You and end-users

Interesting little article about dealing with end-users, full of stories about miscommunication between end-users and IT folks. I would have to agree with the conclusion:

“Often, end users blame IT for network or computer problems, simply because they don’t know what goes on behind the scene and what causes problems. But sometimes, miscommunication on the part of the end user or the IT tech can be what leads to trouble. Working harder to understand each other may take effort, but it can help keep everybody’s blood pressure lower, and wouldn’t that be a great thing?”

That is true, and it is very much a two-way street. I try to explain what’s going on to people, and I try to always include instructions on how to handle things so that they don’t have problems to begin with, but some end-users simply don’t listen. They rage at me to fix their problem, even when I’ve given them written instructions on exactly how to fix it! It’s frustrating, and it’s very easy sometimes to not be a very good communicator in the face of that or to not really listen to what people are asking me and simply do what I think should be done. That doesn’t always lead to a good solution. 🙂

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