Anybody else hate help desk work?

I figured I start a little rant here to release some steam but I have to say I HATE help desk work.

My job requires me to be about 50% server admin and 50% help desk for a site of about 300 users and I cringe anytime my phone rings. Anytime I have a help desk call the person on the other end is always in a bad mood, whatever the problem is they want it fixed yesterday, and no matter what (even if it's the fact their printer doesn’t work) it's somehow the IT dept's fault.

Of course all this wouldn't be so bad if the people I have to support could you know actually use a computer but that just isn't possible. I just can't understand how people can get a job that clearly states they need to have computer skills when they have no computer skills at all. I am not talking about people that may have a hard time setting up a wireless home network I am talking about people that don't know how to create a shortcut or people that have never even learned the concept of making a folder.

Worst yet if it I am not dealing with the 60% or so that I described above I have to deal with the 15% that think they know EVERYTHING about computers and feel the need to tell everyone in the IT dept. how much better things would be if they ran the IT dept. on a daily basis.

I praise any of you that actually enjoy help desk work because you are truly a better person than I. I just can't explain how frustrating it is to be working on a server delegating a DNS zone, fixing a AD replication error, or tracing down a Terminal Server problem (things I really enjoy) to be interrupted in the middle of it to have some user in a bad mood yell at me for 5 minutes about how the internet is slow today and they can't post there Ebay auction.

Ok rant over, thanks for letting me get that off my chest. Anybody else got some help desk horror stories or advice they like to share?

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Comments

mwill

Hi Gabe,

I feel ya, but atleast your not alone in your rant I think all who have done helpdesk or still doing it feel your pain. However, at least your not 100% support like many. At least you do some server support /hands on support.

We all had to pay our dues. Just a year and a half ago, I worked at Dell doing technical support 100%. That SUCKED.

So I have all the horror stories and I had spoken to about every type of person alive.

I thought of it as just a stepping stone. Now, i do as you do, 50% hands on and maybe about 50% phone support email support Im support remote control support type stuff.

So hey again, another stepping stone!

blargoe

It's part of the game. Many, many companies have their desktop and server support at least fill in on the helpdesk or answer the phone when there are an overflow of calls coming in. Regarding the stupid people, just smile and nod. If it weren't for their stupidity there would be no need for you.

Olajuwon

Yes, Help Desk should be handled by Help Desk people. The reality is you have to deal with that if your boss asks you to.

w^rl0rd

Helpdesk sucks once you are better than the job. Some people have to start their IT careers at the desk and work their way up either because of lack of jobs or they are not good enough to move on yet.

I for one, have a few years under my belt as well as a degree and some certifications. I have learned a lot at the desk and continue to learn. I have been ready to do deskside or some admin for some time now, but the market is so saturated that it's hard to move on.

I think helpdesk is getting a bad name though because I work for an in house desk that is very meticulous about who they hire and pay well for the field. However, its the support you get from Dell and Symantec that gives the profession a bad name. Those guys read from a script.

In fact, I was once told by a Dell tech to flash my bios when I called in to have a laptop battery diagnostic ran. No kidding.

Anyway, I am at that point now where I am annoyed w/ anyone I talk to
and I know its not fair to them, but I agree that most of them want us to wave a magic wand and immediately fix everything. They also have no concept that there are different tiers to an organization and that the helpdesk doesn't neccessarily have anything to do w/ why a scope of IP addresses was recently deactivated.

OK. My rant is done.

reloaded

If anyone hasn't really realized it yet (most have already) that IT is a thankless job. Nobody could give a crap about what you do as long as their stuff works and people get their data. But when something goes wrong or God forbid, you have to actually fix a connectivity problem, people get all PO'd like their car just got totalled or something. Then when something goes mildly wrong, the upper management gets all "concerned" because somehow they think they might look bad

because of what happened and implement new rules for something that could be fixed in 2 seconds. I'm sure ya'll feel me on that. And in my experience, it's not just the help desk, it's the LAN and WAN shops, the training manager, and all the offices under the sun...and then people want to redo the training plan every year! WTF?! A new training plan isn't gonna help solve the problem of stupid, unmotivated people!!! Sorry, I'm ranting, these posts got me in the mood.

Dang it, I have every excuse to hate my job, but somehow I like working on T-1 and SONET connectivity issues...

mwill

Speaking about support from Dell, I had to handle issues that Inida droped off on us and the stoires I did get from customers were funny and sad.

