I am a huge fan of helping out my friends, and family, with their IT issues. However, sometimes it can’t be helped to adopt the attitude seen in the picture below:
An image from xkcd.com, all credit goes to him for creation!
It is often hard to explain to people that while I enjoy working on computers and solving problems, I do this on a day to day basis. Sometimes I want to get away from a computer for a while. This often leads to hurt looks when I don’t give my all in order to help the current situation. It isn’t that I don’t care enough to help, trust me I do, but at times I have been trying to solve my own problems so hard that I don’t have the energy for other’s.
More than anything I appreciate someone who just tries to solve their problem before they contact me. You don’t have to be successful, but when someone calls me and says they have a problem, and they tell me the steps they have tried to fix it, it makes me feel a little better about the situation. At least their first thought wasn’t “I’ve broken it, and there is nothing I can do, so I’ll call someone.” I often attempt to fix my own problems before I realize I am in over my head. I think it shows a willingness to work, rather than just giving it over to someone else.
Because of this mentality, I am the type of person that will help the guy at Auto Zone install the parts he’s supposed to do for you. I know they are more than willing to do it, and they probably enjoy it, but it is something I can help out with to show that I appreciate what they do. So in the spirit of that, if you contact me with a computer problem and I don’t seem more than thrilled to help you out, it’s more than likely because I’ve been dealing with my own issues, and it just seems like you’ve tried to hand me your problem without even trying. A little effort goes a long way
More at Synaptic Thought.
