Some people will argue that they’re right, even when you know 100% that they’re not.

So, what would you do if a user called in with a clear hardware failure warning and you explained what it meant, but your team lead overheard and said it was a firmware update?

Would you argue the side you know is right? Or would you just give in and use that as the reason next time?

In the following story, one call center employee plans to use his boss’s answer, even though he knows better.

Here’s the full story.

Call center life. Don’t give weird solutions, as my TL says. Okay boss.

So a user calls in today, panicking that a message popped up saying, “Warning: Reliability is degraded. Back up your data in case of drive failure.”

They thought they were getting hacked.

I calmly explained: “Hey, this isn’t someone trying to access your PC. Windows is detecting that your SSD is starting to fail. It’s a preemptive alert, so just make sure your files are backed up and request a replacement desktop.”

The team lead had other ideas.

Simple. Logical. Human. User thanked me. Twice. I documented it. Case closed, right?

Enter my Team Lead, emerging from the shadows like he just caught me committing treason. He said, “Don’t give weird solutions. That’s not what it means.”

I’m like… what? 😐

He continues, “It means there are pending updates. Open Dell Command Center and do firmware updates. That’ll fix it.”

He’s frustrated by how people are in this industry.

Sir… a NAND cell just reported its own *****. You can’t firmware update mortality.

This man legit thinks SMART = Software Malfunction And Requires Tweaking.

Meanwhile, the same people who think firmware updates cure SSD wear are the ones getting promoted as SMEs and Trainers. And I, who know what Event Viewer, registry mapping, and SMART diagnostics are, am the one being told “don’t give weird solutions.”

To make the lead happy, he’ll use this answer from now on.

I swear, I’m surrounded by people who think BitLocker is a Marvel character and “SSD degradation” means low battery.

Well, the moral of the story: In call centers, technical accuracy ≠ is appreciated. “Follow KB blindly and pray” is the real process document. 🙃

Next time a drive literally screams, “I’m *****,” I’ll just say, “Please perform firmware updates and have a blessed day.”

Wow! That’s pretty unbelievable. You’d think that guy would know better.

Let’s see how the people over at Reddit feel about what the team lead said.

This basically sums it up.

For this reader, team leaders are usually just pencil pushers.

If only it worked like this.

According to this reader, he should write an article about it.

It’s funny how often this happens.

Let’s hope he continues being honest.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.