For example. This lady called and said I think i'm ready to go ahead and put in my new cd-rom. I said what do you mean exactly by "ready." she said the last tech told her, she had to put the cd-rom ontop of the tower and leave it there for three days so it could sync with her machine before she can put it in!

(Once a tech got a call from Dell, and if that issue wasnt closed, its vaild for 3 days, if she calls in and gets another tech within 3 days it knocks that tech as a, how can i say this, a "bad point" toward them. Thats why the key there was for 3 days. So when she called in again it wouldnt hurt his stats.)

I was ROFL and saying omg, wtf! (hehe at shorthand.) So i didnt say anything like "hes a moron" I just said ok lets get you setup.

So yes, these helpdesk folks gave us at Dell who were in US a very bad name. No one trusted us. How sad. Oh well my days at Dell are over now.

Danman32

Well, I have been on the opposite end of the phone trying to help out a friend who lost his DSL connection from Verizon. The first tech appeared knowlegable, but reluctant to bend. He felt my friend's network driver went bad. I sincerely doubted it and offered to prove him wrong by connecting my laptop to my friend's machine using a crossover cable (they only had a modem at the time, no router). He didn't want to stay on the line while I did that.
We had to start a brand new case, and the woman insisted I give her the default gateway displayed when running IPConfig.
The IP is 169.254.x.x, how in the world would I get a default gateway?
The woman obviously had no clue about basic TCP/IP.

garv221

Never done Help Desk, never will. I would swith careers before doing a help desk job. What a miserable Job. I have a hard enough time talking with Dell or any other vendor. I can't even think after a phone call like that its so annoying. I feel for you and everyone stuck in that position.

Megadeth4168

Hlep desk sucks but it is a foot in the door for most people.

binarysoul

If you want to start a career in network admin, you will most probabely start in helpdesk unless you're really lucky to get a job without showing people how to right click. The bottom line is that it's a very annoying job, but unfortunately, people do it as this is probably the only option. I've yet to talk to a person who enjoys helpdesk.

The argument I hate the most is that when end users say "Oh I'm computer illiterate, so you have to walk me through EVERYTHING". Here is the answer:

Well sir/mam, if you're illiterate why then you bother working with an object (PC) that requires a bit of literacy and common sense? A person who wants to drive the car can't say, "oh I'm mechanically illterate, so you have to drive me all my life. Well, the same way that you go to a driving school to learn to drive, you should enrol in a community college to learn the basics of computers.

The argument that "if it wasn't for PC illiterate people, we won't have jobs". Well, my friend, 50 years ago there were no PCs and no such jobs, people still lived and worked.

Bottom line, it's a annoying task, but remember you won't be in it for good. If you don't find another job, your mind, nerves and patience will force you. So there is light at the end of the tunnle

drainey

Help Desk does indeed suck, but if we didn't need it most of us would either not have jobs or not gotten the job that got our foot in the door so that we could move up into a different job.

My job title is PC Systems Specialist and they mean pc systems, I do everything from Servers and networking to pc's and software. I also man the help desk phone from 1-5 three days a week. Like Olajuwon said if that's what your employer wants, that's what you do. Especially around here. IT jobs are hard to come by and for everyone one that's available there are 30 people trying to get it.

But hey there's always UT2004 when I've had all I can take.

sir_creamy_

Ahhh yes, I helmed the Help Desk for a solid 8 months and enjoyed every minute of it. But I think I got lucky - I worked with the nicest group of people on the planet.

Remember: you are god. if someone b*tches at you about the Internet being slow, ask them if they'd like no Internet at all and cut their connection. And if they b*tch about that, then steal their stapler or 3-hole punch.

sprkymrk

Watch Saturday Night Live reruns and take lessons from "Nick Burns, The Company Computer Guy".

Gabe7055

Wow I am kind of shocked how many people out there really hate help desk work. I figured it was just me since I really am not fond of very many people. I imagine help desk wouldn't be bad if you had a good group of people like sir creamy but that is just not the case for me.

It's good to see at least some companies are making sure that if they hire someone for a position that requires computer use that they at least make sure the person can use a computer.

