All Tech – No Logic Tech Support Humor and Rants – "Share our pain."

The Rush Job

Our story begins as most from Technical Support do, a diligent and hard working Technician working busily at his assigned tasks.

--- Incoming Chat Request ---

*Tech*: Hello, thank you for contacting XYZ Hosting! How can I help you today?

--- 3 minutes later ---

*Possible Client*: Hi

--- 3 seconds later ---

*Possible Client*: Hellooooo? Are you there?
*Tech*: Yes, I'm here, how can I help you?

--- 3 minutes later ---

*Possible Client*: I need to order a server and I need it setup within the next few hours and I need it with all sorts of non-standard customizations.

The tech thinks to himself "It's 9pm on a Saturday, yeah that's going to happen. Sales isn't even in the office."

*Tech*: I'm sorry but sales isn't in the office right now and they would need to be the ones to put something like this through.
*Not-So-Possible Client*: Why not? I need this server RIGHT AWAY! I'll miss my business opportunity if I can't get this within the next 4 hours!

"Ugghh" thinks the Tech. "Yeah, you want us to contact the magical faeries at the Data Center (via telepathy no doubt) and have them wave their magic wands to whip you up a server in a few hours on a weekend."

"If this is such a big business opportunity, why didn't you plan this out in advance? I'm sure that any reasonable investor would like to see a long term business plan including things like what will be needed to run said business."

*Tech*: Sales will be in, on Monday at 9am.
*Not-a-Possible-Client*: FINE! I'll go somewhere else since you won't help me!

--- Chat Has Ended ---

The Tech ponders the interaction and finds himself wondering what kind of a mental picture people have of a Data Center. A magical land where servers magically appear and never need maintenance.

A place where there is an army of server admins waiting to hear the words "chocks off!" and they are free to descend on a problem server like a pack of ravenous wolves.

All while the server in question has a magical multi-tier redundancy plan.

This of course, is all carefully choreographed while there is another group of trained experts whose only job is to sit and monitor their sites for downtime.

What a wonderful world these people must live in.

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1. Helping Me Help You: Part 2
2. Hippie Web Developers?
3. Is It That Hard To Read?
4. Helping Me Help You: Part 1
5. Another one from the Baffled Tech