FAIL Blog
Advertisement

tech support

‘You can’t delete my emails': IT employee informs coworkers he cannot retrieve old emails due to company's mail retention policy, they turn to upper management

‘You can’t delete my emails': IT employee informs coworkers he cannot retrieve old emails due to company's mail retention policy, they turn to upper management

Don't store important files in your email. There, I said it. The chances of something happening and them all getting deleted are slim, but never zero. This advice applies even more so if you are working in a company with a mail retention policy. These employees were furious when they learned from the IT guy that every email that was older than 2 years was gone, permanently deleted, and irretrievable. They had some important financial documents that they wanted to check out again, but alas, ther…
View List
‘Update my website!’: Client calls IT support after engineer's report doesn't match the facilities description of their website

‘Update my website!’: Client calls IT support after engineer's report doesn't match the facilities description of their website

People working in technical support have seen a lot of funny cases over the years, and this case is definitely one to remember for the IT manager involved. OP was working for a large pub company based in the UK, in which their chief role was second-in-line support for retail applications. One client opened a ticket after an engineer had come and checked the facilities of their establishment, only to send out a faulty report, leading to the website displaying a facility that the establishment cl…
View List
Advertisement
workplace discussion workplace-stories programming jobs tech support job malicious compliance work workplace Tech employment in the workplace workplace malicious compliance - 23609605

'At the end of the month everyone was behind': Strict policy enforcement results in malicious compliance to derail micromanaging boss

Life is comprised of a series of rules, rules that, throughout our lives, are imposed upon us and, maybe, even set for us by ourselves. Some of these rules are paramount, and our ability to follow them will determine who we are, how we're perceived, and the effect on the world. Other rules are really quite silly, and one feels silly following them. Chances are that these silly rules were written and enacted by someone who really had no idea what they were doing or were imposed by someone who wa…
View List
tales from tech support tech support talesfromtechsupport technical difficulties workplace humor work it IT guy workplace Tech - 23609349

'This is unacceptable': Worker demands a shiny silver new laptop from disgruntled IT guy, he tells her boss

Everyone who has ever been stuck working on a company laptop that is frightfully unsuited to its task knows the pain of receiving a decrepit hand-me-down of a machine from the IT department, and anyone who has ever been issued a company computer will be able to tell you they've had this exact experience. So, there you are, desperately attempting to remain efficient whilst enduring higher load-processing times than when you tried to play flash games on your parents' dial-up internet and navigati…
View List
antiwork talesfromtheworkplace tech support talesfromtechsupport technology it IT guy Horrible Bosses Tech workplace stories employment - 22993669

'It ended up costing them more money': IT Guy told to be at his desk from 8-5 despite after hours callouts, starts billing all his overtime instead, quits

At this point in the story of the history of the office worker, it should be common knowledge that being a productive worker doesn't mean being tied to a desk for 8 hours a day between the hours of 8 AM and 5 PM. In the yesteryear of the evaluation of working performance, previous generations would have sat stoically at their desks and, whether or not they were actually doing anything of merit to contribute to the company, their ability to have their behind in that seat for eight hours a day wo…
View List
Advertisement
Top Times Unsupportive Tech Coworkers Finally Got Fired and Left with a Bang

Top Times Unsupportive Tech Coworkers Finally Got Fired and Left with a Bang

We've all imagined at one point or another during a bad job, quitting and leaving with the most dramatic exit possible. You tell everyone you hated off and you throw everything off you desk and you reveal any secrets you know to everyone and you march out and slam the door and everyone is crying and regretting treating you poorly. Funny thing about that fun run-on sentence though is that, that's not how it happens. If you leave like that in the slightest way, you're burning a bridge and that ca…
View List
'It's fun to actually block someone once in a while': IT worker gets back at coworkers who cut the lunch line and force him to eat at his desk

'It's fun to actually block someone once in a while': IT worker gets back at coworkers who cut the lunch line and force him to eat at his desk

You should treat every single person with respect, especially all of your coworkers. The hierarchy of the company comes second to just being a decent human being. However, some people are filled with entitlement and forget that when it comes down to it, we're all just flesh and bones. So when one of these entitled colleagues disrespect a branch of the company that they think they're better than, you better believe they're gonna get a taste of their own medicine. This happened recently with an e…
View List
workplace-stories tech support toxic-workplace malicious compliance revenge coworkers technology it IT guy Tech coworker - 21990405

'I stopped doing their work for them': Company experiences huge losses when developer stops doing her coworker's work for them, exposing them

Pulling far greater than your own weight at work—or in any team—is a common frustration to experience and can make you feel like you're carrying an incredible burden on your shoulders. What's worse, it can make you wonder whether any effort is even worth it… Why bother working so hard if your coworkers are just going to refuse to do their fair share (and get away with doing less) anyway? This is something that you first encounter in grade school in the form of group projects, with some members…
View List
Advertisement
'That's what she wants to have': Customer wants to pay more money for smaller cell phone plan

