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The ticket notes over the next 2 - 4 weeks are going to be used to determine whether I not I deserve a raise based on the increased workload now that I am the only full time IT staff person. Upper management thinks I should only be spending an hour to an hour and a half on issues each week. 
So, 90 minutes per week (maximum) over 5 days is 18 minutes per day. 15 minutes of that each day is devoted to clearing the spam filter and checking the wi fi network to make sure all of the access points are working properly (these were assigned as daily tasks for me, not my choice). That leaves me 3 minutes per day to devote to end user issues. Despite evidence to the contrary, this is the number they've settled on as 'acceptable'.
Somehow, I fear they're going to mark me down as being 'ineffectual' or 'incompetent' rather than recognizing that being the only full time IT person adds major time and work to my plate. Thus, I am entering ridiculously long case notes to all my tickets to ensure they understand who is and is not competent.
Ticket 1: Grill printer, <Tavern> printer, and <Pub> printer having intermittent problems. Instead of printing, tickets will print on their alternate print sites as if the printers were offline or broken. This has been occuring for approx. 5 days. They called about this problem in the middle of today's lunch rush when I could not take the equipment offline for testing.
Referred to <3rd party support contractor> to see if this is a known issue, as it seems more than coincidence that the problem occurred right after the last software update. Will check equipment when I can coordinate a good time with the effected staff. Asked staff to report problems immediately so we can resolve them quickly.
Ticket 1 Update: Received 2 other calls regarding these printers. Each staff member that called confirmed the problem has existed for approx. 4 - 5 days and they were aware of it for that period of time but did not call until today.
Ticket 2: Credit card swipe on <Tavern> POS terminal not working. Asked <Dining Manager> if she followed the initial troubleshooting steps in their notebook to confirm that basic troubleshooting did not work. <Dining Manager> said they have no instructions in their blue notebook on how to fix this. Going to get the book and fix the problem using the instructions that <IT Contractor> put in their book. Resolved problem using instructions on page 1 of the notebook. Ticket closed - Gerrinson
Ticket 3: <Executive Assistant> reports that she cannot access public folders in Outlook i.e. the management calendar she updates weekly. After a brief inspection, I noticed she had Outlook set to 'Work Offline'. Once connected to server she was able to access the necessary folders. <Executive Assistant> says she prefers to work offline and requests I adjust Outlook to work online only when she needs it to do so. I demonstrated how she can change the status herself, but she says it is "too difficult to remember all that." Informed her that was the only option as Outlook is unable to determine her intentions. Problem corrected, end user "not satisfied" with the only possible solutions, ticket closed - Gerrinson
Do you think they would approve a purchase order for a flamethrower? Every IT department needs one on hand, right?
So, 90 minutes per week (maximum) over 5 days is 18 minutes per day. 15 minutes of that each day is devoted to clearing the spam filter and checking the wi fi network to make sure all of the access points are working properly (these were assigned as daily tasks for me, not my choice). That leaves me 3 minutes per day to devote to end user issues. Despite evidence to the contrary, this is the number they've settled on as 'acceptable'.
Somehow, I fear they're going to mark me down as being 'ineffectual' or 'incompetent' rather than recognizing that being the only full time IT person adds major time and work to my plate. Thus, I am entering ridiculously long case notes to all my tickets to ensure they understand who is and is not competent.
Ticket 1: Grill printer, <Tavern> printer, and <Pub> printer having intermittent problems. Instead of printing, tickets will print on their alternate print sites as if the printers were offline or broken. This has been occuring for approx. 5 days. They called about this problem in the middle of today's lunch rush when I could not take the equipment offline for testing.
Referred to <3rd party support contractor> to see if this is a known issue, as it seems more than coincidence that the problem occurred right after the last software update. Will check equipment when I can coordinate a good time with the effected staff. Asked staff to report problems immediately so we can resolve them quickly.
Ticket 1 Update: Received 2 other calls regarding these printers. Each staff member that called confirmed the problem has existed for approx. 4 - 5 days and they were aware of it for that period of time but did not call until today.
Ticket 2: Credit card swipe on <Tavern> POS terminal not working. Asked <Dining Manager> if she followed the initial troubleshooting steps in their notebook to confirm that basic troubleshooting did not work. <Dining Manager> said they have no instructions in their blue notebook on how to fix this. Going to get the book and fix the problem using the instructions that <IT Contractor> put in their book. Resolved problem using instructions on page 1 of the notebook. Ticket closed - Gerrinson
Ticket 3: <Executive Assistant> reports that she cannot access public folders in Outlook i.e. the management calendar she updates weekly. After a brief inspection, I noticed she had Outlook set to 'Work Offline'. Once connected to server she was able to access the necessary folders. <Executive Assistant> says she prefers to work offline and requests I adjust Outlook to work online only when she needs it to do so. I demonstrated how she can change the status herself, but she says it is "too difficult to remember all that." Informed her that was the only option as Outlook is unable to determine her intentions. Problem corrected, end user "not satisfied" with the only possible solutions, ticket closed - Gerrinson
Do you think they would approve a purchase order for a flamethrower? Every IT department needs one on hand, right?
Eric the Grey
I AM the evil bastard!
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