When Customers/Clients/Colleagues Say/Do Stupid Things

[Orang Utan]

There probably should be a thread for this, so now there is.
Today, a customer was unhappy with us because we couldn't print out a YouTube video for them.
What have people you work with done or said that has astounded you with its ignorance or stupidity?

 

[neonwilderness]

What have people you work with done or said that has astounded you with its ignorance or stupidity?

With some colleagues it's almost everything that they do or say

 

[Throbbing Angel]

With some colleagues it's almost everything that they do or say

This some (most?) days.

• Having to explain the same thing over and over again to some staff [I can tell you again but I can't fucking understand it for you]
• People, who have worked at the place for decades, being unable to do the simplest of tasks
• General unreasonableness - an unwillingness to accept that human error occasionally happens and not accepting an apology for that

 

[Guineveretoo]

There probably should be a thread for this, so now there is.
Today, a customer was unhappy with us because we could print out a YouTube video for them.
What have people you work with done or said that has astounded you with its ignorance or stupidity?

I am thinking there is a typo here...

 

[FridgeMagnet]

I'm sure anyone who has worked in any technical capacity with computers has a million of these. I certainly do.

For general reference, here's what to include if you make a bug report or complain about a system not working:

1. "this is what I am trying to achieve in general" (e.g. publish an article)
2. "here are the actual steps that I took in detail" (e.g. I went to page X and clicked button Y - not "I tried to publish the article")
3. "this is what I expected to happen"
4. "this is what actually happened"

In contrast, "the site is down" is not a valid issue report unless the site is actually down which it never is. Never try to use words when you don't know what they mean.

eta: please never worry about sounding like an idiot in technical support queries. The absolute best issues that get raised are ones where it's clear what the person wanted to do, what they did, and where it went wrong, and I can just reply with "yeah you need to tick that box first" or "actually that's the wrong section, what you need to do is go to menu option X and do Y". This stuff can be confusing for anyone and often I have to remind myself how it works in the first place. I don't think "christ what an idiot" I think "if only everyone could raise issues like this". Also, if something that should be quite simple isn't working, it is often a bug that simply nobody has noticed before (or reported) rather than you doing something wrong.

 

[Orang Utan]

I am thinking there is a typo here...

Not any more!

 

[friedaweed]

On Tersday I pulled a colleague about an email they had sent out which basically jumped the gun on a potential outcome that I had indicated in an earlier email that might happen and if it did they could trigger a response but only if it actually happened. Said colleague triggered the response and set the wheels in motion for something that couldn't happen until the potential forecasted outcome had actually happened. This was a serious problem because the thingy that needed to happen hadn't happened.

In their shirty response to me pointing out that they had dropped a bollock as a result of misreading my suggestion that something might happen and in turn interpreting that it had happened they produced their email as evidence that it had actually happened in an attempt to prove me wrong.

"Look it says here that it's happened"
"That's your email which you've sent because you've misinterpreted the original email and jumped the gun"
"No it's there in black and white. It's happened"

My response was. "I'll give you half an hour to figure out your misunderstanding here before I email everyone to hold fire and by which you'll end up feeling like a cock".

2 minutes later I got a "Daftkuntz would like to recall their earlier email" in my inbox and a kitkat on my desk. I respected that kitkat but I couldn't help sniggering at my beloved colleague.

2 hours later the forecasted outcome happened and we were all hunky dory apart from the fact that Daftkuntz had gone home and missed his chance to steal the glory.

It pays to work late every now and then.


Is this the sort of thing you're thinking of Orang Utan

 

[andysays]

Apparently even the best of us aren't immune from doing stupid things occasionally...

 

[blairsh]

I'm those persons, everyday, at least once

 

[Jon-of-arc]

Edit

 

[friedaweed]

Apparently even the best of us aren't immune from doing stupid things occasionally...

I do it all the time when I'm stressed. I've got someone at work who gives me her evil eye though and then I real it in

 

[Jon-of-arc]

Edit

 

[Orang Utan]

I'm those persons, everyday, at least once

me too!

 

[blairsh]

me too!

Putvyer shades on

 

[weltweit]

My memory isn't what it used to be.

One of our lot was out, I asked a colleague where they were, who responded, you were told this weltweit honestly you can't remember a thing?

I was a bit narked at this because 1) I really didn't recall being told in fact I was almost certain I was not told 2) however I know my memory isn't great so I decided to leave it there rather than protest strongly that I was in fact not told, in case I had been!

 

[Saul Goodman]

I went into a library today, and asked for a screenshot to be printed from a YouTube video. The idiot looked at me like I was asking for the whole video to be printed

 

[smmudge]

Once someone in our office shat in a bin.

The Operations Director held a series of meetings to tell everyone they shouldn't shit in bins.

 

[friedaweed]

I went into a library today, and asked for a screenshot to be printed from a YouTube video. The idiot looked at me like I was asking for the whole video to be printed

PMSL

 

[Orang Utan]

I went into a library today, and asked for a screenshot to be printed from a YouTube video. The idiot looked at me like I was asking for the whole video to be printed

That's not what was asked for though. They thought it would print everything that was said in the video

 

[Saul Goodman]

That's not what was asked for though. They thought it would print everything that was said in the video

Yes, of course they did

 

[Orang Utan]

Yes, of course they did

go piss somewhere else, boozemoth

 

[Saul Goodman]

boozemoth

I do love how you spontaneously become the very person you hate. You poor, poor tormented soul

 

[Orang Utan]

Just getting fed up of your stink
(sober, BTW)

 

[Saul Goodman]

Just getting fed up of your stink
(sober, BTW)

You mean you couldn't handle that you didn't understand what the customer wanted, and now you're taking out your stupidity on me? I guess you're a product of the self-esteem movement.

Anyway, carry on.

 

[Orang Utan]

No, you chose to misunderstand what I said just to disrupt out of pissy malice.

 

[Saul Goodman]

No, you chose to misunderstand what I said just to disrupt out of pissy malice.

No, I made a joke, because jokes aren't banned yet, and you spat your dummy out, like a slapped-arse little child, but I've come to expect that from you.

Edit: not had a drink for months, but thanks anyway.

 

[Orang Utan]

Make better jokes

 

[Saul Goodman]

Make better jokes

Make more of an effort not to be such a slapped-arse baby.

 

[Puddy_Tat]

 

[Epona]

I'm a little concerned about the apparent obsession with giving physical punishment to infants tbh...