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our view is the statistical model " the propensity of problem maldistribution" or in lay terms, the law of 80/20 where 80% of the problem is caused by 20% of the people.

Those 20% that cause 80% of the problem bitch about everything. If there isn't something to bitch about, they will make something up. Your example of "Fred's report runs 5 seconds faster than mine" is an example of these types of people. Maybe Fred doesn't pay her the attention she thinks she should have so she bitches about Freds computer. Or aybe Fred beat his coworker at racketball the other day so he bitches about his slow computer. Either way, those types of people cost the company $$ because instead of doing the job they are paid for, they are finding something to bitch about. One can never win with these types of people because there' no reasonableness to them. They don't care about reasonableness to what they complain about. They only care about themselves and their importance. Don't get enough attention, therefore importance, they bitch.

You Could not have said it any better. You just left out the One thing that makes the 20% fun.
Pay Back is what???
A hole bunch of fun on a network.
If done properly They Will Stop Bitching.
Have Fun Bill MacGregor

1. Apps and hardware that don't work.
I can't agree more that this can be a real issue within many organizations, and how one looks at it can greatly change how one reacts (this is true for most of these questions, as in the rest of life). While an organization I worked for would develop wonderful apps, they would do little to train the client, and therefore the apps were only adopted on a limited basis, underutilized when installed, and frequently complained about, because the functional aspects were never really covered. The corporate office made these missteps, and as the on-site/field support tech, the clients knowing these apps made my life, and their satisfaction greater. So I took it upon myself to create training documents, to solicit questions from the public, and create FAQ list to cover this material. I shared it with my contemporaries in the field, constantly revised it, and while ti required some time and work, the client satisfaction, and there lack of need for one on one training and over sight more than made up for it. In closing, if your people aren't properly trained, and no one else is going to accept responsibility, do it yourself, I promise it will help you understand and support an application you may not normally use!

2. Inconsistent WI-FI.
Again, good training materials, with lots of screen shoots that hold the clients hand through finding the network, and vpn inclusion can be a real time saver. Beyond that, a multi-network manager, if you organization can afford one, or create one, can be a big help.

3.Slow PC/Network.
This one we all dread. Sympathize, offer to look into the issue, can VMM be increased, is there spy/malware on the system, are there unneeded apps in start-up, is the system in need of a good temp clean-up and defragmentation? Do this, clean the screen and keyboard, etc, while making sure to let the client know how many factors contribute to the "speed" of a system, why like systems will run reports differently, and how subjective, and therefore incredibly difficult to satisfy, the concept of "speed" and PC "efficiency is".

4. Frequent Password changes.
Difficult to even empathize here. Explain one has to do this also, and why security is so necessary. With the expansion of the Sar-Box(404) legislation, and all the others coming out, at least clients in accounting, tax, financiers, and banking are begging to understand and not complain about the need. I also think that as the added client becomes more in tune with the amount of damage that can be inflicted on a unsecured system, and how difficult it can be secure all aspects of an organization, they understand and appreciate the need to change often more. That said, companies should really audit themselves and make sure that resources that don't require such a high level of security should have password change frequency set to a more appropriate time frame.


All the time I have for now, hope to comment, join the discussion later. Great article though, good job author!

Good article!! I don't think it breaks any new ground, but it reinforces the need to look through the users' prism.

I see the cycle of users complaining about (#6) not being local admins, (#7) spam filtering, (#8) restricted web access and (#9) limited personal use as leading to (#10) IT unresponsiveness and (#11) IT arrogance. We've all seen that the more privleges users have, the more likely they are to abuse the rights they have. When this scene is repeated many times, we tend to get upset with users for causing their own problems. Who wants to spend another 2 hours cleaning out spyware? The loser should stay off Kazaa!! Move that person to the bottom of the priority list!!! We advocate for policies that lock machines down, and then users want more rights. Oops, didn't we start here?

I like the idea of adding privleges to users who go thru training rather than pulling privleges from those who violate policies. But as the Soviets told Reagan in the 80's, "we will trust, but verify." When the upgraded users are caught with their hand in the cookie jar, they should't get a second chance for avoiding the lockdown for a long time.

