charcoal to melt copper? That takes so long, I've been using green wood."

DasAllerletzte@reddit

So that's why the copper of that merchant was of such poor quality...

lucidposeidon@reddit

I sometimes wonder if he could have ever imagined that he would be immortalized throughout history by the terrible quality of his goods.

MoneyTreeFiddy@reddit

Recently saw a video showing how copper smelting was discovered by native americans near the great lakes; but ultimately it didn't take off because the copper was too pure, and not a natural alloy, therefore too soft to supplant stone knapped arrow and spear heads

redmercuryvendor@reddit

Stick pointy? No, push harder!

Gambatte@reddit

"Cut corners off to make round?" Ug think not important so Ug not do!
Now why Ug wheel square? Broken, you fix!!

SavvySillybug@reddit

I once did that accidentally.

I was following a guide, I think I was trying to achieve something similar to jailbreaking/rooting my K800i, and followed all the steps, and it did not work. I asked in the forum about it and they yelled at me because I had skipped an important step.

I scroll back up and check. They apparently had so many people skipping this step that they moved it to the very first line of the guide and made it bold and red.

I had assumed it was some sort of headline and skipped reading it and started where I thought step 1 was. XD

ecp001@reddit

There are many unrepairable faults in the C-K interface, regardless of the progressively simplification of instructions. You just can't fix stupid.

Complex_Spend_2633@reddit

Pebcak's as well!!

Muddledlizard@reddit

Yeah...I still don't read directions about 60% of the time.

panamanRed58@reddit

Yah, we had pop up boxes in China Red, bold fonts. It was on a security app install, eventually we added a text box that required a statement be typed in EXACTLY as presented. Once a month someone get hung up on this, fail to capitalize the capitals, copy extra white space, some typed in their userid. Retirement is great!

Dustquake@reddit

I admit, I skim instructions, I'll skip steps if I believe I understand why it would be irrelevant, and the straight up, oh crap I missed that.

But it depends on what I'm doing. Plus, I always go back and redo skipped steps and/or make sure I didn't miss anything BEFORE I waste someone else's time.

It just really sucks when there's a 200 page document of if/thens to read through.

castlerobber@reddit

"large bright red lettering"

They probably only saw the word "skip" out of all that, LOL.

Our underwriting department would have Every. Single. Word. of the instructions for setting up bank draft for policy premiums in LARGE RED BOLD UNDERLINED ITALIC ALL CAPS if I'd let them.

They can't seem to understand that when every word is strongly emphasized, none of the words are strongly emphasized. The Wall O'Text would be so hard to read that insureds would just ignore it. The underwriters would ignore it themselves if they encountered it from their own insurance companies...

mc_it@reddit

This is why so many people don't read EULA.

That plus the antagonistically obfuscated verbiage.

It's a relief when you find the odd service/software that has relatively plain layman terminology.

"antagonistically obfuscated verbiage"

Love it. I'll have to find somewhere to use that.

AngryCod@reddit

You should have to click on every word and take a short quiz on each one, and then a final quiz on all of them strung together before you're allowed to proceed and if you fail any part of it, an electric shock is applied to your chair.

Kasper_Onza@reddit

Had some one complainthey could not get the installer to run.

Couldn't remote in as it wasn't showing on thr network.

30 min drive out to site.

They show no action on the computer when they move the mouse.

I reach over and turn the computer on.

Talk about skipping an important step. Since I was there I just went and installed it fully any way.

Geminii27@reddit

We're going to get calls from people who skip steps because the people who don't skip steps are far less likely to need to call us.

Cute-Aardvark5291@reddit

Let me introduce you to the college students i work with daily.

aaiceman@reddit

I have recently had this. A step that required using powershell to run two commands was being skipped by another tech in a process they have been doing for months. Their reason was “they didn’t know how to do it”. Never asked for help. I can’t explain it.