sometimes i hate being the "IT Guy"

being the IT guy in the company, everyone like to call you on the even smallest problem. Like today i was trying to find out the reason why the server restarted by it self and some dummy call me saying his internet doesnt work, granted he work in the customer server, so i cant ignore him as he need it to do his job, so i go and check on his PC and i saw the message "Network cable unplugged". his foot somehow able to kick the cable loss and its a problem i think everyone know who to solve, just plug the cable damn in.not only everyone around the office bug you, your friend and family also see you as "the free tech support who do house call 24/7". On this coming christmas, my 1st public holiday "day off" this year, i have to go to my mom's house and fix her internet connection. it should be a easy problem to fix which i can guide her through but the last time i try to guide her over the phone, it took me almost an hour and it still unsolve, but i solve it in 5mins after i got to her house.last week my friend call me up and ask me to fix his slow PC problem... so i go up into his house and i figure i'll just format it, but guess what, he loss the driver and his OS disk. so i have to do it the hard way, he got like 80GB and use up 70GB, he got tons of useless program and game installed and i almost pass out when i see his task bar (it got like 20 items in it) and he wonder why his PC so slow. It took me hours to fix it, give his some advice how to avoid it from happening again.

how did he kick a network cable out? it has a clip to prevent that happening. I personally wouldn't go out to fix it, I'd merely look at the switch console, see that there's no link on his port and tell him to check the cable.

Replying to #2

beats me, the clip was not damaged.

Replying to #2

nah, the switch of that part of the office was on the other side of the office, i have to go through him to get to the switch. so its faster if i just drop by.

Tell them no money no talk.
After some time your ID will change from Free IT guy to Stingy Asshole. But hey, no need to work for them anymore.

calvin_0 · #3nah, the switch of that part of the office was on the other side of the office, i have to go through him to get to the switch. so its faster if i just drop by.

I'd access the switch console from my desk, like I do with Bananabit's switchgear which is on the other side of the Atlantic.

Replying to #5

i'm not sure if i can do the something in my office. how do you access it?

either via a web interface or snmp. I usually use the web interface but we also have snmp polling done by a monitoring server running a program called Orion. Assuming I was using Orion in the same context that you would, it would have emailed me as soon as the guy kicked his cable out.

Replying to #7

thanks for the info, i'll look it up when i got the time, i didnt know that switch can be manage like router.

Replying to #8

Layer 3 and 4 switches can, and some layer 2 switches. They're called 'managed' switches.

I can solve your problem! You should put them in touch with loony next time someone has a problem, he seems better than you ;)

Replying to #10

only one problem with that (unless loony's taking a road trip near calvin's area): loony might TELL the people what to do but the peeps might not KNOW how to do it.It's like telling a monkey to push a red button in front of it. Unless you actually SHOW them what to do by pushing the button yourself, the monkey ain't gonna do shit when you tell it "push the button".

Huh? What button?

Replying to #12

This button:

Don't ever fix a friends/families computer, because every future problem they have will be 'your fault'

Deal with it, nerd.

Calvin, if you hate your job as the "IT guy", why not go get reeducated in another specialty? Basically, when you are the "IT guy", you are going to be dealing with dumbshits. That's a fact of life I've learned when I worked as a network/database administrator at my school.But hey, at least your job is easy and safe, right? Beats being laid off like millions of poor schlubs who are trying to find a job in this tough economy right now.

It comes with the territory. Customer service is a bitch at times and you'll likely run into more idiots who think being able to copy and paste makes them into computer experts than you will people that actually fucking listen, but it's not all bad.I've also got security beat into the heads of most of my family so I generally don't end up having to do much for them. Probably going to have to smack the one nephew with a claw hammer a couple more times before he gets the picture on installing things without checking to see if they're safe but that's pretty much it.

I love being called the tech guy. I get lots of freebies because of it, and you get respected as a hard worker instead of the "worthless bum in the office which you can't rely on" title. In our institutions, even if its not your job, at least try and help out in everything that happens inside.I was the ICT coordinator in the school I taught last year. Didn't get paid extra, but i expect a thank you remark or a letter of appreciation for anything i did. If i don't get even a simple thank you, i undo anything i fixed in front of them, and let them fix it themselves.Also, because i was the ICT coordinator, i get to go to seminars for free and even be excused in my classes. Even now that i have a new job, i still get request, to fix/diagnose this and that. I only request a snack while doing their requests, and of course, the thank you.

Littlekill · #15Don't ever fix a friends/families computer, because every future problem they have will be 'your fault'

This.But with that said, it's part of the territory. Part of your job is to deal with idiots who can't figure out how to use a PC efficiently. You're not obligated to do out-of-work stuff for family friends as freebies though. I normally charge for my time when it's something complex that I can't solve over the phone.