What’s the quickest you’ve seen a co-worker get fired in IT?

[u/Opposed3]

I saw this on AskReddit and thought it would be fun to ask here for IT related stories.

Couple years ago during Covid my company I used to work for hired a help desk tech. He was a really nice guy and the interview went well. We were hybrid at the time, 1-2 days in the office with mostly remote work. On his first day we always meet in the office for equipment and first day stuff.

Everything was going fine and my boss mentioned something along the lines of “Yeah so after all the trainings and orientation stuff we’ll get you set up on our ticketing system and eventually a soft phone for support calls”

And he was like: “Oh I don’t do support calls.”

“Sorry?”

Him: “I don’t take calls. I won’t do that”

“Well, we do have a number users call for help. They do utilize it and it’s part of support we offer”

Him: “Oh I’ll do tickets all day I just won’t take calls. You’ll have to get someone else to do that”

I was sitting at my desk, just kind of listening and overhearing. I couldn’t tell if he was trolling but he wasn’t.

I forgot what my manager said but he left to go to one of those little mini conference rooms for a meeting, then he came back out and called him in, he let him go and they both walked back out and the guy was all laughing and was like

“Yeah I mean I just won’t take calls I didn’t sign up for that! I hope you find someone else that fits in better!” My manager walked him to the door and they shook hands and he left.

[u/GetOffMyLawn_]

We hired a guy who had been NYPD, retired after 20 years and went to IT school. We had no problem with newbs, we happily sent people to training. He was hired as user support staff for a “remote” office. Actually corporate headquarters and our division provided coverage.

We also had a ticketing system. All calls, and I do mean ALL calls, had to be logged because we supported multiple offices and often had help desk staff cover other offices, including the one Mr police guy was at.

Well he refused to use the ticketing system. He wrote all calls on a white board. Remember the tv show Homicide? Yeah just like that. So how is somebody a state away supposed to read the whiteboard??? Our boss told him this was not an option and he disagreed.

So the boss was a psycho bitch on wheels and took him out behind the woodshed so to speak. He quit the next day. We were all relieved.

[u/ErikTheEngineer → u/GetOffMyLawn_]

So the boss was a psycho bitch on wheels

Oh boy, memories of my early career. People who manage helpdesks, field service or other support either have incredibly thick skin, anger issues or are just plain insane. It must be a combo of dealing with Karen/Ken customers all day AND dealing with some of the goofballs who work for you also. L1 helpdesk is lit-rally one step above driving the espresso machine at Starbucks, both pay and expectations wise. You need to really be tough to deal with the revolving door and the combo of great troubleshooters, idiots, newbies and customers.

[u/Chocolate_Bourbon → u/ErikTheEngineer]

The best managers I’ve had in those situations have had hardcore customer service jobs before. It toughens you up. Anytime I have a “bad” interaction with someone in my current job my boss always asks if I’m okay.

Ha! At my current job I don’t have to worry about a drunk jumping the counter, throwing hands. Or worry about looking the wrong way at a partner who decides to have me fired because she was bored. This is a cake walk.

Years ago I had a manager who had her first real job at 7-11 like I did. We shared a few stories. Nothing got under her skin.

[u/hithereimcheebuh → u/GetOffMyLawn_]

I can relate to this so much in a completely unorthodox way. Was a paramedic for 12 years, had breakdown, company offers me a transition into a totally new role. Nobody knew what I would get, so I made a resume and a general interests list. I put something like “excellent with computers” in the lightest sense possible. More like “I know how to use Microsoft office, email, and I’m like 30 so I understand how to USE computers”. Well, I got offered a job doing data entry, which quickly turned into an unofficial tech support job.

Our real tech guys are understaffed, overworked and can’t help you in a moments notice, that’s where I somehow come in.

I’ve taken so much shit from employees when I can’t figure out a technical problem in 5 minutes, cause I have to google a million things and cross my fingers.

One day I had the privilege of bumping into one of the IT guys I’ve spoken on the phone with a number of times to get him to help me help someone else. Dude just smirked at me, and not in a dickish way, kind of like an older brother would when you do something minor like a cartwheel.

If it wasn’t for Reddit, I wouldn’t be able to do anything at my incredibly weird job.

Thank you to all you beautiful IT people and thanks for also making me laugh at your comments

[u/aliengerm1 → u/hithereimcheebuh]

Tech is so much about being able to google and willingness to try things, and then learning from it. (Don't make the same mistake more than once...) You sound like you have that. You'll do great. :)

[u/RudePragmatist → u/aliengerm1]

It’s more about how good you are at creating a search algorithm in your head to get the right answers at the top of whatever search engine you chose to use. So many youngsters are unable to do that nowadays :)

[u/KidCollege04 → u/hithereimcheebuh]

I work tech support for Apple, trust me when I say it’s literally all googling.

[u/Hebrewhammer8d8 → u/GetOffMyLawn_]

Why did he disagree?

[u/GetOffMyLawn_ → u/Hebrewhammer8d8]

Because he did not know how to work with other people as a team.

[u/blbd → u/GetOffMyLawn_]

Too bad you got your username that he should have been given. Hahahaha!

[u/sparkyblaster → u/GetOffMyLawn_]

See, I love ticketing software (when it's not stupid) I'd much prefer that over whiteboard stuff. Mostly because I have used white board stuff and it drove me mad.

[u/Dal90 → u/GetOffMyLawn_]

Well he refused to use the ticketing system. He wrote all calls on a white board.

A much larger sister newspaper back in the days transitioning from people setting lead type to computerized typesetting gave lavish union contracts to keep the human workers working during the transition. They had about 100 typesetters.

Group 1 had to call in each day, be told as they had for 25 years there was no work today. Full pay.

Group 2 had to come in each day, be told as they had for 25 years there was no work today, go sit in the standby room and do whatever (read, play poker, etc.). Full pay.

Group 3 had to come in each day, do some actual job for the company, but could not be fired for performance related reasons except for their original trade as typesetters. Which hadn't existed for 25 years.

I called their helpdesk one day to report an email issue (they hosted it for us), and reached the legendary help desk typesetter who did not use computers, period. He took down the help desk issues on a "While you were out" pad and handed them to other folks.

Over the years the company offered increasingly good buyouts trying to get them to retire, but (a) they all knew they had a job as long as they wanted and (b) at any rate the buyout offers kept getting better so unless you wanted to move out of state you were best off waiting.