How do you treat your IT Person

As I wrote earlier IT gets a bad reputation and rightly deserved in some cases. I was reminded yesterday though that IT also gets jumped on sometimes. I was at a client to troubleshoot a network issue. Looking at the entire situation I simply was... well looking at the setup. Not physically changing anything.

I came out of the back (where else would the systems be) and immediately was threatened by an end user whose computer had locked up. She said she was going to "kill me" because she needed to get her work done and I should not be playing with the system. Yes. That is why I was not touching anything. Of course I went to look at her computer to see what was happening.

It did not take much troubleshooting to figure out that the computer was full of malware from her surfing on the internet. Oh Did I mention that she said since I was there it had to be something I did. These are the kind of things that I look at and think if you are going to treat the person who can help you this way how do you treat other people like your doctor or the person making your food? Perhaps the anger came from knowing her machine was hosed because of her escapades during her lunch hour ?

Now this was an individual and one thing I have learned through the years is that people usually have more going on than just having the attitude. I have experienced and have witnessed people get so defensive when I simply try to fill them in with basic information. More or less they are saying "fix it and I dont care why it broke". That is why I think educating clients on the basics of good practices is important.

Anyway, I have always believed you reap what you sow. In any industry you will get much quicker service and cooperation by simply treating people with respect. That includes techies and consultants. Maybe that relationship then could build and be better for both sides.

My last word is this. Always remember that people who know more about ANY subject than you do can use that to their advantage. I personally do not do that. There are people in this industry who do though. Be careful who you are ticking off when you need to use that technology.

What is your relationship with I.T.?

Aaarrrghhhh!!  My computer isnt working!!!! I need this fixed now! Time to call the help desk.

So do you dread calling your I.T. department in to fix something or can you not wait to see them because you know your issue will be fixed? Hate them or love them you know you need them.

Working in I.T. for two decades I learned a long time ago that I want people to want me. Not be afraid of me or not want to talk to me about an issue. As a matter of fact I have been frustrated because of not getting a call, someone struggling for days and trying to fix it themselves. Was that because I had treated that person poorly at some point? Were they intimidated by me or just truly trying to help? I have seen all three.

The I.T. folk have a reputation of being condescending, talking techy and just not frankly being nice to end users. (Yes, this is coming from an I.T. person) That reputation is earned because I have seen I.T. people do that throughout my career. It creates problems and issues almost like it is us against them on either side. If we are really honest with ourselves I.T. has the ability to either make an organization more productive or take them to their knees. They have knowledge that nobody else has and knowledge is power. The question is does that power go to their head?

I worked for an International tax and accounting firm. My job in that firm was first getting three local offices running properly. Next linking them together and then building a staff. I eventually did that on a national level but in order to progress I had to explain how and why I was spending the money to the partners. Helping them understand the why was the biggest selling point so I always made sure my presentation was self explanatory. There are very few times I have been turned down for a proposed project. Of course being an accounting firm ROI and benefit analysis played a part in that too but I had to have the complete package to be successful.  

In my consulting business I love it when someone asks me questions. Once in a while when I explain things I tend to sway over on the technical side but in most cases it is me drawing pictures on the back of piece of paper and making it relateable. I am a visual person so that is usually my approach and it is effective. I want my customers to understand what is going on because in the long run it helps everybody.

So don't be afraid to talk to your I.T. person. Ask questions. I think most I.T. personalities actually get a sense of worth when they are teaching a little. Yes I.T. is constantly busy and yes so is everyone else. If every I.T. person spent 2 minutes explaining in plain terms what the issue was could you imagine how many less times you need to call that helpdesk?  Any help is appreciated. Believe me on that one!  

  Mitch Christian
Cyber Consulting
www.cyber-cs.com

CUSTOMER SERVICE IN IT

Customer service and IT are not always thought of at the same time. I was reminded of that this morning. I went in for a very early morning MRI on a knee that I have been having issues with. I was the first one in and as I approached the receptionist desk for radiology I overheard the conversation the receptionist was having on the phone. "Great, they didn't tell us again". She was referring to their IT department making changes over the weekend to the way the log in. She was trying to figure out exactly what to do just to access the system. As it turns out they were required to use a drop down box. There actually was an e-mail sent on how to do this, however if people can not log in to get their email they don't have the instructions on how to log in. That is kind of like sending an email to everyone telling them email is down.

I personally have made mistakes in the past of not telling people of minor adjustments only to have it come back to bite me. Today I do everything possible to let customers know when functionality will change. You have to. That is part of customer service. I get the upgrades to the system but if it disrupts the way people operate it creates animosity and resentment. I totally understand that.

Customer services used to be a competitive advantage companies would boast. Today everything has to be better, faster and easier to use which is mistaken for customer service. A little compassion goes a long way no matter what profession you are in. The customer is why you have a job.