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> when I worked at help desk no matter how stupid a users was I always did my best to treat them as kindly as possible. This resonates with me because it's som

> when I worked at help desk no matter how stupid a users was I always did my best to treat them as kindly as possible. This resonates with me because it's something I try to do all the time. The XKCD "Ten Thousand" comic[0] really spoke to me and ever since reading it I've tried to treat people as 'temporarily inconvenienced geniuses' rather than morons when they ask me for help and it seems to work wonders. If you enter requests for help with the mindset of "let me show you how to solve your problem" and not "let me solve your problem" you end up speaking to people as if they are an equal which always seems to provoke better responses Of course the reward for being good at digging holes is more holes and to coin a malaphor if you teach a man to fish he'll come annoy you every time his boat won't start, but it's also pretty nice to be the person everyone assumes can fix anything. (Also it's a great outlet for the typically annoying desire to solve everyone's problems) [0]: https://xkcd.com/1053/ https://xkcd.com/1053/

bluedays 6y ago
One of the things that I have discovered is that treating people in this way can be a bit of a double edged sword though. When I was working at my last company I was on a team of three, and I wound up being the guy that dealt with all of the difficult users. That was fine by me though, because I had previously also worked in a group home with individuals with developmental disabilities, and emotional problems so a difficult user to me was just whatever. But... I can see how it might negatively effect someone else. lol But! On the other hand, if I ever needed something it wasn't that hard to get someone to help me. Kindness in my experience has always multiplied. There is, as you said, always something that someone doesn't know, including yourself. So there was always something that the users were willing to teach me in return. PS. I love this comic. When I am finally done going to school maybe I'll hang that in my cubicle or something. I estimate with all of the programming I have done for college, and all of my personal time on side projects that when I am finally ready to get back into IT again I'll end up being stuck in help desk again, anyway...
- lexicality 6y ago
  > So there was always something that the users were willing to teach me in return. This is very true and why I love mentoring people. Once you have shared knowledge with someone, they usually want to return the favour and you can learn a lot from that. > I love this comic. When I am finally done going to school maybe I'll hang that in my cubicle or something. Nice! Prior to that comic I had Hanlon's razor in a frame above my desk which uh, while a good sentiment isn't the most positive mindset.

bluedays 6y ago

One of the things that I have discovered is that treating people in this way can be a bit of a double edged sword though. When I was working at my last company I was on a team of three, and I wound up being the guy that dealt with all of the difficult users. That was fine by me though, because I had previously also worked in a group home with individuals with developmental disabilities, and emotional problems so a difficult user to me was just whatever. But... I can see how it might negatively effect someone else. lol But! On the other hand, if I ever needed something it wasn't that hard to get someone to help me. Kindness in my experience has always multiplied. There is, as you said, always something that someone doesn't know, including yourself. So there was always something that the users were willing to teach me in return. PS. I love this comic. When I am finally done going to school maybe I'll hang that in my cubicle or something. I estimate with all of the programming I have done for college, and all of my personal time on side projects that when I am finally ready to get back into IT again I'll end up being stuck in help desk again, anyway...

lexicality 6y ago
> So there was always something that the users were willing to teach me in return. This is very true and why I love mentoring people. Once you have shared knowledge with someone, they usually want to return the favour and you can learn a lot from that. > I love this comic. When I am finally done going to school maybe I'll hang that in my cubicle or something. Nice! Prior to that comic I had Hanlon's razor in a frame above my desk which uh, while a good sentiment isn't the most positive mindset.