Excerpts from a recent exchange of e-mails with a co-worker:
Him: How do I transfer the file to my Treo? Thanks.
Me: Just double click the files after unzipping them.
Him: Hi again. How do I unzip the file?
I had to walk over to his office to do it for him. Sigh.
There are upsides to being a geek, like the ability to get around MIS’s network restrictions and the capacity to troubleshoot a malfunctioning computer or printer without having to wait a couple of days for MIS’s tech support guy to visit your office. And, of course, there are downsides. The worst of which is that way too many people feel entitled to run to you for tech support.
Over the last couple of months I’ve been called to an aunt’s house in New Manila to troubleshoot a misbehaving program on her iMac G4. To another uncle’s house in Alabang to set up his Linksys WiFi router. And I have a pending trip to Sta. Rosa, Laguna to do the same thing for another uncle. I’m tempted to just forward Bernie’s number to that particular uncle.
It’s not that I mind sharing what I know or helping people. Most of the time I feel good when I’m able to teach someone how to do something more with his computer, but I get really ticked when (1) they call before they RTFM, and (2) they don’t first ask if I’m busy.
But such is a geek’s life, I guess.
This is PWiT: Philippine Week in Tech 
February 13, 2007 at 3:46 pm
“I’m tempted to just forward Bernie’s number to that particular uncle.”
Huh? I have my own set of siblings, cousins, uncles and aunts… and that’s not counting the other not-too-techie friends!!! hehehehe…
hmmm…. the burden of being the “designated geek”.
February 13, 2007 at 5:33 pm
but even so, if people ask “busy ka ba?” and you say yes, they still won’t go away but try to get you to help anyway right? “kasi magpapatulong sana ko sa blah-blah-blah…”
have mercy on us techie-illiterates. we need you! 🙂
February 14, 2007 at 7:58 am
haha! right. but at least they ask. the worst ones are those who expect you to answer their email or return their call that very minute, as if you were just sitting comfortably in your chair twiddling your thumbs and waiting for such requests to come in 😉
February 14, 2007 at 12:08 pm
I’ve been such an a** to almost everyone who asks me for tech support that I seldom get any request nowadays 😀
Usually, prior or during a “tech help call” I would be using statements like:
“basahin mo muna yun manual, tsaka mo ko tawagan”
“E google mo”
“Gawin ko na lang yang ______ mo sa bahay, tinatamad ako mag explain sa yo kung ano deperensya”
and my favorite
“Kundi ka naman pala tanga eh…….”
February 14, 2007 at 6:57 pm
this reminds me of sysads, a type of homo sapiens us web developers (my other life outside of writing) need to deal with on a regular basis, and who are recognized as some of the surliest, meanest and strangest types ever.
we attribute this to the fact we are constantly on their case for whatever reason, tech support amongst them.
this has become a major factor in choosing a good webhost. here’s a sample comment from a webmaster mailing list just now: (I would advice everyone) not to take (name of webhost). their servers are in the US but they have a local office run by a guy who answers questions with one word sentences. He is very hard to get in touch and for some reason reply to emails only once a day…
February 15, 2007 at 8:15 am
@Gary: Tech Support from Hell? Well, welcome to my life! I was in the tech support field for around 15 years and my users often end up being “experts” at troubleshooting their own problems. The reason: I was THE personification of the phrase “Tech Support from Hell”. My users opt to learn how to fix their own problems rather than face the ordeal of having to talk to me… [__insert evil laughter here__]
February 15, 2007 at 10:31 am
This is a necessary evil. Part of being geek. Let’s learn to live with it.
Or, we could make a PWiT Call Center and monetize the damn thing.
February 15, 2007 at 1:00 pm
true. and besides inasmuch as i am tech support to others, there are many many many others who are tech support to me.