When it's not your day job
Posted by Erratic-Shifting@reddit | talesfromtechsupport | View on Reddit | 32 comments
I administrate a SaaS service that tracks tasks. That is a thing I inherited a decade ago. I don't want to do it. It's not my primary responsibility. But I can't not help people when it's doable for me.
Ok. Mostly.
Queue my latest experience.
Group that probably shouldn't be using this tool decides they need the biggest rework I've done on a project scheme since I started. I put them off asking for docs. I try to tell them that they don't want a workflow this complicated. None of that works.
Meanwhile my actual job is going bananas. I legitimately have no time for this. I'm looking for someone with more time to train.
So this lady, who I will call Joy, is extremely kind but also clearly has no idea how this works under the hood or why I'm making my suggestions. Eventually I disengage and focus on finding a new patsy to deal with it and I'm getting messages.
"Do you have time"
"No I really don't, I am looking for someone to train with your project though so you'll have more support."
"Ok I'll put in IT ticket and maybe someone else can help"
(I'm not in IT, no one in IT can do this)
"I'm afraid that will just loop back to me and bring down their ticket metrics"
"Then what's the official way to get more support?"
Sigh I do feel bad.
MCPhssthpok@reddit
Software as a Service service, brought to you by the Department of Redundancy department.
Familiar-Lemon-674@reddit
Also, "Queue my latest experience."
Cue.
UristImiknorris@reddit
I can't log in. The machine's asking for my PIN and I only have a PIN number.
KelemvorSparkyfox@reddit
But is it Personal?
VoxulusQuarUn@reddit
I only have my personal PIN and not my business one.
UristImiknorris@reddit
No, it's actually just good business.
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
You work for the DRD too? We outta start a DRD subcommittee for added redundancy.
bigbigdummie@reddit
Hey, I remember you from the Meeting Reduction meeting!
MCPhssthpok@reddit
I was made redundant.
ozzie286@reddit
I can't figure out if that means you're the oldest or the youngest child.
TinnyOctopus@reddit
Middle.
oxmix74@reddit
I was in a similar situation. I got out of support role by retiring. I highly recommend this solution. I did use my personal cell for work, so I continued to get calls for some time. Sometimes I even helped someone.
KnottaBiggins@reddit
The only ways I ever got out of being support was when I was laid off in mass layoffs, as I was the highest paid tech at wherever I was.
No one ever stopped to ask why I was the highest paid tech, they just laid people off by the numbers. Things probably suffered without me (one company went under in a year or so) but that's not my problem.
syntaxerror53@reddit
Someone's got to get their big fat bonus. And the only way they're going to get that is cost savings and getting rid of the big earners (regardless of how well they do their job, unless role is crucial to company staying in business). The money saved in salaries means company stands to make (huge) profits which equals good dividends for shareholders (and execs).
oxmix74@reddit
I retired from a management role and one time I had to select people for layoff. I laid off the least valuable people. Value for me was things like supporting the widest range of products, being able to work with less assistance from seniors, doing what you were assigned to do, reporting small problems before they became big, etc. If I had to get the job done with fewer people, I needed the best. And honestly, you can pay a guy twice as much if he can solve problems in half the time and still be ahead because overhead is a fixed cost per employee.
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
Oof the personal cell is rough. I'd probably help too though if it was a 5 minute conversation. I'm also an idiot.
harrywwc@reddit
I think it's a per-requsitie for all of us in IT support, well, IT in general.
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
Ha. To be fair when I was younger with nothing significant on my resume it sounded like a good move.
Now its the one responsibility I'm trying outrun.
oxmix74@reddit
It brought me some joy, though. If the guy on the phone was being a real jerk, i could answer along the lines of "It sounds like you have a big problem and if I was still working for Acme I might have to pretend that I give a damn."
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
Oh that must have felt real good.
GeneralJabroni@reddit
"This is the official way. You just gotta either wait for me to have time to deal with this or convince someone with power to hire more help."
RubyPorto@reddit
I mean, that's what she was asking: "who should I talk to to get more resources for this"
Maybe that's OP's boss, maybe their grand boss, maybe some other department, Joy doesn't know, but she hopes OP knows
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
OP knows ain't no one paying for that
Shinhan@reddit
Let her run it up the chain.
When multiple competing interests start assigning me tasks and complaining about deliverables I got the managers to talk to each other and then decide on unified priority list. Sometimes that means I only do tasks marked "urgent" from one board while focusing on the second board. Other times I'm told to do all tasks from that first board but only for 2-3 hours per day and rest on the second board. I'm definitely clear about my preferences to my own boss but if they decide that this week there's an urgent task I'm needed more than I just do it and leave the deciding to management.
KatanaKiwi@reddit
But Joy don't. And Joy wants to know. OP should provide Joy the tools to let her know. Put in that ticket, let her escalate when SLA's or non-SLA's aren't met. She'll run it up the chain and will receive the answer she is actually looking for. Either more resources, or more time.
That said; if there's so much on your plate, make sure to pace yourself so you don't burn out.
RubyPorto@reddit
Sometimes letting Joy run it up the chain is the only way to make Joy know that too.
(Of course, sometimes letting Joy run it up the chain just makes it officially your problem on top of the rest of your job, so be careful.)
TheFluffiestRedditor@reddit
Just because you can do a task doesn't mean you should. I can make coffee, really well in fact, but if I did that all week my other, actually important tasks will suffer.
escalate up your management chain that this product needs someone (not you) to officially support it.
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
I'm working on it. Just venting.
I do have a willing patsy, just gotta get them trained.
Geminii27@reddit
If it's doable for me, I'll ask to get paid for it. If I'm not getting paid, that time is better spent on the thousand and one other things clamoring for my attention.
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
Ain't got a corporate clock, ain't got an internal clock. No clocks to be had. Personal problem though.
jeffbell@reddit
And that is how Joy was put in charge of the task system.
Erratic-Shifting@reddit (OP)
I don't know how I feel about watching the system I shepherded against my will driven to insanity by a novice. But I do feel.