Low expectations

snokerpoker

It seems like the senior people I deal with in IT keep telling me the same thing "Set the users expectations low and you will be a hero when something urgent happens."

I understand this to a certain degree, but for the most part, I don't think this is the way to provide support. I know not EVERYTHING is an emergency but there has to be some type of balance with the end users. I was wondering your thoughts on this.

jtoast

I have found that there are two reasons for the "keep expectations low" attitude:

1) Management doesn't give the IT department the respect or funding it deserves/requires so no matter what you do, people are going to be pissed off. If this is the case, find a new job quick because its only a matter of time before you burn out.

2) The person with that attitude is too lazy, unskilled, or burned out to give a damn.

Our users have a very high expectation of our IT department and it forces us to actually think about problems instead of just rolling out the quick and easy piece of crap solution. I personally take pride in having the kind of the attitude and work ethic that maintaining high expections requires.

EDIT:
With that said, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the phrase "under promise and over deliver."

it_consultant

I would replace "low" with "reasonable". If you have an EMR program, for example, that is just not very fast, you have to set that low expectation. Otherwise you will be barraged with complaints you can't even begin to do anything about.

You also need to set the right attitude among your users. These are not their computers for music and bull-sh*t. They are for using the line of business applications and communication tools. If those two things are working, their request is low priority. Obviously if the computer doesn't boot then they can't get into their LOB and therefore it is a high priority. I think you get the point.

Psoasman

You definitely have to find that middle ground. I have learned to never promise an exact time of when something will be fixed, especially when working with 3rd. parties.

Sometimes users will complain about the network being slow and not understand why. If a tech responds with "just reboot your computer" and walks off, they are likely to be pissed off. I take the time to explain what may be happening in laymen's terms, this is where your soft skills come into play.

I work at a casino and one of the things we do is walk around and talk to the various departments and see how they are doing. It's a good way to follow up and to find new issues.