I agree. But, in any organization of more than a some lower limit number of people (100? 150? - depends on the type of business/org, I would guess), there will always be a need for a helpdesk function, whether it's a full time position or not. And, as the number of staff grows, so does the need for that function.
Kurt On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 18:22, Crawford, Scott <[email protected]> wrote: > "problem that *CANNOT* be solved" > Perhaps...even probably, but it can certainly be improved. > > To the organization as a whole, help desk is a money drain. Sure, its > beneficial for the people being paid to answer the phone, but IT as a whole > should be striving to be an asset to the organization. > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Kurt Buff [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 7:49 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Re: Stupid user tricks > > End user difficulty with technology is a problem that *CANNOT* be solved, in > the general case. That is because if you make the computer simple enough for > an untrained person (or worse, an unthinking/unmotivated person) to use, you > will have removed its ability to do anything beyond a small set of simple > tasks, and it won't be much of a computer after that. > > Hell, you can't even get everyone to understand how to manipulate two light > switches (at the top and bottom of stairs, for instance) that control the > same light, let along something as complex as a computer. > > It's not going to happen, so you either make it an income stream to be > exploited, or find a way to get rid of the load, how that balances out > depends on how annoying you find them vs. the value of their income stream to > you. > > OTOH, those who are so inclined will end their "newb" stream of income from > them to you - and if you're smart, you'll pay attention and help them as they > do so, so that you can get them and you to the next level of income stream, > and you'll both be better off. > > Fortunately, the latter are outnumbered by the former, but the > unthinking/unmotivated/untrainable are a significant fraction of the universe > of computer users The hardest problem is differentiating between the useless > ones, and those who just need a different approach, or maybe just a little > more TLC. > > And, lest you think the problem will evolve away, consider that the tasks > performed will only get more complex over time, so that even those who have > been raised with computers will divide themselves into the competent and > those who are not. Ever thus it has been. > > > Kurt > > On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 15:45, Crawford, Scott <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> “Maybe if you're manning the helpdesk.” >> >> >> >> That is exactly the reason people say it. >> >> >> >> End-user difficulty with technology is a problem to be solved, not an income >> stream to be exploited. As IT pros, we should be figuring out how to make >> things dead simple. Imagine if we had a light switch support department >> whose job consisted of moving around from office to office helping people >> get their lights on. If we had users that continually needed help with this, >> it wouldn’t be viewed as job security. It would be viewed as an opportunity >> to get a new user or educate the existing one, thereby eliminating the >> support department. >> >> From: Andrew S. Baker [mailto:[email protected]] >> Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 3:05 PM >> >> To: NT System Admin Issues >> Subject: Re: Stupid user tricks >> >> >> >> >>stupid user tricks = job security. >> >> >> >> >> >> Why do people say this? Maybe if you're manning the helpdesk. >> >> My job is secure because people want to get new things done, not >> because they routinely forget how to do old things... That leads to >> outsourcing (we're spending XXX monthly for password resets?!? Move >> that offshore...) >> >> >> >> >> >> ASB (Professional Bio) >> Harnessing the Advantages of Technology for the SMB market... >> >> On Mon, Jun 20, 2011 at 4:01 PM, Shauna Hensala <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> stupid user tricks = job security. We could instead talk about stupid IT >> tricks. >> >> Shauna Hensala >> >> >> >> > From: [email protected] >> > To: [email protected] >> > Subject: RE: Stupid user tricks >> > Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:28:39 +0000 >> >> > >> > If 4,999 out of 5,000 times you don't need to type something in a field, >> > you will stop even looking at the field, much less registering what it >> > says. >> > >> > Regards, >> > >> > Michael B. Smith >> > Consultant and Exchange MVP >> > http://TheEssentialExchange.com >> > >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: John Aldrich [mailto:[email protected]] >> > Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 3:26 PM >> > To: NT System Admin Issues >> > Subject: RE: Stupid user tricks >> > >> > Oh, yeah... seen that sort of thing a couple times. Even had MY >> > admin account locked out because a user didn't notice to change MY >> > name to theirs in the login box. :D >> > >> > I, too, have users who can't remember their login name (despite the >> > fact that it's the first half of their email address! *grin*) and >> > can't figure out why they can't log in... 'Course they're always >> > embarrassed about that when I see the problem, but still. :D >> > >> > >> > >> > >> > -----Original Message----- >> > From: Joseph L. Casale [mailto:[email protected]] >> > Sent: Monday, June 20, 2011 3:17 PM >> > To: NT System Admin Issues >> > Subject: RE: Stupid user tricks >> > >> > > Didn't they have enough sense to log on as the correct user before >> > >calling??? >> > >> > Shall we compare notes:) >> > Recently I was called to a desk of a lady who was pissed off six >> > ways to Sunday at me as she couldn't log in. She was typing her >> > password into someone else's username, and proceeded to lock their >> > account out? >> > >> > After that, another one gave me shit that she couldn't remember her >> > login name that she had been using on her desktop daily for years >> > and her iphone? >> > >> > I was like "Stare, blink, blink, stare..." My bad, I guess? >> > >> > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ >> > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> > >> > --- >> > To manage subscriptions click here: >> > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> > or send an email to [email protected] >> > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >> > >> > >> > >> > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ >> > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> > >> > --- >> > To manage subscriptions click here: >> > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> > or send an email to [email protected] >> > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >> > >> > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ >> > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> > >> > --- >> > To manage subscriptions click here: >> > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> > or send an email to [email protected] >> > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >> > >> >> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ >> <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> >> --- >> To manage subscriptions click here: >> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> or send an email to [email protected] >> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >> >> >> >> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ >> <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> >> --- >> To manage subscriptions click here: >> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> or send an email to [email protected] >> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin >> >> ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ >> <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ >> >> --- >> To manage subscriptions click here: >> http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ >> or send an email to [email protected] >> with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ > <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin > > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ > > --- > To manage subscriptions click here: > http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ > or send an email to [email protected] > with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ --- To manage subscriptions click here: http://lyris.sunbelt-software.com/read/my_forums/ or send an email to [email protected] with the body: unsubscribe ntsysadmin
