Yet another P1 issue (it's my company's speak for The Shit Has Hit the Fan Big Time type of problem) arose after I had dealt with one the day before. The pressure was on. Time was of the essence. We had a 4-hour window before the first of the UK folks come in. We all know what they're like when things don't work; confused, try again, still doesn't work, agitated, log a ticket, why is this not working?, explanation given with a workaround, still not satisfied, complain, solution found, send to user for confirmation, no reply, chase for closure, close ticket after 3 reminder emails sent. Along the way, expletives flew everywhere, tempers flared, hope raised high only to be dropped like a sack of smelly potatoes after initial solution doesn't work.
The UK folks can be a bunch of fucked up pricks.
Life in the support lane is nothing but a way of making ends meet. Us support people don't get enough love. When we do well it's only us that know it. It will take a lot of good work before a pat on the back is received. But the slightest blemish will taint your reputation like blood in water. The sharks will encircle you and tear out the very flesh out of you.
Let's be realistic. We live to work. That's how we Asians are. We work late hours because going home on the dot is perceived as laziness. We also say yes when a no is the right answer. We give away far too much but receive too little in return. Our UK counterparts have low opinions of us, thinking we're not capable enough, when it is they that are not the efficient ones. They can't even get their grammar right. And why is it us that have to adjust our way of talking so that they can understand us? Some of their accents sound like they've swallowed a rat.
A job well done means a whole lot of nothing these days. So why bother?
This is Chris, signing off.
P.S. Joining a company which changed its review and increment policies a few weeks prior just plain fucking sucks.
2 comments:
"Let's be realistic. We live to work. That's how we Asians are. We work late hours because going home on the dot is perceived as laziness. We also say yes when a no is the right answer. We give away far too much but receive too little in return." This struck a very loud chord with me. Unfortunately, deep inside I actually don't believe that leaving on the dot is perceived as laziness because it shows efficiency and a consistent work ethic. But I have to extend my work time because it's part of my company's culture. I still get some work done in that period, though.
Cue collective sighs.
Maria: I leave on the dot at 6PM most days but people don't see that I sometimes come in really early. Then there are those who come late so they go back later. This somehow tricks the mind into thinking that this person is putting in extra. Of course, an observant person will know the difference. Hopefully this same person knows how to reward those who have put in the effort regardless of the hours he/she spends in the office. Want to measure efficiency? It's from the quality of work. Not the hours spent in the office.
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