Dear Users... (A thread for Sysadmin, Technical Support, and Help Desk people)

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Dr. Keith said:
Same. We sent desktops home with some people even though the managers wanted them to just log in from their personal machines. I had a lot of respect for our IT guys for not publicly calling the managers idiots.
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The standard computer that everyone in the department gets now is a remote-access enabled laptop.
 
novaphile said:
Seconding the number of people who didn't have computers at home, and hence had problems gearing up to work from home...

I was stunned to hear of the number of IT personnel who didn't have computers at home that could be used to connect to work.

Many had a laptop computer (or more than one) in the house, but they were used for the children's schooling, and schooling from home.

I was the other side of that fence, I have a Windows 10 laptop, and a linux desktop system.

(Both of which I was able to setup for work-from-home)

The powers that be were stunned to find that linux worked, but as far as I know, there were only two of us doing that.
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We did an audit early on. For seven of us we had:
Ten desktops (four were AIOs I'd been given by a supplier and were set up in various spots for casual use)
Nineteen notebooks of various vintages and models, though all 'current'. A trio of heavy-duty 17.3" portable workstations (one mine, two for the engineers), various smaller models. Includes a number of Pixelbooks that I got as freebies from BigG and passed around. I have six: HD, ultra-portable, a Pixel I was playing with, my old workstation and two provides by clients.
These didn't include various older models not in use.
Fourteen tablets (excluding eInk devices). Big ones, small ones, intermediate ones. OK a number were, again, event freebies.
Twenty two smartphones, Dear jeebus so many phones.....
Three smart TV systems that provide full internet access, video conference facilities and (at least in theory) the ability to do "real work".

We had a bit of a purge. :rolleyes:
 
TragicMonkey said:
Heh. At a former job I caused great upset by derisively stating that I wouldn't dream of connecting my immaculate and suberb personal computer to our corporate rat-infested craphole of a network teeming with security flaws. (They insisted that we download their various programs if we used our own computers remotely.) I said if they wanted me to work from home they would have to provide the computer.

Luckily my current employer not only provides the computer, they insist upon it. Only their laptops can connect to their network, they don't want people's rat-infested craphole private PCs teeming with security flaws connecting to their immaculate and superb network. It's nice to work for a company that gets it right.
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Two of my clients did this. So in addition to my "personal" work notebook I have two belonging to other companies, for access to their networks.
 
TragicMonkey said:
Heh. At a former job I caused great upset by derisively stating that I wouldn't dream of connecting my immaculate and suberb personal computer to our corporate rat-infested craphole of a network teeming with security flaws. (They insisted that we download their various programs if we used our own computers remotely.) I said if they wanted me to work from home they would have to provide the computer.

Luckily my current employer not only provides the computer, they insist upon it. Only their laptops can connect to their network, they don't want people's rat-infested craphole private PCs teeming with security flaws connecting to their immaculate and superb network. It's nice to work for a company that gets it right.
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My former workplace (I'm retired now) at one time allowed me to use my own computer to work from home, but later mandated that only their equipment could connect to their network. Given how clueless many users are about keeping their computers free of malware, I think this was the right policy.
 
CORed said:
My former workplace (I'm retired now) at one time allowed me to use my own computer to work from home, but later mandated that only their equipment could connect to their network. Given how clueless many users are about keeping their computers free of malware, I think this was the right policy.
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Even without that, it has security benefits, in just preventing access by any non-approved devices (via one of several methods)...not just about keeping malware from unpredictable personal machines off.
 
Just had a user just straight up snap a base totally off a monitor, trying to adjust the height on a monitor that doesn't have have height adjustment.

Well I mean technically you can adjust the height on any monitor once if you want to adjust it to "really short" but still...
 
JoeMorgue said:
Just had a user just straight up snap a base totally off a monitor, trying to adjust the height on a monitor that doesn't have have height adjustment.

Well I mean technically you can adjust the height on any monitor once if you want to adjust it to "really short" but still...
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I'm surprised that doesn't happen a lot more often. Half the monitors in my office can swivel, half cannot, but the ones that swivel take considerable force to do so. You can't really tell by looking, so you have to try...
 
