Everyone in IT should have to do a small amount of...
mandatory time on the helpdesk. Yes there are some exceptions as to who might actually gain something from the experience. Hypnotoad: with all due respect, you sir, are NOT one of those exceptions. Furthermore your prevailing opinion of what the job is all about is one that infects others like wildfire and therein cultivates the very problem discussed here.
Yes I do believe 3 to 4 weeks on the helpdesk would give you a fresh perception of what the job entails. Until then, you may go ahead and call them lackeys, speak down your nose at them. The damage to your companies bottom line is far greater than the insult you saddle them with. Consider this, when was the last time you encountered anyone describing their experience with an outsourced helpdesk that was anything less than a miserably frustrating experience. I would bet dollars to donuts that Apple pays their call center technicians better than most. This is evident in their overall demeanor in dealing with customers. From experience I can tell you that the company that recognizes the helpdesk or call center as their front line of defense against unsatisfied customers will pay their help more and as a result will have far more skilled, considerate and patient hands handling the task. The companies' bottom line will improve.
