We have a slightly above average userbase as employees in regard to tech skill. Though Ive had to talk some through how to shut down their computers most are pretty good, especially if we provide a PDF tutorial or something.

However some are very good at their 1 app and have no concept of the totality of what theyre trying.

Recent we upgrading our user facing report writer. Simple tool, grab column/row object, drag to report pane, poof data. One of our better reporting users decided they would use this tool meant for basic reports to make a bigger one so they wouldnt bug us. Sounds helpful but she ran into issues.

This was going to be the first report made after an update. So naturally there were some server growing pains me, not a DBA just a server pleb, had to resolve. Figured out those in a couple days. Close ticket. Couple days go by and the ticket is back.

Hmm weird thought I closed that, wait, crap, she reopened it. Oh she just cant export the report. Probably another server issue. Spend probably 20 hours over 3 days looking into it before I ask what she is trying to pull.

She was trying to pull every data point in the server except for customer name, address, etc. Literally payment history, balance due, closed out accounts, days, times, memos on accounts, etc everything on an account except specific identifiable info she was trying to pull.

During all of this the DB and other systems kept going down randomly and we kept having to break from this to look at that. Outage bigger issue than no new things, obviously. Then we learn what she is trying to export and when we line up when she was attempting to the outages theyre in sync exactly.

She didnt understand why the system wouldnt let her do this but eventually gave us the criteria she needed and our Jr DBA had the report done pulled straight from SQL in like 25 minutes.

TLDR; you pay DBAs let them make the complicated stuff and never try to export "all of it"