Hello, Is This The Helpdesk?

Being the supervisor at the IT Helpdesk of a major organisation, we are at the receiving end of a lot of verbal abuse and threats especially when systems stop working or malfunction. What is frightening is that over the years, my team and I have become immune to it. While I am sure my engineers do feel hurt about not being appreciated for the hard work that they put in to keep mission-critical systems up and running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, they have now put this lack of appreciation down to "That's Life".

Computers fail. That is a fact of life. If they all functioned well with no downtime at all, we would not need highly-qualified engineers or even a Helpdesk. And by calling a Helpdesk and yelling at the engineer who is trying to help, you are not going to get your system up and running any faster. But somehow, the IT illiterates here seem to think that by asserting their "authority" at the engineer, the problem is going to get fixed faster. Causing stress only makes things worse.

Engineers are like doctors. Although I don't like to equate the two, we essentially cure sick computers. When ill, do we expect to recover immediately after walking out of the doctor's office? Strangely, people assume IT Helpdesk staff are miracle workers and expect an immediate solution. While some problems can be fixed with a click of a mouse or a push of a button, some problems need further analysis and troubleshooting. Bottom line? People want the Helpdesk to perform miracles but don't accord the appropriate respect. No need to kneel or bow. Just a kind word occassionally would be nice.

What's the reason for this post? Well, a call from one of our home users. You see, we have a system which allows for our users to work from home by connecting back to our company's network via the Internet. The conversation between the user and my engineer went a little like this.....

Engineer : Good evening, this is the Helpdesk.
User : After you guys installed the latest version of software for remote access a few weeks ago, I now cannot connect back to the office network!
Engineer : Since we upgraded your software, have you successfully connected?
User : Yes, I did a few times. But today, its not working. I am very fedup. I am going to throw this laptop away.

In case you were wondering, the laptop is provided by and the property of the company.

Engineer : Let me see how I can help. How are you accessing back to our network? By dial-up or broadband?
User : Broadband.
Engineer : Ok, are you connected directly to your broadband modem or are you using wireless network?
User : Wireless! This is very frustrating and I need to get my work done!
Engineer : Ok, can you get onto the Internet before you connect securely to our network?
User : I told you already!! Nothing works!!
Engineer : Alright, let's go step by step. First, let's reboot your laptop and start from the beginning.
User : I'VE ALREADY DONE THAT!!
Engineer : Is the wireless indicator on your laptop on? The third green LED from the left just above your keyboard.
User : YES!!
Engineer : Ok, good. Can you see the wireless router's broadcast?
User : NO!!!
Engineer : Seems like a problem with your wireless router. Ok, I will need you to turn it off, wait for a few seconds and then turn it back on again.
User : I can't do that.
Engineer : If you're not sure how to do it, just find the power socket, unplug it and then plug it back in.
User : I can't. The router is in my neighbour's house.
Engineer : I beg your pardon?
User : I don't want to pay for broadband access so I am tapping off my neighbour's broadband wirelessly. *illegally is more like it!*
Engineer : In that case, I am sorry but we are unable to assist you.
User : Why not?!?! AREN'T YOU THE HELPDESK?!?!

*sigh*