JoeMorgue said:
Just had a user just straight up snap a base totally off a monitor, trying to adjust the height on a monitor that doesn't have have height adjustment.

Well I mean technically you can adjust the height on any monitor once if you want to adjust it to "really short" but still...
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So naturally it generated a call to Computer Support.
 
JoeMorgue said:
Just had a user just straight up snap a base totally off a monitor, trying to adjust the height on a monitor that doesn't have have height adjustment.

Well I mean technically you can adjust the height on any monitor once if you want to adjust it to "really short" but still...
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The monitor was defective, obviously.

It should have had a height adjustment.
 
TragicMonkey said:
I'm surprised that doesn't happen a lot more often. Half the monitors in my office can swivel, half cannot, but the ones that swivel take considerable force to do so. You can't really tell by looking, so you have to try...
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I believe a non tilt/swivel monitor violates EU ergonomics directives.
 
Monitor height adjustment is a great way to re-use all those old parts catalogues, policy documents, instruction manuals and training doco that usually infests your work shelves.
 
JimOfAllTrades said:
Shouldn't they have called monitor support?
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At that time, the monitors and the (under-desk) computers were separate entities. So, ideally, yes.

Trebuchet said:
I've adjusted the height of the monitor I'm currently viewing. I put a book under it.
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I had a problem when I got my Mac 20-inch screen. The support post was too long for the computer workstation table I'd just bought, making the screen too high for my eyeline. I gave some serious thought to taking a reciprocating saw to the post, or cutting a hole in the desk top (not the "desktop"), but I just raised my chair instead.
 
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We're simplifying our IVR tree.

One of the more common things hear over the phone is "I don't know if I pressed the right numbers, but..." I don't think our current tree is that complicated. It is three layers deep, though, or in a few branches four, so we're updating it starting next week. The new tree is only two layers deep. This means that I get to record new voice announcements since I'm the guy with the voice.

One of the nice things is that we're updating our Emergency line to "To report an issue that is an immediate threat to the health or well-being of your or your colleagues, press 7 now." No, your account being locked is not an emergency.
 
arthwollipot said:
We're simplifying our IVR tree.

One of the more common things hear over the phone is "I don't know if I pressed the right numbers, but..." I don't think our current tree is that complicated. It is three layers deep, though, or in a few branches four, so we're updating it starting next week. The new tree is only two layers deep. This means that I get to record new voice announcements since I'm the guy with the voice.

One of the nice things is that we're updating our Emergency line to "To report an issue that is an immediate threat to the health or well-being of your or your colleagues, press 7 now." No, your account being locked is not an emergency.
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Does your system allow for short-cutting? I.e. if you know you want option 2, sub-option 3, sub-sub-option six, can you enter 2-3-6 immediately?
Or do you have to listen to the same messages, over and over again, slowing eroding your sanity and making you wonder about bulk purchases of brain cleaner, washing soda, steel wool and charcoal?
 
arthwollipot said:
We're simplifying our IVR tree.

One of the more common things hear over the phone is "I don't know if I pressed the right numbers, but..." I don't think our current tree is that complicated. It is three layers deep, though, or in a few branches four, so we're updating it starting next week. The new tree is only two layers deep. This means that I get to record new voice announcements since I'm the guy with the voice.

One of the nice things is that we're updating our Emergency line to "To report an issue that is an immediate threat to the health or well-being of your or your colleagues, press 7 now." No, your account being locked is not an emergency.
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One of the most common reasons I feel that way is if the menu is super-specific but doesn't seem to cover what I'm calling about. Or worse, includes something that might be related but I'm not sure if it counts.

Or, for example, there is an option for what I'm calling about but I know that the response to it is automatic and I have follow-up questions. If there isn't an obvious operator option, it makes me feel like I have to lie to talk to a person.
 
catsmate said:
Does your system allow for short-cutting? I.e. if you know you want option 2, sub-option 3, sub-sub-option six, can you enter 2-3-6 immediately?
Or do you have to listen to the same messages, over and over again, slowing eroding your sanity and making you wonder about bulk purchases of brain cleaner, washing soda, steel wool and charcoal?
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Yes you can, but I don't think a lot of people realise that.
 
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