Your users complain about a 20-minute lockout? Try TWO minutes. I type my password fifty times a day. There's no way I need to write down my password, it's burned in my memory within a day of a change. Speaking of changes, it's a good thing that even though we are required to change it every 30 days all we have to do to make it a good change is to increment the number at the end. So much for supposed security.

Perhaps I should've started with a 2 minutes lockout and then increased it to 20 when the complaints came rolling in!

As I was reading the last few postings, it reminded me of #1 & #4. At my current job, don't get me wrong, the 80/20 rule holds true here as well, but then half of the time, the IT department is directly responsible.

The majority of the college has outdated hardware/software. And to add to that, there is a variety among the different divisions. Example, one building's computers maybe running Win NT 4.0 and another running Win XP or one application used could be Office 2000 and another could be Office XP. Ok, with differences like these, who's responibilty it is for the users to know exactly which app is being used, because to the user, all they see is Microsoft OFFICE and may not know that there are differences between the two. So, I'll get the question of "Well, it worked fine on my office computer but it doesn't work on this computer; what's wrong?".

If IT departments didn't have #11 all the time, maybe users wouldn't be as upset as they are and we wouldn't have this whole discussion to begin with *laughing*.

Have you ever thought of the fact that IT Departments have their budget set by administration? As an IT person, I'd love to have all my systems updated and on the same version of Windows and Office. However, older systems cannot handle the increased memory requirements of Windows XP and Office 2003. Maybe if users stop thinking egocentric and more globally they would realize the network is made up of a lots of users and not just that egocentric person.

Although there is no way to avoid the necessity of regular password changes there is a method I recommend to ease the pain.

In the fifth grade I learned the names of the Great Lakes (and haven't forgotten them since) using the following mnemonic: H-O-M-E-S (Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior)

This same technique can be used to generate a password list that can be recycled as needed.


Let's assume the following:
- the last six passwords can't be reused
- the password must be at least 6 units
- there must be at least 1 non-alpha character

Start with a seven letter word (6 passwords + 1): HOUSING

Create easy to remember passwords from each letter (First password starts with letter "H". Second one letter "O" etc.) tag on the requisite Number or Symbol and voila!

E.g., HENRYX5 (my brother-in-law), OSCARX5 (my pet gerbil)
Avoid obvious names like spouse or automobile.
And I often throw in an 'X' so the code is less easily broken.

Another plus to this scheme is that if I forget my password (like after returning from a three week vacation - yes, some of us do get that much contiguous time off) I can usually hit my password in three tries or fewer.

The only other caveat is to synchronize the passwords so that mainframe, NT logon, email and whatever use the same password at the same time. If one expires in 30 days and the others in 60 days then change the 60 day ones after 30 days even though the password hasn't expired.

mike
I haven't failed. I just found 10,000 ways that don't work.

I like the way you look at both perspectives. It?s easy to go for the Jugular from either side. I have a bit of a different experience. About half of our users work very well and the other half is the exact reciprocal. All users in there perspective departments have the exact same hardware and software. I made that a point from lessons learned. After nine years I finally got burnt out with support and had to turn it over to the Trainer and I support the Trainer as needed. I had to come up with a list of common problems that largest department has for a point of reference. Now the problems are specific to our equipment however, if you follow along I think that you will catch the drift of things although you may not identify the equipment or applications. I?ll let each reader draw their own conclusions. I would love to read some replies. Specifically is it the equipment, IT support or users. Here is the list. I have not listed the problems that result from mistakes just the common mistakes themselves.


