Shady computer technicians and their scumbag practices.

Here at work, we have a computer in the back room that controls the keycard system, and allows us to lock and unlock doors from our console computer, as well as has the printer hooked up to it which allows us to print our daily paper work.

Last Friday morning, about 15 minutes before I had to leave, I sent my paperwork to the printer, and got an error message saying it couldn't connect to the printer. I went into the back room, and noticed the computer was stuck on the BIOS loading screen, which told me that the system was overheating. So I reboot the system, get Windows loaded up, and shoot off my paperwork, and tell the guy relieving me about it. He contacts the tech guy who is contracted to run the system. Outside vendor, not an in-house guy.

I've met this guy. He's an older ex-military guy who likes to tell you stories about Vietnam and God and other things that have nothing to do with any questions you ask him. Total smokescreener (I'd say Bullshitter, but I am trying to keep my blog family friendly... oops! Damn it!).

Here is the story as was told to me. He came in Saturday, just after noon, armed only with a screwdriver. He opens the tower, and notices the reason for the reboot and lockup, is because the tower fan inside is CLOGGED with dust, dirt, and all things unhealthy for a tower fan. Now I don't know if you've ever tried to remove a case fan, but it's a relatively easy task that should take no more than 30-45 seconds. Apparently, he struggled with it for 30 minutes. After getting the fan off, he blew on it, and a few dustbunnies fell to their deaths to the floor.

Ok, here's where it gets really good. He tells the guys on duty that "There are NO COMPUTER STORES OPEN ON SATURDAY OR SUNDAY THAT HE COULD GO TO, TO BUY A REPLACEMENT PART!" Really? There's a MicroCenter up the road 10 minutes from here, and last I checked, they were open on Saturdays and Sundays... And besides, if he was a tech worth a DAMN, he would have had a can of compressed air to clean the fan (along with a tool kit, and an anti-static bag at bare minimum when reporting to a client job), and blow out the tower, just to get things dust free. But he didn't, so he's not.

So he takes the tower Saturday, and returns it Tuesday, under shady circumstances. He brings it in a box that looks like a new computer, but he swears it's not. Only problem is, it doesn't have the 25 pin parallel port that the old printer needs to print. So he gives some flimsy excuse, that apparently the people who pay the bills believe.

So I come in Tuesday night, and hear the story. I almost pass out from the absurdity of it, and go into the back room to see what the problem is. I look in the back, and bingo, no parallel port. The old computer had a parallel port. The towers look identical, so he was able to fool everyone else. Not me. That's the advantage of being a certified IT Technician. I know what the hell I am talking about.

So I tell the guy who relieves me, who is our bosses right hand man, and he couldn't believe it. All told, the guy probably charged the building managers $500-600 for a quick 10 minute job that I would have done for $25.

Makes me really want to get a business license and go into business for myself, because I believe in being straight with a customer. Because if you screw the customer, you'll be out of business in a hearbeat. I still am shaking my head over this one...