My husband is a computer programmer and over the years, I have picked up many things from him and have found that I have an aptitude for learning all kinds of software in a very short period of time. The exception to this is coding…the thought of even attempting that simply makes my brain hurt!
Often due to this ability with software, I am asked for assistance from co-workers and it always seems that once you help one person you are doomed to this fate forever. It never takes very long for word to get around that you are the person to ask when they have a problem with their computer, so your helping hand is often rewarded with more work. Please keep in mind that I am a Payroll Specialist and do not actually work in or for IT, so this really is not my job, but as I am far friendlier and more patient than IT, I end up helping a lot of people.
In my experiences with assisting others to resolve their computer issues, I have found that the majority of requests that I receive are for using an advanced or unfamiliar feature of a software that the person would not typically be using. In these instances, I really don’t mind helping them as they genuinely need assistance. However, there are users with questions that cause me to feel a ‘forehead slapping’ good time coming on or to wonder how it is possible they have managed to survive this long with such a sub-par IQ.
Now I will be the first to admit that I often assume, and wrongly so, that something I believe is common sense is also common sense for others. I have learned, just as frequently and sometimes painfully, that this is not the case and that common sense is definitely not so common anymore.
Some of these incidents have been absolutely hilarious, while yet others are so mind numbingly stupid that you just want pack it all in as there is obviously no hope left for humanity. One such incident occurred just last week with one of our managers and once I figured out what actually caused the problem, I wanted to bang my head repeatedly on my desk.
To give you some background, the person involved in this incident is actually my boss, the HR Manager. Now one would expect from her certifications, position, title and remuneration that she must at least be quasi-intelligent and have some computer skills, but, alas, this assumption is horribly incorrect as I will soon demonstrate. Please take note that this is in no way an isolated incident and there have been numerous others over the years that have put her firmly in the running to be a Darwin Award recipient eventually. Here is the story and yes, it is 100% true…
The other day as I sit at my desk doing my work, I suddenly hear the telltale noise of my boss’ computer being rebooted and brace myself for the for the questions or whining that is about to ensue. Sure enough, the very next thing I hear is, “Are you having any trouble opening Word documents today?”.
I initially answer, ‘No’ and keep working, but then the kinder side of me steps in with its big mouth, and I follow this up with, ‘Why?’ and I really wish I hadn’t. I always try to think on the positive side and believe she may actually have a problem that does not just exist between the chair and the keyboard, but each time I am wrong and this time was no exception.
She tells me that she is unable to open a checklist in Word and it comes up with a screen that says it is unable to convert the file. Still thinking she may actually have a genuine issue, I try opening the file on my computer and other than it being in use by another user, I am still able to open a Read-Only version.
I explain that it works fine on my machine and she tries it a few more times without success. At this point, since I was quite busy this day, I suggested that she may want to talk to IT. A few minutes go by in relative silence as I listen to her click and click some more while she starts making her usual pre-meltdown huffing noises, then suddenly she says, ‘Finally it worked! I can’t open that first one, but I tried the other one and it opened fine.’
I was relieved that I would not have to deal with the meltdown I was fully expecting her to have and continued on with my work thinking very little about the incident until later on that afternoon when she said, ‘Maybe it was just having an issue because I was trying to use that first one at the same time someone else was.’.
Almost like a bolt of lightning, I suddenly understood what had happened and that insight was so profound and so ridiculous at the same time that I almost wept. Thinking it could not be possible that she would have done something that idiotic, I decided to test my theory all the while hoping I was wrong, but unfortunately, I was not and this was exactly what she had done.
To explain what happened, if you have not already had the same epiphany I did, the file she was trying to open was in use and when a file is opened, it produces a temporary file in the same folder that shows other users that the file is in use. To me, this is common knowledge, but apparently this is not common knowledge to her and was the cause of her entire issue.
Apparently instead of clicking the original file, she was actually clicking on this temporary file and since this was technically not a file so much as a ‘file in use’ indicator, this is why she received the ‘converting file’ error and was unable to open it. It was only when she clicked the original file and not this temporary one that she had success and was able to open it in a Read-Only format.
In all my life, I have never had anyone do this before and find it astonishing that she did. I cannot understand why she tried to do this and I doubt I ever will, so all I can do is pass along this story for others to enjoy.
Please join me for a moment of silence for ‘Common Sense’, he will be dearly missed.
The Guerilla Tourists 