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Tech Support /Facepalms

Posted: 05 Aug 2013, 20:17
by CrimsonShade
Inspired by a blog I follow that regularly posts stupid stories of people's time working in IT Support, Lone and I decided to create this thread to share some of the most win, funny or facepalm-ish moments various Techies have posted online. If you yourself are a techie, know someone who is, or have heard of a story yourself, feel free to share and let's collectively laugh, or weep at humanity together.
To start us off:

A woman calling Tech Support said that she wanted to keep a password on her Windows account, believing she needed it for security; yet wanted Windows to pre-fill in the password for her automatically like the "Remember Password" on a webpage for her convenience. When explained to her that if such a feature DID exist, it would compromise the security because they'd be able to login straight away anyway without knowing the password, she said she lives alone anyway. So, the woman was concerned about security enough to want a password, but suitably unconcerned about people logging in to her account as to want to make it redundant. WTF?

Re: Tech Support /Facepalms

Posted: 08 Aug 2013, 23:22
by CrimsonShade
Good one today from Reddit:
The sysadmins on my team have always kept track of the dumbest trouble tickets we receive every year. The story you're about to read received TTotY for about 3 years ago.

We SA's rule over our kingdom of 8 reconfigurable lab spaces, with 8 individual networks, as fairly as seems just. Users don't have physical access to the systems, but through KVM's in their labs. As I'm sure most of you know, most KVM's allow only one workstation to have keyboard and mouse control on a system at a time, while multiple stations can view. Keep this is mind. This is important.

We received a call from a particularly stubborn (and arrogant) software developer from one of our labs. We've always known him to have a particularly foul temper, and usually dread having to work with this one.

SA: Ops center, this is [SA].

Derpus: Get off of [computer name]? I need it and you won't give me control.

The valiant SA turns around to look, and finds no one sitting at our single KVM for this network.

SA: There's no one here working on [computer name].

He attempts to gain control of the system through our own KVM, but to no avail.

SA: Is there someone else working on-Derpus: NO THERE IS NO ONE ELSE. IT'S ONE OF YOU F*CKING AROUND.

SA: I assure you, it's not us. Can you look around the lab and see if something is sitting on a-Derpus:THIS IS A MALICIOUS ATTACK AND IT'S PREVENTING ME FROM GETTING ANYTHING DONE YOU GUYS ARE ALWAYS BREAKING THE SYSTEMS AND IF IT'S COMING FROM AN OUTSIDE SOURCE I'M GOING TO SECURITY WITH THIS AND REPORTING THE INCIDENT THIS IS EGREGIOUS AND DISRESPECTFUL... [citation needed]

SA: ugh, CAN YOU PLEASE just look around the room? Is there something sitting on a keyboard in there? All you'll have to do is move it...

This lab is only 14'x24'...

Derpus: No I'm not doing that click

The noble SA then regaled us with the tale of what just transpired on the phone and left, heading to what was surely his doom. After a brief moment of silence, he returned jovial.

When he'd finally gained control of his laughter, we learned that he walked into the lab, removed a binder from the keyboard immediately next to the rapscallion developer, lowered his voice and furrowed his brow, and spoke two simple words...

"Fixed it."

TL;DR: Arrogant software developer who has no peripheral vision (or can't see beneath his flapping jowls) is quick to blame the sysadmins when something doesn't go his way. This story should anger you.
And then they wonder why software developers have a bad name inside companies.

Re: Tech Support /Facepalms

Posted: 21 Aug 2013, 16:49
by CrimsonShade
From reddit again - self.talesfromtechsupport often has a lot of funny ones; here's one posted today from kn100, which actually I have to say I have some familiarity with myself:
Had a call today in work which had me in absolute stitches for about 5 minutes. A doctor called today with a thick Welsh (think musical) accent.

"I turned my computer on today and all day it's been telling me something about 'Sticky Keys' - and I've been cleaning my keyboard for hours, what should I do?"
/facepalm