TCD Problems


1. Not Logged into Novell properly from a Reboot or Power On Startup.

2. UEMC Screen not set correct for TCD.

3. Did not login to TCD Dispenser.

4. Did not bring TCD Lifts up.

5. In Wintep Interfaces is not Checked for Cash Dispenser

6. Did not put Cassette Lever Locks all the way down correctly.

7. Have Cassettes marked for denomination incorrectly.

8. Have Cassette denomination in wrong place.

9. Did not cede Cassettes in TCD correctly

10. Did not exit TCD Cash Before servicing TCD.

11. In TCD Cash Dispenser Popup on dispense request is not checked.

12. Powered off TCD and Powered on TCD while TCD carriage was in Cast Iron case. It needs powered on while it is pulled out and then pushed back in. I think that it is an issue of the lifts not being brought up automatically or something nor being reset internally. (This needs proven)

Printing Problems


1. In Wintep Dip Keys are not set correctly.

2. UEMC Screen is not set correctly.

3. In Wintep Printer settings are not set correctly

4. Have a Stuck Print job and the printer icon is displayed in the tray.

5. Did not choose the correct Printer to print to.

6. Need to Reboot PC do to PC not functioning properly.

7. Did not Archive and the Archive Button is Active ( Highlighted ) and Receipts have built up.

8. Receipt Xpress has a Red Server Status Light and Receipts have built up.

9. WinCFP is not running.

10. WinCFP is not set correctly.

11. UEMC , WinCFP and Wintep Printer settings do not correspond with each other.

12. In Receipt Xpress Options the Star Printer is not checked.

13. Wintep needs Exited and restarted if you have had a Printing problem.

14. Printing to the Laser printer and the Switch box or PC Sharing it is not set correctly.

15. Can not open up in Wintep because they are opened on another PC.

16. Paper Tension Unit has broken clips and paper jams in printer.

Receipt Xpress Problems


1. Did not Login Novell from a Reboot or Power On Startup.

2. Did not Delete Asterisks and Click OK on Windows Password Prompt.

3. Need to Delete Windows 98 Password and Reboot.

4. R: Drive is not Mapped.

5. Did not Archive and the Archive Button is Active ( Highlighted ).

6. Receipt Xpress has a Red Server Status Light.

7. WinCFP is not running.

8. WinCFP is not set correctly.

9. In Wintep Dip Keys are not set correctly.

10. UEMC Screen is not set correctly.

11. UEMC , WinCFP and Wintep Printer settings do not correspond with each other.

12. In Receipt Xpress Options the Star Printer is not checked.

Additional tips are as follows


These problems can be aggravated as well as additional problems can occur from Using the Internet and most especially having the Internet running on the PC while Processing and also using Desktop Themes and other Desktop Customization. Using the Windows Default Desktop and no Desktop customization is highly recommended.


1. Don?t be Logged in to more then One PC that is running Receipt Express.

2. Don?t use a PC with out first verifying that it is in proper Operational order to do Teller work.

3. Don?t use a PC that not in proper Operational order to do Teller work.

4. Don?t Cancel a Novell Login Prompt and then try to do Teller work .

5. Don?t use Receipt Xpress if you clicked cancel at the Windows 98 Password Prompt.

6. Don?t use Receipt Xpress when the Server Status Light is Red.

7. Don?t use Receipt Xpress when an Archive needs to be done from a previous transaction.

8. Don?t use Start - Logout, Always use Start - Shutdown, Only use reboot for yourself.

9. Don?t use a PC that someone used Start - Logout, to login Novell instead of rebooting.

10. Don?t open more then one additional application and close it as soon as you are done using it.

is that management sometimes does not seem to see the value of hiring adequate (in both quality and quantity) technical personnel. Perhaps it's just me but we use over 600 applications in my organization and I cannot possibly be an expert in all of them. There are also many problems that arise that cannot be resolved by reading a flipchart.

(and for the life of me, I still cannot get triple-click to work in Word :))

I would argue that much of th eproblem here is that It isn't really thinking through this one:

For some reason, everyone has this 90 days number stuck in their head, and nobody can provide any valid reason for it.

The more frequently you require a user to change their password, the more likely they are to use bad passwords, or leave them on notepads, or sticky notes.

crackers rarely try to brute force passwords. There are much easier ways to break in, like trojans, pharming, etc. Social engineering is the primary tactic used.