I agree with binarysoul's comments about people being computer illiterate not being a acceptable excuse. If someone just doesn't know about computers but actually tries to learn and listens to what you tell them that is fine but I can't stand people that feel like they don't have to learn how to use a machine that they have been tasked with to do their job. If I worked in a shipping company and was told I had to drive a forklift how long you think I would last if I just refused to learn how to drive the forklift?

drpower555

Thats funny guys, try help desk at an ISP when someone calls in po'ed becuase AOL wont work. And then explain to them that you dont handle AOL. Or the old lady who says, "a mouse, whats a mouse?" You say click on internet explorer its on your desktop. She says no its not on there my computer didnt come with that. Or the guy who got a bill from the pink kittie cat.com and calls the ISP yelling. I dont know about you guys but my boss used to call in with these crazy calls and see how far he could go with it. He thought it was funny as hell. I didnt care for it to much because I never knew if it was for real or the guys having a little fun at my exspense.

darkuser

yes .... when i got sick enough

i decided i wanted to be the network guy .... router , sw , firewall guy ....

picked up books read them got n+ and ccna and never looked back.

binarysoul

It would be very fair if helpdesk techs were given the power to fire, demote and report incomptencies to an end-user's suprior. It's for the good of the company and people who work with the company and those competent folks who look for jobs. If the so called 'long-term employee' hasn't learned how create a folder during 10-15 years of his/her tenure, he/she won't be able to manage change, especailly in IT that is rapidly evolving. He/she is a burden on productivty. Fire him/her if he/she can't be technologially compatible and find a competent replacement (like many on this forum

).

In this competitive and digital era, if one can't be digitally-minded, he/she should retreat to a 'manual' lifestyle. I'm sorry, techs have better things to do (like subnetting or taking a nap after manually installign Red Hat) than to show someone how to righ-click.

ITNYC

I didnt think Help Desk was that bad. I guess i will avoid that line of work.

blargoe

In my experience Help Desk isn't that bad. As a sysadmin I still have to answer the phone a good bit.

I guess it depends on the industry your company is in. If you're doing support for an ISP I imagine that would suck beyond comprehension. In a self-sufficient corporate office it hasn't been that bad for me, but then again we just take the calls and hand most of them off to the appropriate application, desktop, or network group.

uke

blargoe wrote:

In my experience Help Desk isn't that bad. As a sysadmin I still have to answer the phone a good bit.

I guess it depends on the industry your company is in. If you're doing support for an ISP I imagine that would suck beyond comprehension. In a self-sufficient corporate office it hasn't been that bad for me, but then again we just take the calls and hand most of them off to the appropriate application, desktop, or network group.

I gotta agree with that. I'm fortunate enough to be working helpdesk in a law firm where most of the people here are reasonably intelligent. I couldn't imagine working at an ISP either (shudder).

The_Geek

Well, I work for a large ISP/communications company and do help desk for internal users. Our jobs used to be a nightmare before management came up with a list of hardware/software that we do not support. (all 3rd party software addons and hardware to synch their PDA phones to their computers).

Danman32

Two jobs and over a decade ago I was hired by the county to support the computers over at Animal Control. Although I wasn't privy to the choice of PC, network or software, I was privy to the installation. Oh, I forgot to mention, until this was installed, they worked totally on a manual basis. Strictly paper.

I had to train the employees on how to use the computers. Most had never turned one on, let alone use one. They were expecting me to do the data entry. I did some, but I couldn't do it all, even if I wanted to. Many suprised themselves and learned quite quickly. I used Solitaire to teach them how to use the mouse. Eventually I had to remove that.
My supervisor was the only one that would not use the computer. He was a good guy though. Very supportive. He even supported my decision to not provide any more technical training to the office manager when the county gave me notice that they were laying me off due to budget cuts. Now she was a bright gal, which is why originally I would teach her some advanced stuff. Now she is the Animal Control director.

Megadeth4168

Come on guys... This is a friendly forum. I don't think there is any need for anyone here to put down anyone else.

Remember we are all here because we want to better ourselves through the help, support and knowledge that other professionals are willing to share with us.

KGhaleon

A while back I got a helpdesk job for Lockheed martin...but that was a big mistake. o_O
Providing support for a place like that is...like, customer support on steroids.

