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Sharky

Shark Tank

Sure, that must be it

This user's phone goes silent, and that's not really a surprise to a pilot fish who works nearby.

"People were being moved on the floor and most likely his line was 'recycled,' because the outside service provider's SLA on installing new lines is more important than the one about providing service to existing lines," says fish.

But the user notices the lack of a dial tone and contacts the help desk, and a trouble ticket is created.

A few days later, user's phone is still dead. But when he checks with the help desk, he learns that the trouble ticket has already been closed.

The official resolution? "Technician reported phone was fixed. I called the user and heard the ringing tone, so OK. User did not pick up phone, probably at the coffee machine."

Sharky's got plenty of coffee -- what I need is your true tale of IT life. Send it to me at sharky@computerworld.com. I'll send you a snazzy Shark shirt if I use it. Add your comments below, and read some great old tales in the Sharkives.

Now you can post your own stories of IT ridiculousness at Shark Bait. Join today and vent your IT frustrations to people who've been there, done that.

What People Are Saying

phone ringy-dingy

Can I go back to the topic for a moment? After re-reading the original post, it seems like Fish was not involved at all, and is mearly telling the story. As for the buffoons that don't know hearing ringback tone DOES NOT necessarily mean a phone is ringing (or is even attached to the line), they deserve treatments from JIM. It's a "supervisory" tone and serves only a comfort factor for the caller. Omigosh - I used all caps there for a moment - emmmmmmmmmmmmmm....

Is this something like

Is this something like calling the phone company and saying that "my phone line is dead" and the first words out of the Customer Service Reps mouth are " Are you calling from that number now?"

Heh-heh-heh - that's a good

Heh-heh-heh - that's a good one. Unless you have Caller ID blocked, the phone company folks already know what line you're calling from. If it's the same number as the one you're reporting, the line is not dead. One of your phones might be bum, or a jack might have given up, but the actual line is OK if you're using it to call. Now, if the phone company person you're talking to has the capability to put those two things together and see a pattern toward resolving the matter, well, that's another question....

Pixie Dust

Maybe user should have used the pixie dust and incantations talked about last Friday. Sorry I missed the fun! :-)

Requires "Technique" of desk-sitting ...

... when i have this sort of problem, I physically _go_ to the help desk monitors and contract oversight (conveniently one flight up ... actual help desk turns out to be in Bangalor), and hang out at a cubicle or two or three until (a) a new ticket is opened, and (b) some higher-up pays attention and routes the ticket correctly.

Alternately, I get the user to call the help desk with a BOGUS problem that can be directed to me / my group ... which gives me rights to log into help desk app and update it with correct notes and correct assignment to someone who can actually fix the problem.

Either way, some higher-up grumbles, but then, I point out, hey, YOU HIRED THESE BOZOS, NOT ME. Hence, my users pretty much love me, and the help desk folks HATE to see me on their floor. Occasionally I see them in the elevator (we're on same bank), and they say "Haven't seen you in a while, how are you?" and I say "But that means we're both working and my users are happy, right?" "Oh ... yeah!" Silence.

But to be fair ...

(and I do like to be fair)
... they are NOT all Bozos, not hardly.

True, but...

...is there some doctrine of fair here...;-)

phones, phones

I wish someone would disconnect my phone for a few days, a few months, or maybe a few years. I wouldn't even bother to call the help desk.

...and then there was HEL(p)

It's no wonder they call it the HELL desk.
A guy I used to work with even tried to get a trouble ticket on the hel(p) desk. Reason? It doesn't work!
He did get some response after serveral tries and a copy to the Vice President of I.T. at HQ.

Sure, that must be it

I have almost the same problem where I work. I open a ticket and they wait until 6 or 7 PM (sometimes midnight) and call my desk. Since I'm not there to answer, they close the ticket. This has happend to me at least a dozen times in the past year. Then they get mad when I re-open the ticket.