coworkers

[ericlw]

I work in IT and im on the phone with customers a lot outside of my office. I have a few habbitual offenders who cant seem to get the hint that im on the phone when they start talking to me. One guy will stand there for a bit or start asking questions. He seems to think im going to put my customer on hold and go help him with his issues. Got any ideas on how i can get the point across without getting myself in trouble? He is from a certain country and love to boss people around who dont even answer to him.

[L1A1Rocker]

[ericlw]

thanks although I did think about it.hahah

[D9M9TR9S]

Kindly hold up your finger (index finger ) and keep talking to your customer on the phone... he should get the hint.

[ick]

I hold up my thumb/ pinkie finger in a phone-like shape to my ear to signal I am on the phone. I then turn my face away from the person.

Most of the time I am on a headset and people don't realize I am on the phone listening to the customer whilst looking up information in the system.

Perhaps they just assume I am staring, thoughtless, at customer information - for no apparent reason - unless I signal otherwise.

You could try D9M9TR9S suggestion:

[bakerjw]

Ok, I worked in IT for many many years. All the way from the desktop up to advanced server support. Typically IT staff have to justify their existence with some kind of tracking system and usually that involves a help desk. For suctomers like the one to which you refer, the best recourse is to insist that they call the help desk and have a ticket entered. If you don't have something like that, put together a form and have them fill it out describing what is needed and work from there.

[ericlw]

yea we have a ticketing system but since im the only IT person in this office they feel exempt from it. I think the main problem with this one guy he thinks he more important than everyone else.


suctomers? lol

[bakerjw]

That was actually a typo. But it seemed suitable.

Most of my time in IT was as a contractor. I'd explain to my demanding people that the only way that they can gauge my work load is by tickets. If no tickets come through, then it's my livelihood on the line. Please call the help desk.

When I was working for Caterpillar, we used Lotus Notes. When you'd put helpdesk in an e-mail, it would suggest helpless.

[Maser]

[Fulmen]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdfWWC7kz4M

[David Hineline]

Most receptionists have a headset with a blinking light announcing they are on the phone.

[bakerjw]

You can also wear noise cancelling headphones. When someone approaches, point to the headphones and then to the computer screen. They'll eventually get the idea that you're on a conference call.

[700PSS]

Funny, but most idiots don't know what "blue" means and how to safely handle a grenade. Could bring some serious misunderstanding down on you.

[continuity]

Interesting perspective on com interruption. Have arrived on a lights and siren priority dispatch scene... and had the complainant present themselves while talking on a cell phone... and then provide many of the suggested thread behavioral "communications" to me that they are "busy", and will get to me when they have time.

I made good my threat to take possession of and throw the subject cell phone across the road if they didn't make me their immediate and primary person of focus a couple of weeks ago. It was one of the most satisfying things I've done in a long time. Got their attention anyway.

Have I mentioned how plush the visitor chairs in the Patrol Division Captains office are? I suppose the fact that there was only a "WTF... did you have to do that?" conversation, and no official sanction after a review of my audio/video contact record, was a tacturn "it was within the reasonable action envelope"... by a c hair understanding, but don't do it again.

Uhm... thread derail complete. My work here is done.

[bakerjw]

LOL... That is priceless.

[whiterussian1974]

Funny, but most idiots don't know what "blue" means and how to safely handle a grenade. Could bring some serious misunderstanding down on you.

Blue means inert, right?
I was USAF.

[plant.one]

hand him a business card with the tech support number on it