I have a nephew who….
Ok guys and girls in the tech field the time has come to be big boys and girls and stop picking on the newbie’s to the biz. Every day another gamer decides to enter the wonderful world of tech support and it breaks my heart to say we (as an IT community) tromp their hopes and dreams by using terms like newbie and lamer instead of embracing them into the fold.
The other day Collin got a call from one of his clients. This client has been with me for over 15 years. The client lives in another state and just so happens to be my sister and brother in-law. They have a network of 10 computers or so, a web site, and there are a couple of custom apps they use that Collin and I have created. Anyway, they had a printer die (like they all do in time). They called a local computer store and ordered a replacement, asking the store to send out a tech to install the printer on the network. The tech arrived and after looking at the job asked if he could make some changes to the network configuration. He was politely told that a call would need to be placed to the 15 year old nephew first to approve the changes. The tech then proceeded to say, “Everyone has a nephew who thinks he is a computer expert!” The tech was surprised to find the owners unwilling to allow him to make changes to the network or use his company again. What a maroon!
Long distance tech support is difficult at best and working with a local company for hardware and network support can be a life saver. Embrace the nephews out there and be ready to assist where you can. It is always been my policy to never criticize anyone’s work. I try to teach and assist the nephews out there to understand the choices they have and the consequences of the choices they make. The result has always been a happy client, an encouraged geek, and personal satisfaction for me, and yes, I make a few bucks too.