Ironically, the password complexity enforcement tools are making it easier for crackers in some ways, by reducing the pool of possible passwords to check. (I know the minimum password length is 8, and the system requires at least 1 number and mixed case, so 80% of the passwords will be 8 characters long, with one number and 1 capital letter. I just eliminated several million from my list of passwords to try.) understanding this, one would realize that "youareallabunchofretards" (which won't pass the requirement)is a much better password that "Obxw3ane" (which will).

I rated it 5. That's a first for me. Other people have said about all that there is to say. I figured that it was still worthwhile to say "Good job Becky Roberts."

Thanks Stress Junkie - I appreciate the positive feedback.

It is good to step back and review our jobs from our customer's perspective. So many of these complaints come down to simple communication. Every IT department I have worked with could do a better job of providing users with information.

Too often the assumption is made that users won't understand security issues or technical details. Some may not, but those users who are interested can be educated and they are more likely to be understanding when things don't work like they want. IT departments can go along way towards improving relationships with customers by explaining and providing details BEFORE changes are made and along the way when problems do arise. Empower users with instructions so they don't have to rely on tech support for the most simple tasks and they will feel like you have really helped them.

Many IT departments are seen as an obstacle that users must work around. We need to do a better job of being seen as a helpful service. Communicating about our service, how it works and why, can change these negative perceptions.

Many of my temporary jobs have been spent either in small businesses or in small workgroups that were part of a larger business. I typically support between 35 to 100 people who are physically located close to each other.

One approach to communicating with end users is to manage by walking around. When I need to stretch my legs I often walk around the office cubicles. If I can say hello to someone without distracting them from their work I do that. I also ask them how their computer is working. That simple action opens the door to communication between myself and the other person. I find that people will often mention something that they would not have called the help desk to report. I can give them the attention that they need to be productive and it forges a friendly relationship between myself and the people that I support.

This method also helps me to identify those people who are looking for new ways to use the computer in the performance of their job. I often end up spending a lot of time with these people exploring what they want to do and helping them to achieve their goals. Everybody wins. The end user is happier and is encouraged to explore the potential uses of the computer. The end users also realize that I'm not some ivory tower monster to avoid. The business benefits because their more motivated employees are being helped to make the most of their talents. I benefit because I enjoy helping people.

I've always taken the attitude that end users should not be expected to know any more about computers than I know about accounting. They have their area of expertise and I have mine. I have always respected the end users for who they are and I have not thought badly about anyone outside of IT that isn't a computer guru. That may sound pretty typical these days but twenty years ago IT people would generally treat nontechnical employees with disrespect. I'm glad to see that this is no longer as common as it once was.

So I agree with you that communication with end users is critical in technical support. I think that people in IT would be pleasantly surprised if they got out of the office and walked around the halls talking to people. I love doing this.

Great point, I should've mentioned it. This is something I do a lot, especially out in the plant where the workers frequently feel disconnected and neglected by us office types. I also find that eating lunch or taking a break with different groups of people opens up many new doors.

Enough said.

I was hoping to have some comments to see if others have had similar issues. I?m conserving money for vacation in two weeks so I?m making this Post instead of out partying. Most people seem to have tilted to the diplomatic side which is of course honorable. However in doing so, you side step the problem where you have both IT and User issues just about everywhere. The point is to discover those issues and try to glean a solution. Most places will have the gender, IT/User and management conundrums to overcome as part of finding and implementing a solution. In my case out of 56 employees only 3 are men and 53 are women. As I have said about half work very well and half have a lot of problems. If you look at the problems they have, certainly some would be attributed to, to be human is to error. The over whelming vast majority of problems are simply User error. We have the same equipment, applications, configuration and so on, everywhere, so if half works then is the other half defective equipment? Most employees are Tellers and they move around the offices filling in several times a year. We have good offices and bad offices more so then random people with problems. If a problem Teller in a problem office goes to a good office for a week and the problems go with that person and a good Teller goes to a problem office and has no problems then I just can?t see it being defective equipment nor can I see it being anything other then the individual.

