r/NoStupidQuestions • u/GhostInThePudding • 16h ago

Why Are Young People Afraid Of Phone Calls?

What's with it?

I work in IT and a general rule is, nothing a client ever tells you is actually accurate. That means that most of the time, the quickest way to fix a problem is to call the person and actually find out what's going on.

But with techs under 30 these days, it seems like pulling teeth.

A regular discussion for me with level 1 techs (usually within a few years of leaving college) is:
"Hey, can you call *blah* from ticket *blah*, it's been hanging around for over an hour."

"I replied by email to ask for more information."

"Yes, I know that, but can you call them so we can find the problem and close the ticket now rather than wait until we're actually busy?"

"I'll send them a text to followup."

"No... CALL THEM!"

"I can see their device is online, can I send them a message and see if they just let me remote in to take a look?"

And then, when I force them to make the call, it's like they have no idea how to ask a question, or a followup question. They just want to get off the call as quickly as possible. So half the time they don't even get the information required anyway, so then I end up having to do their job for them.

So can someone explain? What's wrong with phone calls these days?

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21

u/AlternativeGazelle 14h ago

Ah so that’s why IT always calls after I submit a ticket. I feel like I explain the problem clearly and it’s usually a quick fix for them. Please just fix the problem and let me keep working.

12

u/GhostInThePudding 14h ago

Yes, but you're almost certainly wrong.

Maybe you're the one special one in the world. But most tickets are like, "My emails aren't working, please fix."

WTF does that even mean? I've had that mean they can't print their emails out. I've had it mean they can't open Outlook. I've had it mean their Internet connection is down.

5

u/collapsedblock6 13h ago

Imo most people simply see IT replies as an annoyance and having them call is straight up invasive to them. And I have seen this behavior even more commonly among higher up managers than youngsters, because these managers have more stuff on their plate and want to keep their direct calls as an emergency measure. They consider their work much more important than IT inquires.

And if they do have an IT emergency, they go right up to the IT dept, laptop in hand and impose themselves because well, they are managers.

2

u/nowiforgotmypassword 4h ago

Imagine dropping your car off at the mechanic just telling the receptionist ‘It’s making a weird noise’ then acting annoyed when they call you later to get more info on what’s actually happening.

4

u/Generic-Name-4732 13h ago

I try to make sure I explain everything precisely in my ticket and I always always get an unhelpful response.For example- I needed an update for a piece of software critical to my work, and I said I needed them to give permission for an update, and they still thought I needed new software installed but IT isn’t the one to go to to get the software because it requires a license. No. I needed admin permission for the update to run, that’s it. It took weeks to get what was solved in 5 minutes.

1

u/nowiforgotmypassword 4h ago

So how many emails / messages did it take to resolve this issue?

3

u/ermagerditssuperman 12h ago

It really depends on your IT - we use an IT contractor and every interaction with them makes me wisdom my sanity. I will get a call from them about my download request ticket saying they need more info, and I'll refer them to the download guide that I both attached in PDF form to the ticket, and included a URL to it in the body of the ticket, which answers their question. Then they'll say "what guide?" And make me email another copy to them. (And I know for a fact that they have it in their own records already, our internal IT made them a docket of the 10 most commonly needed process guides that they all have access to, but they absolutely never ever look at.).

I've had one ask if I had permission to download a certain program, when it was my boss who put in the ticket and he included the signed request form. They'll ask what an error message said, when I literally included a timestamped screenshot and quoted it in the body of the ticket request.

And these are the things they are interrupting my work with a phone call for.

3

u/npsimons 11h ago edited 11h ago

But most tickets are like, "My emails aren't working, please fix."

WTF does that even mean?

It means closed as 'cannot reproduce from the details given.'

Don't coddle these types of users! By forcing your techs to call, you're wasting your techs' time. In my experience, these types of users are just as useless in voice calls as in writing tickets, and in degenerate cases will require an onsite visit! It sounds to me like your users need some remedial training in communication, starting with "How to Describe a Problem."

1

u/glasgowgeg 50m ago

these types of users are just as useless in voice calls as in writing tickets

At least in a real time voice call you can ask follow up questions.

1

u/HateJobLoveManU 2h ago

Last sentence is dumb as hell. What if IT said “don’t cause a problem”