Silly grad student, computers are for smart people

Dear readers,

This post is going to be one of the first IT posts that I am going to write. So, for this inaugural IT post, I am going to pick on a grad student that came in recently. First, however, let me state that I am a grad student, so I feel that I am well qualified to pick on this particular person.

The Witch

Monday began well and good, no abnormal viruses or any sort of weird computer incidents...that is, until lunchtime rolled around.  As usual, we got a rush of people right around lunch time coming in for help with their computers.  The way that our system works, people fill out a digital form at what we call a "ticket station" that filters support requests between the actual tech support group, and our other team that handles other types of requests.  After people fill out their "ticket," there is a space where they can sit and wait until they are called.

Now, this one woman came in for support with her unit and filled out a ticket, yet refused to sit down.  At first, it was ok.  She stood at the front of the seating area.  However, it became annoying when she began shifting her weight, back and forth.  She began huffing and rolling her eyes, to boot.  So I leaned over to a tech who wasn't with a customer and asked her to see what the woman needed, as the rest of us were with customers and the woman's ticket hadn't appeared on our queue.  The tech asked the woman what she needed, and directed the woman to take a seat until her ticket came up in our queue.

"I've been here many times before!" Shouted the woman.  "I know how this works!  I don't want to sit down!  I feel like I'm in Kindergarten!"

With all of our techs taken aback, we backed off, letting the woman stew while we continued to help customers.  Once the woman's ticket came up and she was called from where she was standing, she continued to act horribly to the tech that called her over.  She berated, yelled, and was overly sarcastic to the tech, without the tech, or our department, having done anything to earn her ire, as her computer was brand new in the system.

She returned yesterday, after she received an email that we would have to reformat her unit.

"I was told I wouldn't have to sign any more paperwork!" She screamed at a different tech, who was again, wholly undeserving of her tirade.  About that time, I left for class, annoyed that she would treat someone like that.

Over the course of the time she was with our techs, it became clear that she believed she was superior to what she thought were just undergraduate students.  Admittedly, grad students have a hard time respecting undergrads, but this was just too much.  How could she treat someone like dirt?  If she was so smart, I wonder why she couldn't remedy the issue?

The Lesson

Folks, let this be a lesson to you:  Don't mess with IT people.  We are humans, too.  We have lives, kids, hopes, and dreams, much like the rest of the world that isn't computer savvy.  We aren't here to be carpets to be walked all over.  We aren't obligated to fix your computer.  Also, keep in mind that it is worth your time to have a healthy amount of respect for IT people--we can mess your computer up to a point that there could be irreparable damage.  So remember, instead of yelling at us because you watch too much porn and it destroys your hard drive, try being civil...and maybe we won't laugh at you.