This leads to the other part. I have a User manual for Tellers which is 20 pages including pictures and pictures being half the manual. It begins with what I dubbed the ?10 steps?. The first 8 pages are the ?10 steps? and the next 2 pages are trouble shooting the ?10 steps? then the rest is other trouble shooting and information. It?s the first 10 things you do starting at number 1 ?turning on the computer? is what the problem half stumbles on and forget the other 12 pages. It starts with those folks believing that they don?t need to know how to do the ?10 steps?. They also feel that they are doing somebody ?else?s? job by learning how to use ?their? computer. They think that I am Tring to put some of my responsibility on them by having them learn how to use their computer. They also have the mind set that using the computer is not Teller work so they don?t need to concern themselves with it, even although about 90% of everything they do is done on a computer. So, they refuse to learn or take responsibility for the problems they have. Imagine that. We should all be so lucky. If you look at my first Post you will see a list of ?10 Don?t do? which are included in the User manual. You would be astounded by how many problems that occur just from those ?10". Using the Internet for which nonbusiness use is prohibited yet abused with reckless abandon causes an enormous amount of problems. What confounds me the most is how so many times Branch managers have backup their problem folks and even their supervisors at the Main office have backed them up. Needless to say that has led to many battles and me willfully passing the support baton to the Trainer (in fact demanding to do so). My life has improved dramatically both at work and home since then. I was bring the problems home with me and they eat away at me for years, that is all gone now. I also have noticed the supervisors at the Main office starting to stiffen up now that I am no longer part of the equation and they must now deal with it. Newbie?s are much less tolerated if they can?t cut the muster in 90 days and Branch managers that have issues are being scrutinized for the first time. We are all the benefactors of that but more still needs done. I?m certain that a huge part of the problem was that I?m a man and they are all women. Now it?s all women and they can?t use the gender issue so they must now act and they are now beginning to see the light and make the hard decisions, I hope it continues. I can expand on anything I?ve written and welcome your comments.

I can only disagree with "solution" about admin rights on desktop computers.
No one except sysadmin should have admin access to the computers, and even she/he should normaly use only user rights when doing everyday tasks that don't need special (admin) rights (word processing, ...).
My honest opinion is that in these days when getting a virus is more common than getting useful information, administrator rights could cause a lot of harm. It's not about trusting employees (even when they "earn" our trust as suggested in the article), it's about common sense in computer security. It is a security issue.
So, I would suggest that administrator-rights-issue (as in article) should be completely ignored at our work. Does any contract between employer and employee (not administrator) include a statement where administrator rights are needed for work to be done?
For conslusion: administrator rights are for administrators.

I have a slightly different take on the 11 complaints, and when employees, potential customers, executives, and my support team are level set, I get ZERO complaints about it, and they also know that it is not a policy that can be escalated or whined about in order to get their own way.

The first issue that you have is that applications and hardware do not work. 99.999% of the time, Applications works as they were designed by the software company. In some cases, potentially harmful features are disabled (like Microsoft?s search for folders and printers on the network), in order to keep the sanity of the users and the network admins. All of these are pointed out to users as soon as the decision is made. The users are told:

? What action is being taken.
? Why the action is being taken
? And if there is an exception process

The reason we do this is because when users know why an action is being taken, they are less likely to gripe.

The second issue is the inconsistency of WiFi configurations. This is a no brainier when you compare Wireless things. People gripe about their cell phones in that they get disconnected, well, the same is true about wireless LAN. Here are the issues:

? You have a wide variety of hardware, some complies with IEEE specs, others don?t.
? Some have hi-gain antennas, others don?t
? Some have security enabled others don?t
? Some have pay as you go, others don?t
? Some have bandwidth throttling, so your 11 Mb connection is 20K
? Your laptop overshoots, much like a CB Radio overshouting your Radio

There are many variables that you have to take into account that are all different by situation. I get complaints that peoples wireless items work one day, and it don?t the next, not thinking that the environment changes outside and inside the house or business as well. Good example of this is the impact of sunspots.

