Category: Observations Page 24 of 90

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Trying harder is my customer support secret

On April 1, 2016

Today I have tried to live up to my own ideal of trying harder and caring about other people’s problems.

I received a call from someone working for the local state government. He was frustrated because he had been trying to access a database hosted at the Food and Drug Administration. He’s been unable to access it for over two weeks.

I had no idea what this database was or know anything about it. But I was determined to help him where others had passed him off. So I asked him for his email address and his ticket number.

While he was on the line, I searched for the site in question on the FDA’s Intranet and found it. But it had no contact information for support.

I told him I would contact the technician assigned to his ticket and find out who he could call for support.

He was very appreciative and we hung up.

Now the real work began. I could have ignored him and gone about my day. After all, it’s not my job to support everything the FDA does. But I was determined to help. So I did as I said.

I emailed the technician assigned to his ticket and asked for a better contact number since the site in question had no support information.

The tech got back to me quickly with the proper phone number and call tree options to press to get support directly.

I thanked him and sent the information back to the guy working in the state government. I hope he gets what he needs. The rest is out of my hands, but I did my best to give him an avenue for support. Now it’s up to the technicians on the other side to fulfill his request.

As an experiment, I recorded today’s post using Anchor. It’s slightly different from the written text but the message remains the same.
It’s embedded below. Or you can listen to the file directly.

Eagle feeding time. All images © American Eagle Foundation.

Watching the Eagles

By Carl

On March 23, 2016

In Observations

When my wife and I went to the National Arboretum last year we heard there were Bald Eagles nesting there for the first time in nearly 50 years. The entire area was blocked off and a park employee was there with a telescope setup pointed at the nest. He was there to answer questions about the Eagles.

The Eagles weren’t in the nest the day we were there but we did have a great day exploring the beautiful lilacs and other flowers. We also found a wallet that looked to have been thrown over the fence. It had been there quite awhile so we dreamed up a story about it being evidence in a crime.

Recently, I found out there was a webcam setup to watch the Eagles nest and their newborn eaglets. Ever since then I’ve become somewhat obsessed with watching it. Being the geek I am, I was curious how they pulled off the setup.

From the American Eagle Foundation’s Press Release (PDF):

The USNA ran about a half mile of fiber optic cable to the cameras’ control box located about 200 feet from the base of the tree. The entire system is powered by a large solar array designed and built by students and staff from Alfred State, SUNY College of Technology.

There are two hi-def webcams. One providing a side view and the other setup above the nest. I was curious how they managed to set them up without disturbing the eagles. As it turns out, the whole thing was a big gamble.

“Bald Eagles don’t always return to their first year nest. We took a huge risk investing in this project and partnering with the Arboretum without any type of certainty that the Eagles would actually return,” says AEF’s P.R. Coordinator Julia Cecere, “It was happy day for everyone when both Eagles were spotted back on the nest this past October.”

I’ve enjoyed watching Mr. President and The First Lady, the names of the two eagles and their two baby eaglets on the Washington DC Live Bald Eagle Cam.

Chaos on the Bridge

By Carl

On March 17, 2016

In Observations

Chaos on the Bridge is the story of Star Trek: The Next Generation now on Netflix. It’s a fun documentary with some great artwork. I enjoyed the story behind the scenes of how it got made and succeeded. I’m glad it rode the good vibes of the original and it had time to find itself in Season 3. I’m very happy Patrick Stewart wasn’t made to act in a wig. It’s worth a watch if you enjoyed the series, or how things get made.

It also brought this image into the world. And that makes me smile.

Never Assume

By Carl

On March 16, 2016

In Observations

Never assume the person you’re talking to knows what they’re doing. Never assume they know as much as you. They won’t.

Never assume your instructions will be taken as you gave them.

When you say, “Please type ‘123.company.com’ into Firefox.” You assume they’ll type in just that. So you’re be thrown off when they get an unexpected result.

They’re typed “www.123.company.com”.
They’re typed “123.company.com” into a search field instead of the address bar.
They’ve not even typed it at all and instead typed something completely different.

Never assume your instructions will be taken as you gave them. Always be ready for anything the customer may do.

From todd desantis on https://unsplash.com/todddesantis

Infrastructure

By Carl

On March 3, 2016

In Observations

I’ve thought a lot about the follow your passion mantra. Building your life as you wish you had it and doing meaningful work. And that’s great for people who are able to do it.

It’s great to have the entrepreneurial spirit and have the skills to make a go at working for yourself. I applaud you. My wife works for herself. My brother works for himself. My family either is self-employed or was before.

I’ve always worked for someone. Most recently for a string of government agencies for a longer list of government contractors. It’s not where my passion lies. And it’s not meaningful work to anyone outside of myself and my customers. But it pays the bills and provides financial stability so my wife could quit her job and work for herself.

I am the infrastructure that makes it all possible. I think about this a lot because I wonder who else is the rock behind the scenes supporting a loves one’s business while they get going.

Who else is the rock bringing in the steady money working the unimpressive job?

Do I wish I could work from home and make my schedule? Sort of. I’m not a great person to work for. I’m highly motivated and go above and beyond. But I also have my days where I can’t do anything and want to lay in bed or waste the day.

Would I be a good employee? Maybe. Would I enjoy the freedom and flexibility? Absolutely. Do I have any idea what I’d do for myself? No.

I don’t know what I’d do for myself. I don’t know where I have the skills to make a living for myself. So I trade my time for money. I go to work. I answer phones and support others. I come home and turn my brain back on and enjoy life.

It reminds me of an article I read awhile back. “Sponsored” by my husband: Why it’s a problem that writers never talk about where their money comes from

Here’s my life. My husband and I get up each morning at 7 o’clock and he showers while I make coffee. By the time he’s dressed I’m already sitting at my desk writing. He kisses me goodbye then leaves for the job where he makes good money, draws excellent benefits and gets many perks, such as travel, catered lunches and full reimbursement for the gym where I attend yoga midday. His career has allowed me to work only sporadically, as a consultant, in a field I enjoy.

The author is able to write and live the life she wants while her husband works a job that support their lifestyle.

While his job sounds better than mine, I do the same thing for my wife. I sponsor her while she gets her business up and running. I make sure we can pay our bills, go on vacation and put some money into savings. I have been as lucky as I’ve been smart with my career moves and negotiation.

I don’t have catered lunches or a gym membership, but I have doubled my salary in the past 5 years. I didn’t attend Master’s program nor did I pay for expensive certifications or training classes. I worked hard and I learned a lot on the job. But I also fell into a lucky niche that was interesting, easy and paid well.