Most of us have dealt with IT support and it is not always a pleasant experience.
Having being at both ends, i.e. asking for IT support and giving IT support, I can understand why users don’t always get what they want from IT support.
IT support can be a mind-numbing and soul-destroying career for the wrong type of person. Workers begin to feel treated like automatons with no feelings.
Well, here is one IT support guy who rebelled against the Machine and took matters into his own hands.
Ronald Dillion of New York began answering all his IT support calls with a robotic voice.
Probably not very funny for end-users looking for help on a computer problem, but I suspect Ronald will find lots of supporters amongst computing professionals 🙂
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Rogue IT help desk staffer in strife for using robot voice
IT’S a pain in the neck for office workers the world over: having to call the IT help desk. Ronaldo Dillon makes it that little bit more tortuous.
Dillon, who works at New York City’s Health Department IT help desk, faces suspension yet again for impersonating a machine while fielding calls.
Dillon, who was slapped with a 20-day suspension last year for his robotic rebellion, could get a 30-day unpaid suspension for purposely misdirecting callers, failing to respond to his boss and answering the phone in a robotic voice, under a ruling by an administrative court judge.
His signature, computer-inflected reply to incoming calls — “You-have-reached-the-Help-Desk. This-is-Mr.-Dillon. How-may-I help-you?” — prompted supervisors to demand he cease and desist his “unacceptable and unprofessional” phone manner.
But to no avail.
The Health Department, which wanted Dillon fired for insubordination, still hasn’t decided whether to accept the court’s suspension recommendation, which was issued two weeks ago.
“Despite his long tenure, if respondent’s insubordination persists, it could lead to his eventual termination from his employment,” warned Administrative Law Judge Ingrid Addison.
Dillon, 67, has argued in the past that his protocol-droid persona is simply his way of counteracting a thick Brooklyn accent, which he’s described as “difficult to understand.”
His conflict with the Health Department — where he’s worked since 1976 — began in 2009 after his responsibilities changed from handling computer emergencies to more technical software issues, which he claimed he was not as qualified to handle.
According to court records, he lodged a grievance and lost.
In 2012, after being assigned to the Help Desk, Dillon requested a transfer but was denied.
One on the job at the IT help desk, one supervisor accused him of “causing callers to be annoyed and irritated” and erroneously classifying incoming calls. Dillon described the agency’s inquiries as “a fishing expedition.”
He could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
The Health Department declined comment.
For my opinion, using robot voice at help desk should be short and alert. Prompt reply is needed and redirecting the line to the person-in-charge. If the line is busy, just tell the customer the truth.
I dislike the help desk with nobody answer but repeating robot voice. It is wasting time, money and energy.