Third is that the complaint is a slow computer or network. Folks do not realize that they are the reason that the computer or network becomes slow. The plain and simple answer is that useage cause?s wear and tear. What this means is that when you use a computer, especially on the internet, you have to purge all of the junk from the caches or the next time you come up it fractionally gets slower and slower. Since Microsoft has made their office products and just about everything else internet connected, you get a lot of trash downloaded automatically from the internet. If you don?t want to believe it, Install Zone Alarm on a system then brings up MSWord. Guaranteed it will scream about connecting to the internet. While Fred?s machine runs the report faster, Fred?s machine is different than yours. So ?just because? is not a valid complaint. Like a kid who wants a hand grenade ?just because? is not a valid argument to give it to him or her. Fred?s machine may have additional memory, a different processor, etc. All things being equal in hardware, they are never the same when it comes to PC?s.

The networking issues can be from a gazillion number of users on, viruses, spy ware, or some other gaggle of reasons such as downloading movies or MP3?s, etc. Add to that the possibility of inexperienced network administrators and paper technicians, and the problem only gets bigger. (This is why folks, I have said that companies want experience and they want a good clean reference when you are certified!!!!!)

Frequently required password changes are a fact of life, just like death and taxes; unfortunately, there is only one thing your users can do. Get over it. In the realm of ever increasing security (yes, this time it was a majority of users doing something and not a minority) and the lack of passwords, we now have to have complex passwords over 8 characters long. If you are stuck at six, there is a database out there that has them all in it and can hit your application in a manner of milliseconds with all of the passwords. And those users who whine about it are also the ones who whine about not being able to use their kid?s names or their dog fido?s birth date as a password. As I have said to a user about 10 minutes ago. Grow up. You?re not in Kansas any more!

Screen Saver Lockouts after 20 minutes is a gracious amount of time for a shifty eyed employee to get your credit card number you just entered into Amazon.com or ask for your password to be reset or change your eBay email and password. Need I say more? You don?t want a lockout, LOCK your door. Else, your complaint has been dually noted and given its proper weight.

Not being the administrator of your machine. Might I ask why do you need it? Show me proper business justification, and you may get power user access. But to get the access for the sake of that access isn?t going to be enough. If they are going to training, then the training session should have admin access, but we are not training you are here to work. If the laptop settings are working and have been tested everywhere except where you are going, then ITS NOT THE MACHINE! This has nothing to do with big brother, but to ensure the employee accesses the proper resources to do their job. They whine because they don?t have the tools to do the job, then they whine because they have the tools, but don?t have 110%. Just do your job and give us a reason to fire you.

Spam filtering. If I had a dime for every time a wad of spam came through, and the complaints that ensue. Pick the way you want it, don?t complain when it is enabled, and get over it. You either want the spam or you don?t. As Mad Max from John Boy and Billy would say ?Quit Ruinin? my life!?

Restricted Web Access. That is another subject that brings light to my heart. ?Why can?t I order from Victoria?s Secret?? My answer would be, the business justification for ordering from those sites has not been management approved. As far as eBay is concerned, I run an eBay thing out of my house. It never stops me from doing my job. I have eBay email my business and personal account the daily update. That is all I need. Unless your ordering stuff for the business, and I don?t need the Angel Bra for the company! I know I own it; Victoria?s Secret is a home activity.

Step number nine. Very simple. There is a Business Machine and a Personal Computer. Use the Personal Computer for home stuff; use the Business Computer for Business. If you use the Business Computer for Personal items, then the business should expect a payment from the person as a rental fee. Truthfully, if a person is out and a bout on business and they are technically working, then the business computer is going to be their only online connectivity unless they hit the library for their web based email. The restrictions for a managed email client for their personal email should be looked into. With some asset management software, you can enable the notebook to read the mail, and when they are in the office, it removes all traces that the person checked their email completely.

