How forthright should I be?
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Is off course the correct answer. Unfortunately I work for a company that provides IT and financial services to a group of companies, those companies are our customers. There is no proper cross charging and accountability for the work we do for them. Something I have been arguing for almost since the day I joined. That means they do no investigative work of their own, nor do they ever question the providers of software that they have resourced elsewhere, but just throw every question straight at us. If they were properly charged for stupid or irrelevant support calls, some poor sod was chasing this all over the place last night looking for a solution to a problem that it was impossible for him to find, then this sort of thing might ease off a bit. I worked in a similar sort of business model at my last place, and they did bring in those charges. Nothing focusses the mind like a hit to the budget.
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ChrisElston wrote:
Is off course the correct answer.
What a delightfully appropriate typo. It's the kind of "error" I'd have made on purpose.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again. So I check through everything, from the start to the very end of the process where we pass the data into their system, at which point it is nothing further to do with us. Surprise, surprise all of that works exactly as it should. My documented fix is "Check your own elephanting stuff before you start chucking blame at us". Do you think that covers it, or is more needed?
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
Look at the precise root cause for the problem, work out a plan on how to ensure that your software can never get caught by it, then start talking about how much this non-standard feature will cost them.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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ChrisElston wrote:
Is off course the correct answer.
What a delightfully appropriate typo. It's the kind of "error" I'd have made on purpose.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
Bugger, was eating my breakfast and typing at the same time. A bowl of 2 day old stew with fresh bread so concentrating far more on the food than the typing.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again. So I check through everything, from the start to the very end of the process where we pass the data into their system, at which point it is nothing further to do with us. Surprise, surprise all of that works exactly as it should. My documented fix is "Check your own elephanting stuff before you start chucking blame at us". Do you think that covers it, or is more needed?
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
with until 16:30 this afternoon, indicate where the problem might be on their side and whish them a "good weekend". Then turn on your out-of-office :-D
V.
(MQOTD Rules ) -
Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again. So I check through everything, from the start to the very end of the process where we pass the data into their system, at which point it is nothing further to do with us. Surprise, surprise all of that works exactly as it should. My documented fix is "Check your own elephanting stuff before you start chucking blame at us". Do you think that covers it, or is more needed?
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
ChrisElston wrote:
Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again.
I hate to say it, but they have a point. Your software has allowed them to be massive idiots. How you resolve this really depends on what your companies support model is. If you have an ongoing maintenance agreement, then the anti-idiot-filter should be factored in as a potential future upgrade. In the short term, you can always issue a workaround guidance for them basically telling them not to allow idiots to enter data (not the exact wording of course, but you get the idea).
*pre-emptive celebratory nipple tassle jiggle* - Sean Ewington
"Mind bleach! Send me mind bleach!" - Nagy Vilmos
CodeStash - Online Snippet Management | My blog | MoXAML PowerToys | Mole 2010 - debugging made easier
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Is off course the correct answer. Unfortunately I work for a company that provides IT and financial services to a group of companies, those companies are our customers. There is no proper cross charging and accountability for the work we do for them. Something I have been arguing for almost since the day I joined. That means they do no investigative work of their own, nor do they ever question the providers of software that they have resourced elsewhere, but just throw every question straight at us. If they were properly charged for stupid or irrelevant support calls, some poor sod was chasing this all over the place last night looking for a solution to a problem that it was impossible for him to find, then this sort of thing might ease off a bit. I worked in a similar sort of business model at my last place, and they did bring in those charges. Nothing focusses the mind like a hit to the budget.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
Hi Chris, Of course I empathize with your situation, particularly if you are a stock-holder in your company. To me, the information you provide in this, second, message really puts your first post in an "entirely different light:" here, imho, you describe the outcome of a deep, structural, managerial problem that's either a result of on-going incompetence, or neglect over time, leading, willy-nilly, to the current mess. However, I think the question should be asked: is the company making somebody(ies) a lot of money ? Is it highly profitable ? Do the owners, or senior managers, really give a damn how much garbage piles up at the front-lines ? Are the clients sticking with your company, or dropping your services or products ? Is the rate of growth (new clients) strong ? In general, I would always use the most polite, and respectful language, in written communication, with any customer or client, simply because e-mail messages "stick around," and can end up coming back to haunt you (as in litigation, or your ex-boss refusing to give you a reference if you leave). What's keeping you in this role, in this company: the usual: the pay's good; you depend on it; you've got financial responsibilities, family to support, kids to send to school, etc. ? Have you got a sense of internal freedom that you could quit, and go on to something more satisfactory, given what the job-market opportunities are like, where you are ? in any case, good luck, Bill
~ Confused by Windows 8 ? This may help: [^] !
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Hi Chris, Of course I empathize with your situation, particularly if you are a stock-holder in your company. To me, the information you provide in this, second, message really puts your first post in an "entirely different light:" here, imho, you describe the outcome of a deep, structural, managerial problem that's either a result of on-going incompetence, or neglect over time, leading, willy-nilly, to the current mess. However, I think the question should be asked: is the company making somebody(ies) a lot of money ? Is it highly profitable ? Do the owners, or senior managers, really give a damn how much garbage piles up at the front-lines ? Are the clients sticking with your company, or dropping your services or products ? Is the rate of growth (new clients) strong ? In general, I would always use the most polite, and respectful language, in written communication, with any customer or client, simply because e-mail messages "stick around," and can end up coming back to haunt you (as in litigation, or your ex-boss refusing to give you a reference if you leave). What's keeping you in this role, in this company: the usual: the pay's good; you depend on it; you've got financial responsibilities, family to support, kids to send to school, etc. ? Have you got a sense of internal freedom that you could quit, and go on to something more satisfactory, given what the job-market opportunities are like, where you are ? in any case, good luck, Bill
~ Confused by Windows 8 ? This may help: [^] !
I quite like my job, it's all the people I have to work with who annoy me :) The company I work for is largely based around a utility company, and companies providing services to it, or related services to other industries. Companies like this are large and slow moving, and lots of people have worked here doing very little for a long, long time. It is very frustrating, but there is a lot of reward and interest too. Of course those good bits make less entertaining posts on somewhere like here.
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again. So I check through everything, from the start to the very end of the process where we pass the data into their system, at which point it is nothing further to do with us. Surprise, surprise all of that works exactly as it should. My documented fix is "Check your own elephanting stuff before you start chucking blame at us". Do you think that covers it, or is more needed?
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
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Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again. So I check through everything, from the start to the very end of the process where we pass the data into their system, at which point it is nothing further to do with us. Surprise, surprise all of that works exactly as it should. My documented fix is "Check your own elephanting stuff before you start chucking blame at us". Do you think that covers it, or is more needed?
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]
"The problem appears to be with the data provided to our system/the post-processing applied to the results of our system [delete as appropriate]. Please refer to the person/department responsible for that step of the workflow. If you would like our company to help with supporting the full end-to-end management of your data, please talk to our Sales department to arrange a wider support contract (which will cost you £lots/yr)."
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Just logged into my work email, there are a number of mails from a customer, first one says there is a problem with our stuff, second mail is complaining that our support staff have been unable to fix the problem, demanding it is fixed, that the fix is documented, and that this can never happen again. So I check through everything, from the start to the very end of the process where we pass the data into their system, at which point it is nothing further to do with us. Surprise, surprise all of that works exactly as it should. My documented fix is "Check your own elephanting stuff before you start chucking blame at us". Do you think that covers it, or is more needed?
Every man can tell how many goats or sheep he possesses, but not how many friends. Shed Petition[^]