'That's what she wants to have': Customer insists on paying more money for smaller cell phone plan after refusing to listen to customer service rep

As a sales person, this employee still has to field a lot of customer service calls . Due to a mix up with the phone systems' phrasing, lots of confused customers get sent to u/d**nknife's phone line. They shared one story of a customer who just could not understand what they were paying for on their phone plan . I guess the customer isn't always right after all. If you've ever talked to someone who's worked a customer service phone operator job, they'll tell you that it takes some strategy. Th…
View List
customer service tales-from-the-front-desk tech support fired talesfromthefrontdesk it toxic-boss IT guy workplace Tech employment - 21789445

'The IT system had failed and no backups were done': IT guy banned from helping with unmanaged tasks at previous job, entire system goes down and boss gets fired

Visiting an old workplace is a weird experience. Seeing old friends and coworkers still bound by the same toxic policies and stresses that once held you stirs rippling memories like a stone skipping across a pond's still surface before coming to rest in waters that were better left undisturbed. While you attempt to make small talk and reconnect, you can't help but detect feelings of resentment from the old comrades you left behind; while once you suffered together, now you're free from this par…
View List
'[He] was gone within the next month': IT department head steals coveted email address from worker, gets fired and worker gets his job

'[He] was gone within the next month': IT department head steals coveted email address from worker, gets fired, that worker gets his job

Sometimes you should be careful what you wish for because your deepest desires may come with unintended consequences. For example, if you make a wish to some magic dust as a 13-year-old to be “30, flirty, thriving, and thriving” hoping to have the future and life that you think you want to have… You may, instead, wake up to find that, while you're now successful, you've also become a vapid, hateful, spiteful individual. Hopefully, it's not too late and the magic dust takes you back, traumatized…
View List
Advertisement
'I really need you to just do your job': Employee 'quiet quits' position after boss promotes coworkers instead of them

'I really need you to just do your job': Employee 'quiet quits' position after boss promotes coworkers instead of them

Say goodbye to free tech support and homemade office snacks…This guy has reached a breaking point with their boss , and I don't blame them for not wanting to do work they won't be recognized for. At many jobs, your role is laid out for you in crystal clear terms. In some office places, however, there are unspoken tasks that some people will take on in addition to their job duties . Maybe you're the one who brings in a birthday card for your coworkers and gets everyone to sign it. Or perhaps you…
View List
Tech Tech support talesfromtechsupport developers programmers malicious-compliance-reddit workplace-stories workplace-story workplace-discussion tales-from-the-workplace

'You specifically asked me to delete it despite my protests': Company stranded after firing reluctant developer and telling them to delete everything they made

There are a lot of confusing things happening in this story, like how this night shift worker became integrated with their company's development team, contributing significantly to the point where the higher-ups were using their reporting dashboard for their reports. Yet, at the same time, there was somehow no one willing to stick up for them when their head was placed on the chopping block for seeking increasing compensation for their constantly-increasing responsibility and contribution. Stil…
View List
karens workplace-stories tech support toxic-workplace technical difficulties karen-boss coworkers technology it quit workplace Tech karen quitting toxic-work-environment - 20715269

'[He] created a mass corporate email with various screenshots': IT guy quits and schedules scathing tell-all email about his Karen boss

When someone has done you wrong, the best thing to do is to walk the other way with your head still held high… but it's certainly more satisfying to scorch the earth behind you as you go. When faced with the bullying behavior of their Karen boss, this IT guy realized he had enough and quit, seeking greener pastures—but, he also decided to (metaphorically) set fire to the building on the way out the door, scheduling a mass company-wide email to be sent from his boss's email address that exposed…
View List
Advertisement
'I got a disciplinary hearing; he got fired': New manager made redundant following absurd orders he gave employee

'I got a disciplinary hearing; he got fired': New manager made redundant following absurd orders he gave employee

New managers tend to make the same, common mistake of entering a workplace and attempting to prove themselves by ‘bettering the environment’, usually by changing policies that actually work. What then follows is a string of mistakes that either cost the company good employees, a lot of money, or the ‘environment’. In this case, a small AV company that dealt with thousands of NEC displays a year hired a new general manager who had absolutely no idea what he was doing, per usual. The employee in…
View List
work-story antiwork workplace-stories tech support technology IT guy tech news workplace story Tech developers - 19728133

'Win-win for everyone involved.': IT Guy automates his entire job and works 10 minutes a day from home

There is a quote that is often attributed to the likes of Bill Gates and Walter Chrysler that goes something along the lines of “Always choose a lazy man to do a hard job because a lazy man will find an easy way to do it.” Whether or not either of them actually uttered this string of words (or was the first to do so) is up for debate. But the sentiment rings true in many instances that require innovation: Why hire the guy who is content to do things by the letter when you can hire the guy who w…
View List
Advertisement

Hot Today

Advertisement