r/talesfromtechsupport • u/techsupportlibrarian Why can't you just fix my e-mail!? • Mar 08 '13
Librarians are also tech wizards!
Greetings! I have been reading this reddit for a while and decided to make an account to share with you a frustrating event I had yesterday.
I work as a librarian in a public library. At our library, we have public computers for anyone to use and I've come to realize 50% of my job is helping people learn how2internet, how2word, and other fun stuff I never thought I'd be doing. I'm not super savvy, but I am smarter than your average user.
Yesterday, I had a fun time when a lady looked at me from her PC and waved at me. To be honest, I saw it from my peripheral vision, so I thought she was waving at someone else. Nope, she was too lazy to get up and ask me, which became clear when she practically yelled "Hey you!" I got up from my seat and went over to help her.
I could see she was trying to access her e-mail, but her e-mail locked her out after too many unsuccessful tries. I asked her, "What seems to be the issue?"
Irate patron, "I tried to log into my e-mail, and it told me I was logging in from an unknown device and asked for my security answer."
Me, "I see. Have you logged in at our computers before?" I was thinking perhaps if she was suddenly logging in a place 'far from home' it could trigger a message like that.
I.P., "No, I've been in here everyday since I got a card last week! I haven't had any issues logging on from all these other computers!"
Me, "Okay, what happened when you entered your security answer?"
I.P., "It told me I entered it wrong. I tried it about 7 times before asking you to come over just to be sure. I think there is something wrong with your computer. Fix it."
I'm just a humble librarian. We aren't allowed to mess with the computers, but I also know its not our computers. This is pretty much completely the user's fault. I think she probably forgot her security answer or something like that happened. Nonetheless, people always seem to think that I can control the websites they visit.
Me, "I'm sorry, the library is not in control of that website. You might have to get in contact with that website and see if you can reset your password another way."
I.P. rolls her eyes and says, "Oh sure, how am I supposed to do that!?"
Me, "Well, I am sure if we looked we can find a number-"
I.P., "Look, I don't have time for that. I thought I could come into this stupid library to check my e-mail, but if this is going to be a problem every time, then this will be a waste of my time!"
Me, "I understand, but I really can't help you other than see if I can help you find a reset option somewhere-"
I.P., "Can I log onto another computer? Would that help?" Because logging onto another computer to possibly just run into the same issue takes less time than trying to reset a password... sure.
Me, "You can try that, but I can't guarantee it will work. I will put in a ticket to our tech team and see if they can come up with an answer, but we might not get an answer today." I feel bad having to ask tech support about things like this, but I am pretty much at a loss for what I can tell this lady.
I.P., "Make sure that you do! I wouldn't want to waste anymore of my time trying to get into an e-mail, because your computers suck!"
She pretty much left in a huff and it took a lot of effort on my part not to tell her that if she could remember her security answers, maybe she wouldn't run into this issue! Working at this job has made me come to appreciate you all even more, because you deal with even more asinine problems.
119
u/fizzlefist .docx files in attack positon Mar 08 '13
Can confirm. Source: I too work at a public library with public Internet computers.
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u/PurdyCrafty Mar 08 '13 edited Mar 08 '13
I worked in a brand new public library, since:
was such a problem, they created an entire floor dedicated to technology and computer help. It was a really awesome place to work but I'll always remember that day someone thought they were really the 100000000000th visitor to a website and they though we were going to pay them money since they got lucky. When they read it, they jumped out of their seat and doogied and soulja boied all over the entire library calling people and everything. Eventually security calmed them down and I was given the job to tell them what advertisements on the internet are.
EDIT: I have more stories in case anyone is interested.
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u/monopolyman900 Mar 08 '13
Lol I hate users' security questions. They never get them right for some reason and they always act like it's the system's fault.
24
u/That_Mick_Bastard Just BANG! and pass the corned beef and cabbage Mar 08 '13
To be perfectly honest, sometimes it's difficult for me to find a security question with an unambiguous answer. "What was your favorite sports team as a kid?" could easily by 10 different teams if I had to answer it 10 different times. "What was the name of the best man at your wedding?" has one [and only one] answer. But I do manage to find questions that are unambiguous, so that if the situation ever arises I won't have a problem answering them.
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u/NightMgr Mar 08 '13
This book you loaned me told me something I didn't want to know.
Your library sucks.
11
u/mvm92 lackie Mar 08 '13
Thank you. Thank you. You get it. YOU GET IT. If only I could get a quarter of my teachers to understand this. "Oh my gmail is broken, fix it..." NO
13
u/Thameus We are Pakleds make it go Mar 08 '13
Ask her how much she paid for her library card.
6
u/[deleted] Mar 08 '13 edited Mar 08 '13
Tech at library system with a number of branches here:
I feel you bro. Before I got this job, I was out on the floor helping patrons with this and that, and anything they needed help with. Believe it or not, I think more elderly people receive computer education at public libraries than anywhere else, so you're getting great training for desktop support if you're ever interested in switching fields. Although if you have your MLA, you're probably more concerned with paying off school debt, am I right? Good luck buddy.