I still deal with annoying people on a daily basis now. I get a call just about every week from an angry user saying that it's my fault that MSN doesn't work or something. <_< (when they brought it in for a virus-removal problem, broken CD drive, etc)

I had an asian man come to me once because his registry was corrupted, so I fixed it and told him if he had the same problem to bring it back to me and I would take a look at it, free of charge. He came back a week later and explained that his AOL and Office weren't working properly. I looked it over and realized that it had nothing to do with his previous problem...and he refused to pay the bill once the work was done.

I wouldn't mind a better job in an administrative position, but I would be nervous with all that responsibility.

binarysoul

My business school training must come to a good use here

Remember, communication via forums, email and chat rooms can sometimes be interperted the wrong way while intentions may be very innocent.

So let's not jump to conclusion, I believe everybody knows this is a very professional and freindly forum. Let's keep it that way

nel

i have to admit i am another one who dislikes the helpdesk.
i started at the very bottom...and i mean very bottom...putting out bins, moving rubbish, cleaning keyboards etc etc. now i am on the helpdesk, which was great at first as i was learning loads but now it come to that point where its the same old story of unlocking accounts, mailboxes over their limit, creating psts, unlocking more accounts lol! but now we have software where users can unlock there own account by answering a few security questions!

so i have decided to advance in my own time (which i am at the beginning of) i gt my a+, net+, am gn for my 270 next and eventually mcsa hopefully - to try and get into a gd sys admin place like most of you guys on ere! and i have started my honours degree. so i feel my destiny is in my own hands and at least i am having a go at it! i dont claim to be the best or know everything (like some people) i just want to learn and play about and get experiance and try to become good at all this.

ive found ALOT of people in IT are full of sh*t (excuse my french

) but its who they know and not what they know!

i work for a big company and find the oppurtunities very limited in progressing (like i have had to pay for all my own training) what does anyone else think?

BubbaJ

nel wrote:

so i have decided to advance in my own time (which i am at the beginning of) i gt my a+, net+, am gn for my 270 next and eventually mcsa hopefully - to try and get into a gd sys admin place like most of you guys on ere! and i have started my honours degree. so i feel my destiny is in my own hands and at least i am having a go at it! i dont claim to be the best or know everything (like some people) i just want to learn and play about and get experiance and try to become good at all this.

ive found ALOT of people in IT are full of sh*t (excuse my french ) but its who they know and not what they know!

i work for a big company and find the oppurtunities very limited in progressing (like i have had to pay for all my own training) what does anyone else think?

You have to take charge of your own career. I paid for most of my own study materials, and most of my study was on my own time. My company paid for most of the exams (even the CCIE lab plus travel), but it cost me a lot more than them. It has paid off handsomely in the long run.

It's not just the experience and certifications. You have to sell yourself to your employer. Look for other opportunities inside (and outside) your company. Certifications can be used as leverage to overcome company inertia, but just having them won't do anything unless you push. Your company will probably think everything is fine the way it is if you don't express yourself.

nel

true bubbaj....

thats why i am itching for my appraisal to come at the end of the month so i can say stuff "off the record" which i couldnt on the record

i admit i hope for these certs and qualifications and experiance and i am hoping the company will notice it as i like it there and its a pretty gd company to work for, but if not i will not hestitate to get what i want, if you know what i mean

mikey_b

Ah, the Help Desk. I worked 5 years at a help desk, first on the phones, then doing DB admin tasks, then I moved into senior support, then I moved into a 3rd level role supporting field techs (still on the phone).

It was that customer service and technical experience which landed me an on site role with a big IT firm, where I had the chance to really prove myself with a smaller team. Now I'm the technical lead for the team, with a wide range of responsibilities, including server and 3rd level desktop support, quality acceptance, ITIL, QMS, VPN, RAS, taking two hour lunches, schmoozing with Government bigwigs (it's a Government contract) and doing all kinds of cool (and not so cool sometimes) stuff.

Needless to say, even though I hated working the helpdesk it definately provided me with the experience to earn a few minor certs and work towards something better. Now I work with a great team on a challenging contract and opportunities for learning and earning more responsibilities abound.

garv221

I think no matter anyones position, somewhere everyone in IT experienced some type of help desk work for the simple fact we are surrounded by users. When starting out in IT its a challenge getting familiar with software and troubleshooting. Once you get over the challenge of help desk related issues, those problems become repetitive and really start getting annoying and thats where the hate for help desk comes from. Help desk- its like guests, the first few days are great, after a week its annoying.