There’s nothing like talking to someone who has no idea about anything.

So what would you do if a coworker from the help desk walked into your office asking you to fix their ticket, yet couldn’t name the user, the app, the device, or anything they were actually calling about?

Would you go out of your way to help? Or would you suggest they get those answers and try again?

In the following story, one system admin finds themselves in this situation and can’t help but shake their head.

Here’s what happened.

The Wrong Way to Ask for Help

You gotta love it when a help desk employee walks into your office looking for help, with no notes and no information. These conversations go right to their supervisor.

Help Desk Employee: “I have a user on the phone who can’t open a Citrix app.”

SysAdmin: “What’s the username?”

Help Desk Employee: “That’s a good question.”

It just went downhill from there.

SysAdmin: “What’s the name of the Citrix app?”

Help Desk Employee: “I don’t know.”

SysAdmin: “What’s their hostname?”

Help Desk Employee: “I forgot.”

SysAdmin: “Have you asked anyone else in the help desk for assistance?”

Apparently, they thought the SysAdmin was a mind reader.

Help Desk Employee: “I didn’t. They were all on the phone.”

SysAdmin: “Have you done any troubleshooting at all?”

Help Desk Employee: “I have not. I just assumed you would take care of it.”

SysAdmin: “All the questions I just asked you, go back and ask them.”

Eek! Hopefully, this person was just new at the job.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit have to say about it.

This person says they require a minimum amount of info.

The story reminds this person of their first job.

Great point.

Here’s how this person handles it.

Geez, it’s shocking no one warned them.

Next time, they’ll come prepared.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.