Why is it that people expect....

@saundyl (9783)
Canada
June 30, 2009 2:53pm CST
Why is it that people expect me to drop everything and come into work to fix their computer on my days off. I even had one yahoo expect me to FLY home when i was out of country to fix his pc because he needed it "yesterday". He was told that if he would pay the short notice flight there and back to my vacation as well as the rush fee for the work being done i would do it...at which point he said no he didnt want to even pay the rush fee and he got told he could wait then (my co-worker told him this) I'm the only tech where i work and it just drives me wild when someone says well you can come in and do it on sunday or in todays case "tomorrow" (Tomorrow is Canada Day and i have the day off...i also made plans) I said that I wasnt in tomorrow due to it being a stat and the guy says "well i have to work so you can come in and fix my pc so i can work" To which i said I'd come in on a stat if he was paying double time for the service work. He said no he wasnt authorized to do that and i said he could drop the machine off and it would be added to the current list of work then but it wouldnt get looked at until it reached the front of the line. I've even had people track me down on the BEACH with their laptop thinking i should fix it right then and there. Drives me nuts. I tell people no. I just dont get why they seem to expect me to drop everything and jump when they say jump and its customers not my boss. Do people do this to you too?
5 responses
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
30 Jun 09
Hey saundyl! That is just plain insane! I guess it should make you feel good that you have a skill like that that is so much in demand, but even doctors get time off and don't drop what they're doing for a "special patient"! In fact, I think doctors probably get more time off than you do because they have other doctors to back them up! Well, you are kind of a doctor for computers! lol I hope you make them wait even longer of being stupid! Please enjoy your day off and the holiday that you are celebrating! Maybe you should start wearing disguises like the Celebs do! You should think about wearing a wig so you can change your hair color and maybe your customers won't recognized you! Hugs, Opal
2 people like this
@GardenGerty (157555)
• United States
1 Jul 09
Hey, Saundyl, I have this neat bright blue wig from when I did clowning. Do you want to borrow it, and some face paint?
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
1 Jul 09
Ohhh a disguise! I wonder if the face paint would wash off in the lake. I went to an anniversary party last night (the same one i went to early on saturaday that wasnt actually saturaday!) and ended up coming home with my aunts computer and a cousin's laptop.
@Opal26 (17679)
• United States
2 Jul 09
Oh no! You poor girl! Your own relatives won't even leave you alone! I don't believe it! Even at a party you can't relax! I guess the disguise wouldn't have worked there!
1 person likes this
• India
1 Jul 09
well, i guess it is one of the flip sides of ebing in a customer service profession and it is becoming extremely demanding these days. even though we curse people, we are also guilty of such behavior in our lives too. for exxample, when we go to a restaurant or a hotel, we tend to be quite demanding too.
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
2 Jul 09
True. I do try not to ask people to do anything last minute or expect things to be done asap. However i do expect things to be done when i'm told they will be done...and i dont like having to sit and wait around when i made an appointment. (I made an appointment for an oil change and it took the shop EIGHT hours to bother to get it done and that was the only reason i had gone into town so i sat around really bored for the 8 hours saying is it done yet? how about now? by the time they were done i was really really irritated said it was pointless to make an appointment when i still had to be there for that long when i know full well an oil change doesnt take that long)
@GardenGerty (157555)
• United States
1 Jul 09
I am in a human services type position and it is expected of me, SOMETIMES to come in when I am supposed to be off. Goes with that territory. However, computers are things, or tools, and are not emergencies. Too bad you cannot put interruptions on your bill. I think they need to create Computer Emergency Treatment Centers. That would be a field to get into!
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
2 Jul 09
Thats a good idea. I'm glad my boss doesnt expect me to come in when i'm off. On occasion i take work home with me but...i get to count the time i spend on pcs at home on my time sheet as banked hours.
@aerohero (20)
• China
1 Jul 09
for your own good,you can say no to the work if it is not your duty,and you hate to do it.
1 person likes this
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
2 Jul 09
I love my job i just dont think people should expect me to spend my vacation or interrupt my plans for my free time to do whatever they think needs to be done "yesterday" I do say no...and i try to be nice about it.
@jt1981 (125)
• United States
30 Jun 09
i don't have the same sought-after skills that you obviously have, but my parents do this to me occasionally. i like to help them to repay them for all the nice things they've done for me, but sometimes they just expect me to drop everything and come help them. my mom is especially bad because she is always locking herself out of her car or her house, and then i have to drive a hour to go rescue her because she has no one else to help her (my parents are divorced.) people are just generally self-centered, especially self-proclaimed "important" businessmen. i had a bad experience with one of these guys when i worked at a dr.'s office. he flat out refused to fill out the forms to see the dr. he couldn't believe that i didn't fax them to his secretary before his appointment! umm, excuse me, but if i had to fax forms to every single patient that would be hugely time consuming and inconvenient for me. i think you did exactly the right thing. if they are willing to pay extra then it would be worth it. evidently it wasn't that important, so enjoy your vacation!
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
30 Jun 09
I dont mind at all when my parents ask me to do things...pcwise or otherwise I do it for them cause i love them...and well they have done ALOT for me over the years. The guy expected you to fax the forms for his secretary to fill out and not do it himself? thats like the epitome of laziness (on his part!) I can see it being extremely time consuming because you fax then have to wait for it to go through and if the line is busy then it has to try over and over again.