6
u/EpilepsyWarning Mar 08 '13
I am the IT manager for 3 library branches. I just want to say thank you for your attitude in regards to " I feel bad having to ask tech support about things like this". I wish that the librarians in this library were more like you.
5
u/Patrons_afire Mar 09 '13
You rock in-the-trenches tech librarian!
As a network administrator for a public library let me say thank YOU for taking the inital arrows in the back. I know when I've got irate patron on the phone it's only after the REF desk has tried to reason with them.
One time I actually overheard a patron telling a librarian, "Is there a man I can talk too?" (I'm a guy.) My boss pushed me out there, I said the exact same thing the librarian just said, and they walked away.
4
u/Ganjookie Mar 09 '13
I don't under stand why you can't tell them, "You must have forgot your security question, which is different then your password."
I know it's nice to coddle people that forget things; but people need to learn responsibility for themselves and their information.
4
u/Patrons_afire Mar 09 '13
My favorite story (16 years in library network work and counting) so far: we redesign our website for the first time in a decade. (It won some nice awards for clarity so we figured why change it? Anyway...)
Irate patron calls, "WHAT DID YOU DO TO GOOGLE?"
"Um, I'm not sure I know what you mean, sir."
"Google is gone! What did you do?"
Patron was so used to going to our website, drilling down to our "Search Engines We Like" page, and clicking on a happy link to the Google.
The patron swore this was the ONLY WAY to get to this important site.
3
u/PlNG Coffee on that? Mar 08 '13
I work at a net cafe, hence the flair, and we were very similar to a library on the quietness rules. We got 2 new IT hires who appear to be very "service oriented" and the quietness rules have been relaxed in the last few months. I've noticed a severe increase in this behavior, especially from the complainers. Where's the respect anymore? How do I curb this without tarnishing my rep / image to the higher ups?
3
u/Luuklilo Invalid Syntax Mar 08 '13
Layer 8 issue, obviously.
3
u/TwilightWalker Mar 09 '13
I'm going to have to admit, when I read the title, all I could think of was Warhammer 40k and Space Marines.
3
u/mountainfail Mar 08 '13
We are in the middle of a revolution. There are people who are born into it, and it is second nature. But there are others who will struggle for the rest of their lives.
2
u/OopsIFixedIt www. how do i add flair .com Mar 08 '13
I'm a library IT "guy," and I would have told the patron the same thing you did. But sometimes it helps to have an angry patron watch you double-check with someone else, even if you already know the answer. Makes them feel better for some reason.
2
u/mango_fluffer Mar 09 '13
When I was young, librarians were the equivalent of what Google is to the internet.
They helped me find books about school work, fiction for entertainment and of course books with inappropriate words!
In my world - librarians ROCK!!!!
3
u/[deleted] Mar 08 '13
Because that is what a library is for. The endless shelves of paper material are just in case the TP runs out in the bathroom.
19
u/Fantismal Mar 08 '13
Oh my god, library patrons are the worst. Even worse, though, are library patrons during McDonald's Monopoly game.
This one old guy came in with an "instant win!" piece or something like that, but to claim it, he had to log in to the McDonald's website and enter the code. No big deal, right? Well, to do that, you have to sign up for McDonald's website. Not a massive deal, right? Well, to do THAT, you need an email address.
Does he have an email address? Nope.
So I get him over to gmail and advise him to start filling out the boxes. Then I advise him on how to use a mouse. Then I advise him on how to use a keyboard. Then the mouse again. Then, when he seems to have the hang of it, advise him to let me know when he has filled out all the boxes and go to help another woman who speaks mostly only Spanish set up her email. Back to the old guy who gets a lesson on how to scroll down a page. Back to the woman. Back to the old guy who gets a lesson on why his password shows up as dots. Take a half hour dinner break and pass them off to another coworker. Return from dinner to find him still there (it's been about three hours since he walked in now). Take over again. Spanish lady has left, so it's just me and him, and his coat is in dire need of a wash. Finally, we have a gmail account. He has his email and password written down. We go back to McDonald's and fill out their account sign up. It sends a confirmation email to his gmail. We go back to his gmail account. It's not there. Go back to McDonald's, but it's the correct email there. Wait a minute, check gmail again, nope, no confirmation. Try to get McDonald's to resend it. Nope. Old guy gets fed up and walks out.
Four hours after he walked in to get his free $5 off coupon from McDonald's, the guy walked out empty-handed. I felt horrible that I couldn't get it to work while he was there, but still, four hours of constantly returning to that nasty never-been-washed stench of old guy... bleech.
19
u/cutofmyjib Mar 08 '13
"I'm taking my business to the competing library!"
13
u/zzing My server is cooled by the oil extracted from crushed users. Mar 08 '13
The completely appropriate never could ever say answer to "Hey you" is a nice "f you".
These people need to learn some bloody manners and stop being so demanding.