The number ten burns by Hyde as well. We can have an entire network of communications, have the technicians talk with the end users, and even solicit feedback and the tickets will be kept open because they believe that it is not fixed. When the problem is fixed, then the ticket gets closed, and the email goes out. The technician tells the end user that the ticket will be closed, and if they continue to have problems with that problem to contact them for up to a week. After a week, a new ticket needs to be cut. Large companies can not project an ETA when their own network goes down, so you have to have the technicians do their own scheduling as long as they have high utilization, in that they put in 8 hours a day. You?re not going to get blood from a rock, and the users need to understand that you?re not going to get instant gratification when you put a problem in. One of the gripes I have is the helpdesk holds on to tickets as they bounce it from queue to queue, not telling the end user squat, then when the ticket does get there, the technician is hit by a bus wanting to know why it took a month to get the ticket addressed. This is wrong. If a ticket is entered, the system should do all the automation as to where the ticket gets routed, and not rely on a mega queue then they, at their leisure gets to where it needs to go.

Number 11 says, we should teach users to be technicians. Think about how many people who know enough to be dangerous. Apply catastrophe here and a whining user, and you see that the IT department?s core is to fix the technology; the USER?s core is to use the technology. Plain and simple.

Have fun with this folks!

At last! Someone with enough courage.
Your post should be available as an article for download!

Now, I'm not an 'IT techie'. But I have been around computenmachins for well over 3 decades. As manager of a hyper-productive satellite office for a major insurance co, for example, I identified a business need, researched the options, and introduced the Compaq 'luggable' to amazed IT pros at a demo meeting I called at Head Office. When asked by a senior mainframe techie, with a smirk, if it was robust enough to do unsupported duty in an out-office, I swept it one-handed off the desk onto the floor. The shock in the room was palpable! I then picked it up, re-started it fine, and asked quietly if that was 'sufficient' - aznd that it would meet my IT needs.

The National Sales Director - my boss's boss's boss - grinned at this pre-planned 'perfect demonstration', and announced that if I wanted one, I'd have it by Friday....

The kit was rolled out, over six months, successfully to 73 offices. No techie support from Head Office - or even an inquiry as to how things were going - was ever made. Compaq supported the project 'locally'. This approach was raised at Main Board level when discussing resource allocation.....

Lesson? Those bringing in ?0000-business get first call on resources needed to bring in more - not the support tail.

Next, I've been working recently in a College. As others have said, there was an uncomfortable mix of old and very old hardware, 'cross-threaded' networking resources, and Tower of Babel application software. Oh,yes, and a bunch of supercilious, arrogant and unproductive young male 'support techies' whose principal skills seemed to be sneering at others and evading their worklists. '....Part of the problem, and not part of the solution...!' However, the chief techie and the IT manager were great guys, and we slightly-savvy users who'd worked in industry decided we needed/deserved an enhanced service, and 'took responsibility for our own fortunes'.

So, the Principal's .ppt addresses began to fail at mid-point, governors' funding meetings would suddenly be unable to access the Management Information System from the room they met in, networked printers would be unable to print out Agendas and Minutes for urgent management meetings, parents would withdraw their kids from Second Year in favour of competitor colleges citing unreliable access to IT resources in classrooms and labs. The Principal began to ask why, got some answers from us, and the team of young male wasters were, one-by-one, swiftly encouraged to move on.

"Where will we get useful replacements at the peanuts we can pay junior support techies?", he wailed. "They can get over twice as much working in the local IT retail barn." Now, one of our lecturers is a very-highly qualified lady engineer from Croatia. When she heard of the problem, she came up with a solution PDQ, and within 3 weeks we had two very bright young lady support techies from Croatia, keen as mustard, with a 'can-do" attitude that swept away just about all problems, including the curmudgeons. They were earning over three times what they'd earned back home, were picking up skills fast, and had the willing support and tolerance of just about all their 'users'...

Now we have four good 'uns, for the price of three bad 'uns, and a much more satisfied user base. Problem solved.

Lesson? To measure how important you are, individually, to an organisation, put your hand into a bucket of water, pull it out - then inspect the size of the hole that remains.....

Decide if you want to be part of the problem, or part of the solution.....