Why End-users HATE calling their "IT" department

We've all been there.

You have a deadline, and you need to finish a project. Or maybe it's homework. Or you are the boss and the file that you were just sent that you need to open "now", just will not.

And, now, you HAVE TO CALL IT! AHHHHHH!

The HORROR!

I used to be that IT guy for 20+ years. For five years now, I've been on the other side of the support call, as the end-user or customer calling for support.

I feel your pain. I've gotten to live it as well.

But WHY? Why are these calls to IT a dreaded instance? Fortunately, I've discovered the cause. The cure, however, is a management-dependent issue.

Just as frustrated as YOU are, the IT staff you call feel the same way when you call IT! Trust me! It may not seem like it, but it often IS the case. For most IT departments, the training put into new hires is not what you think. There are no long training sessions where the technicians are trained on the company's tech and software. There are no long training sessions where cases and past incidents are brought up as case studies, and the new hires are walked through the situations by veteran staff.

It's quite the opposite. Most of the time, the training consists of shadowing existing staff for a day or two, being asked to sit for days watching HR training videos, and signing off that the new hire has watched onboarding videos and read the employee handbook.

Then, they are put on the phones or in the queue to be assigned tickets, and away they go!

Seriously.

Now, imagine you have a $250,000 car. I know, I said, imagine. It's making noise or having a problem, and you take it to the one shop in three states that fixes this expensive car.

And they tell you they'll have their least experienced mechanic look at it in three days.

That, in a nutshell, is how all management approaches the information technology world. The people who do most of the work are the greenest and lowest-paid staff who answer calls or work tickets daily.

Most are entry-level new hires with little or no real-world experience, maybe some college classes that don't prepare anyone for fixing hardware or troubleshooting software in even a home office environment.

And that is who you are calling.

You hate it when you call, submit a ticket, or otherwise need IT support. I get it.

There is a fix for this. You might have already guessed what it could be. Reply with your thoughts and experiences! It's okay, your boss won't see it. (but leave out names, just in case!)