Has your computer broken down or is it not working as it should? Who do you
call? I bet you have a guy around who falls in the “techie” category. You know,
who I mean, someone who lives, works or is just plain good with the computers and
open to help you out.
But for some reason, your techie gets upset
every time he is asked to fix some of your gear. Here is what you may have been
doing wrong and some tips that can mend your relationship:
Is
your device plugged in? Did you try to restart it?
I guarantee you these will be the first
lines most techies will give you almost without thinking. So, best only call
them after you’ve checked if your device has juice and a restart does not solve your
problem.
Have
the list of “errors” at hand
If your techie extends a promise to stop by
your desk, he or she will have a few questions you better know the answer to. Be
ready to describe what went wrong with your device. Also, it can be very useful
if you jot down everything you’ve
been doing before and after the error messaged popped-up.
A screen shot of
error log might be of help too, scoring you some more good points.
Note: Be ready to confess your sins, as
most of the time it is the user – understand you – who caused the error in the
first place! Trying to shift the blame on anybody else or even
on the poor device itself, will only annoy your techie. So if there is a chance
that you have downloaded a suspicious file, or you’ve done something that’s
fishy, don’t be afraid to let it all out. Believe me, they have seen it all.
Remember,
small-talk doesn’t fix your computer
Do not ask too many questions. After all, the techie is trying to fix the mess you have made and it often isn’t as
straightforward as you may think. If you still think you can Google your way
out of the problem go right ahead, but don’t bother calling for help next time.
Beware: small-talk can sometimes lead to a
dead-end. In fact, if you can find any activity other than looking over the
techie’s shoulder, while he is sorting your life for you, go for it. It’s better
for everybody involved − you, your techie and your device as well.
Your
guesses aren’t helping…
Trying to talk to problem away isn’t going
to help either. After all, your techie is most probably a true IT professional
(this is why you haven’t solved the problem) who knows a thing or two about computing
and similar things. So keep your interaction to a minimum − only answer the questions
he/she asks and keep your theories of what might have gone wrong to yourself. If
you are lucky and receive a piece of valuable advice, follow it without
reservation. This can be anything from using better passwords to getting a
bona-fide security solutions. We’ve asked our techies, so you don’t have to. These
simple suggestions can save you time, money and keep you out of trouble.
Patience,
patience, patience
“It is only a minor thing. Probably not
even worth your time, but could you come over and take a look anyway?” Techies
hear that a lot. Contrary to popular belief most of the time, trying to find
the right patch for the army of (virtual) bugs you have happened to unleash,
isn’t that simple. So brace yourself, to fix an unknown machine can easily take
half a day, and even eat into the lunch.
So be patient and let the techie do his job for as long as it takes. Who
knows when will be the next time he will grace you with his presence.
Most
important: Celebrate Techies Day
So why are we dishing out all this
advice? Because October 3rd is
a day dedicated to techies and also happens to be the European Cyber Security
Month!
So to sum up, appreciate more techies’
help, follow their advice, and act smart in cyber world. Oh one more thing − take
them out for lunch.
Happy Techies Day!