Going To The Top For Help
from the tech-support dept
Now, here is a story I can identify with. Sure, I've got this site called Techdirt, and I'm fairly knowledgeable about various technologies, but that doesn't mean I know how to solve your specific networking problem of getting your Apple Newton to connect wirelessly to your plotter printer, via your caller ID box. Yet, people ask me all sorts of bizarre technical help questions, and often get annoyed when I can't help them. It seems I'm not alone. In fact, the people in this NY Times article have accomplished a lot more in their lives relating to building technology companies or products, and yet they still get the call to help their neighbors/cousins/friends with their technical problems. Some of these somewhat famous technology people just accept it, while others have "strategies" to avoid being free tech support for everyone they know. The best quote in the article, though, is comparing the situation to an automobile executive: "After all, a senior executive at General Motors is not likely to be asked by the next-door neighbor to pop the hood on an ailing Oldsmobile."
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I find it rude that people don't come up and ASK for help, but rather they just start gabbing about the problem, and expect an immediate answer..and then don't offer any compensation, or think that they can pay me in BEER. I don't even drink!!
It got so bad, that I had to go to the President of the company to get a line added to our personnel manual about personal IT "consulting".
Now, it's not that I don't enjoy what I do, it's just the attitude that because I know about technology, I'm EXPECTED to help everyone at the personal level. I honestly feel bad when I am forced to tell them my hourly rates. They look at me like I'm some sort of ass.
I simply explain to them that if they went to our finance department, and asked for personal tax advice/consulting, they would get hearty laugh. It is only THEN that they understand my predicament.
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random thoughts...
On the other hand, one shouldn't expect their friends or neighbors who are engineers to provide free services any more than any other profession. I'd like to see what would happen if the guy profiled in the article went back to the family of doctors who needed his PC help every time he had a rash.
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Re: random thoughts...
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Re: random thoughts...
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What's worse? Family or Co-workers?
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Two quotes come to mind:
and
Are you sure you're not a computer ludite?
...the second one is from the person referenced in the first one.
One other comment... yeah, and look where Oldsmobile is today.
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