Ok,let's face it, there is a lot of challenging IT "professionals" out there....So let's hear about the funniest encounter with one.

During a meeting with the second in command of IT at a VERY large corporation, I inquired about network communication protocols and topology.

"I think it's IPS/SPS on a toking ring."

I immediately envisioned a band of hippies in a drum circle.

telephonic support...


What operating system is your server running on?

I dont know.

My favorite was when I asked someone to do a copy and paste of some text and they didn't know how to.

I knew right then and there that I would have to drive from here on out with this person...

A tech for a company that handles some of our very remote accounts, where we have no office, called me with a no printing issue. I asked him the basic question, can you ping the printer. His response "How do you do that?" At that point I said he should probably incomplete the call for their IT Tech. His response was classic. "I am the IT Tech!" I don't think he appreciated my response, "Then I think you need to take a few basic courses then call me back," then hung up on him.

How did that help your remote account get back up and running?

It wasn't one of our accounts he was working on. He was just using us for free help. Didn't make much sense since they are an authorized dealer with access to all KMA resources. As far as I have been able to ascertain this forced him into learning, if not IT, at least connectivity. These "gentlemen" had access to all resources but didn't want to pay for a high speed connection so they had me download manuals and burn them to disk and snail mail them. They have been forced, kicking and screaming, into the present.

Knowing this customer, I had set up the laptop and had run NetScan. Sure enough, the address that he wanted assigned was already in use on another laptop on the network.

When I pointed out that the address was already in use, he said that it couldn't possibly be. (Ever heard of ping?)

Not: "I'll check" or "It shouldn't be" or "Let's choose a different one". Just denial.

...because the sales person didn't give a site survey at the day of installation. This is a Law Office and me dealing with the IT guy.

Me: So what are we doing here
Customer: You know, print, scan
Me: Do you have a server?
Customer: Yeah
Me: On site?
Customer: Yeah
Me: What OS version
Customer: XP Home
Me: uh huh, how many clients
Customer: A couple of hundred
Me: uh huh, how do you want to scan? Email, SMB, FTP?
Customer: What's SMB?

In the end it was 4 Lawyers and a Secretary. Peer to Peer via a comcast modem and a hub. 3 Win 7's and 2 XP boxes, scanner file utility because they were using hotmail. The Law Office was paying this dunder head $500/month to monitor their "network". XP Pro can be used in a peer to peer as a 'server' but this wasn't even being done.

ME - to customer
who is your I.T. - Computer Person
customer - You are
me no I am the copier printer guy
customer yeah but you know more then the guy we use?
Me - What?

Customer can you look at the HP in jet it will not print
Me - I do not work on inkjets
customer well our I.T. guy worked on it for three hours could not get it to work and over and over the last three months and it works for a while and then stops

OK 5 min later
well it is fixed the address was on auto-dynamic
and not the same address in the computers
put on static and back to the last address in the computers.

YEP he kept changing the computer driver address to what ever new address was in the printer.

(seems to be a I.T. mistake not realizing printers got to have static address.)

--
funny thing the I.T. guy had a school few years ago teaching I.T. -- I will add his knowledge was in applications not really networks or OS



the PS the customer purchased a new machine and on service contract too MP201 Ricoh at $.022 per page.

LIFE IS GOOD

About 3-4 years ago I needed help with IPP ... so I called the hot line... yes the Kyocera hotline.
The person that picked up was not one of the regulars guys which are usually pretty good and helpfull... the guy answered my question with another question: Ai Pee Pee ?
I immediately hang up, called back and got another tech which gave me the info I needed.

I told the story to one of my friends and fellow tech a while back; whenever he asks me a technical question and I'm clueless I answer him back: Ai Pee Pee? It's funny everytime