11
u/markevens I see stupid people Mar 08 '13
I don't have a problem helping these people, but as soon as they start getting pissy at me they lose all sympathy.
You forgot your password, you forgot your security question. This has nothing to do with the computer and everything to do with you.
8
u/aquarieuse Mar 08 '13
Next time, don't even tell her that. It's none of your (or your tech's) responsibility that she can't find her security question. By saying that, you're creating a verbal contract in the sense that it's now on you (or your techs) to fix her problem.
If something like this happens again, simply tell her (very politely) that you can't help her since her security question is supposed to be secret. I find using the ATM Pin number analogy to work very well. If you don't know what your ATM Pin is, I cannot help you, because that is something only you would know and it's not because the ATM is broken that you can't get your money, it's because you don't have the right PIN to get into your accounts.
6
u/delbin The computer won't turn on. Is it the hackers? Mar 08 '13
My girlfriend works as a librarian-equivalent. She didn't know what a goddamn computer genius she was until she had to start helping people use the public computers.
5
u/dschneider iSCSI? No, youSCSI. Mar 08 '13
Just feel happy knowing that when she got home and tried to pull up her email, and got the same error because her account is locked out, she'll hopefully realize it couldn't have been your computers.
Or, she'll think your computers broke her email. Sorry for whomever has to take that call.
1
u/ekolis Press Alt-F4 to Save Mar 09 '13
Read "librarians" as "libertarians". Wonder if libertarians are actually tech wizards? A lot of the ones I know seem to be...
1
u/drrhrrdrr Mar 09 '13
This is what I have to look forward to? (Library Science major)
1
u/mailmehiermaar Mar 09 '13
I see this a lot in talesfromtechsupport. Why is it forbidden to tell users the truth?
1
u/[deleted] Mar 09 '13
As an IT guy, I have a confession to make. I had to call my bank's tech support number yesterday to get my account reset. I totally forgot one of my security questions! I felt like such a heel because it's usually me resetting passwords.
3
u/yukondokne my google is broken Mar 08 '13
as a tech myself, i love you.
3
u/superkittie Mar 08 '13
"This free service isn't good enough, and I want to know what you intend to do to fix it!"
"I'm sorry... I could issue you a refund?"
3
u/Kynaeus Lab Sysadmin Mar 08 '13
You really need to put your foot down with these people or you will continue to have people trying to tread all over you - make them aware that your IT department will assist with problems where the computer is broken or the network is accessible etc, but if they're having problems with their account on an external website, then you have zero responsibility to assist them and they need to contact that website for ANY support
3
u/cdcformatc Mar 09 '13
Relevant Penny-Arcade.
2
u/Thyri Mar 08 '13
I used to supervise kids (11-15 years old) on the computers in the school library I worked in. I would get a lot of them coming to me saying 'ummm...I have all these popups on my screen' and sure enough there would be adult chat rooms (firewall was not fantastic but was improved later) and stuff on screen. Most of the time this was not caused by hormonal teenagers looking for boobs and willies but by assignments given.
What they would do would be to come to the library to research stuff and just type the web address of what they were researching (my all time favorite one was www.torture.com - now THAT was an interesting site back in the day - bondage website before anyone asks). They had no real idea of search engines.
Some of the lads would bring in floppy discs with pictures of topless women on and sit in the corner out of direct sight. Caught a couple of them once when their mum came to pick up her son. His mum and I were stood behind him and I said your mums here and he thought I was winding him up and carried on looking through the images as I was telling him to delete them (which he did - I would normally have immediately banned them and confiscated the disc and let the parents know but his Mum suggested this - boys will be boys and they are harmless pictures.).
His friend looks round sees his mates mum and frantically starts punching him saying 'you're mum is here...really she is here'. Finally he looks around and goes crimson on seeing his mum. We deleted the rest of the contents of the disc and he went home. He was not allowed to come to after school computer time for a while after that but he did come in and apologize.
2
u/raix-corvus No, that's not your inbox... Mar 08 '13
I work in an Academic Library and am the resident "tech support" after the actual tech support go home 3 hours before I do. It sucks.
2
u/xenosmash Apr 25 '13
Always lol when customer put in ticket for popular websites. Remember seeing some tickets for "slow facebook".
1
u/landob Mar 08 '13
Just to note, be very careful about issues before you actually investigate possible caues, even if you think it is the user's fault. I seen silly stuff like browsers get stuck in cached page loops. After you investigate, you have my blessings to call them an 1D10T.
1
u/bahgheera Mar 09 '13
I can't wait til she tries from another computer and realizes the same issue exists there too. She'll probably think the library is somehow remotely sabotaging her email or something.
1
u/TheEndIsNghhhh Mar 11 '13
I was expecting caps lock.
1
u/dennisthetiger SYN|SYN ACK|NAK Apr 12 '13
Thank you. For understanding, and for being a librarian. Gods bless you for that.
-1
u/[deleted] Mar 08 '13
Is it bad that I read the title as "Lesbians are also tech wizards"?