rant: "i don't even have a word for what you are" co-worker
Posted: September 17 08, 12:32 pm
first some background
i work for a software company, my job is to do "think outside the box" implementation solutions for customers. either through the sales process, or later in the life of owning an "account" with us, a customer can request something we don't sell "off the shelf" and my job is to find ways to do it that are cost-effective and workable. it's not an easy job, but very interesting.
one of the ways requests arrive at my desk is customers who speak with our helpdesk, discover what they are asking for is not one of the "default" options, and request that we explore manners of doing it. there's a waiting time involved in ALL cases, a few days until i even receive the request, because i have quite a bit on my plate. we have a way of queuing these requests, and they arrive at my desk AT LEAST 2 days AFTER the request is made (and this is common knowledge)
there's a clear procedure for doing this. the helpdesk do have my cellphone number / email / phone should they need to consult, or for emergencies.
last friday... a hurricane is about to hit the coast of texas.
a customer from houston calls them up and requests urgent help with something that's not default, but which will help her deal with a few days of the business going offline. she uses the words "emergency", "ike", "hurricane" at least 3 times each during the conversation. (btw: she wanted something we can do, quite easily. probably in a few minutes. we've done it in the past and we've shown it off - one of the first testimonials on our site is a thank you from a customer who we did it for during a disaster like this)
what does the idiot do?
puts in my queue. assuring it will take at least until monday before i see it. de facto it took until this morning. i don't even know what to say. what kind of a company am i working for? who is this person working for our helpdesk? is he a human being? does he have a sense for what's an emergency? what WILL justify him using my cellphone?
the thing is, when a customer like that is obnoxious, they usually call me right away, just to get him off their back. when someone comes with a plea for help, and is nice about it, they... i don't even have a word for what that person from our help desk is...
thanks for reading. it was fun putting this in writing. very relieving.
i work for a software company, my job is to do "think outside the box" implementation solutions for customers. either through the sales process, or later in the life of owning an "account" with us, a customer can request something we don't sell "off the shelf" and my job is to find ways to do it that are cost-effective and workable. it's not an easy job, but very interesting.
one of the ways requests arrive at my desk is customers who speak with our helpdesk, discover what they are asking for is not one of the "default" options, and request that we explore manners of doing it. there's a waiting time involved in ALL cases, a few days until i even receive the request, because i have quite a bit on my plate. we have a way of queuing these requests, and they arrive at my desk AT LEAST 2 days AFTER the request is made (and this is common knowledge)
there's a clear procedure for doing this. the helpdesk do have my cellphone number / email / phone should they need to consult, or for emergencies.
last friday... a hurricane is about to hit the coast of texas.
a customer from houston calls them up and requests urgent help with something that's not default, but which will help her deal with a few days of the business going offline. she uses the words "emergency", "ike", "hurricane" at least 3 times each during the conversation. (btw: she wanted something we can do, quite easily. probably in a few minutes. we've done it in the past and we've shown it off - one of the first testimonials on our site is a thank you from a customer who we did it for during a disaster like this)
what does the idiot do?
puts in my queue. assuring it will take at least until monday before i see it. de facto it took until this morning. i don't even know what to say. what kind of a company am i working for? who is this person working for our helpdesk? is he a human being? does he have a sense for what's an emergency? what WILL justify him using my cellphone?
the thing is, when a customer like that is obnoxious, they usually call me right away, just to get him off their back. when someone comes with a plea for help, and is nice about it, they... i don't even have a word for what that person from our help desk is...
thanks for reading. it was fun putting this in writing. very relieving.
