Horse Worming

I stopped by the feed store today and picked up a tube of horse-wormer. Worming a horse is no where near as adventrous as doing the cows, I'm afraid. I stepped over the fence, and after a few moments was able to grab Daisy's halter. She wasn't happy, but after she calmed down, I slid the tube into her mouth and when I got to the back of her tongue, I pushed the plunger. I held her head up for about a minute afterward to make sure she wasn't going to spit it out, then she was done.

As I was walking back to the house, I happened to look down see the following label on the tube:

Warning: Do not use in horses intended for human consumption.

I don't know what's scarier - the fact that humans shouldn't consume the stuff, or that humans would consume the horse to begin with.... I know, people do it, just not people I know....

Teach users to fish without making them feel stupid

(This is something I posted to my work-related blog, but I wanted to put it here as well)

The old adage goes something like: “Bring a man a fish, and you feed him for a meal. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” As true as this is, there should be an addendum: “Teach a man to fish (without making him feel stupid)…”

Anyone who works in IT can tell you humorous stories about “simple” issues that were caused by the user, either directly or indirectly. Or, the IT professional can relay stories of users who are/were technologically challenged. How we handle those situations, and more importantly how we handle the users, can mean the difference between securing repeat business or getting a bad reputation as a customer service professional. And, the reality of life is that any IT professional is really a service professional.

Before I get to my main point, let me give an example. Several years ago, I had a user call me to let me know her CD drive was not working. The conversation went something similar to this:

Me: “When you say ‘it is not working, what do you mean?’”
Her: “Well, I can put CD’s in, but the computer doesn’t do anything.”
Me: “Okay. Just to be sure we’re on the same page, are you putting the CD’s in with the label side facing upward so you can read it?”
Her: “Yes. And, after they go in, I cannot get them to come back out again.”
Me: “How many CD’s have you put into your drive?”
Her: “Well, I have about three in there now, but it won’t let me put any more in.”

About now, I am thinking that she has a 5.25” drive in her computer and she has been jamming CD’s into it. Turns out that was not the case, as you will see.

Me: “Hmm… I’ll be right over as soon as I can to look at it.”
(I hop in my car and drive to the school)
Me: “Hey there! Let’s see if we can figure out what’s going on.”
(She gets out of her chair so I can sit at her desk)

I push the button on the CD drive, and it is empty. Now, I am thinking her drive is actually ‘eating’ the discs… This thought is interrupted by:

Her: “Hey! What is that!?” (Pointing to the now-open and visible CD tray)
Me: “The CD tray where you put your discs, right?” (I ask, expecting her to say yes)
Her: “Oh, no, that’s not where I’m putting them.” (Her computer does not have a 5.25” drive)
Me: “Oh. Okay, can you show me where you’ve been putting them?”

She takes a CD and attempts to insert it between the top of the drive and the computer case.

Her: “See? I used to be able to put them in here.”
Me: “Oh, okay. Well, I’ll see if I can get the other CD’s out, but instead of trying to put them there, you can push this little button (I show her the button next to the tray) and put the CD in there.”
Her: “Oh, my gosh! I feel so stupid! I can’t believe I didn’t know where to put the CD!”
Me: “Don’t feel bad. You just didn’t know. Now, you do. (I smile)”

I remove the side panel from her case and find the CDs resting on top of her CD drive. There are four of them, and they are scratched beyond use from being squeezed through such a tight slot.

Me: “Well, here are your CD’s, but I’m afraid they won’t work anymore. They’re pretty scratched up.”
Her: “(Looking embarrassed still) Oh, that’s okay. I’m just glad you figured it out without making me feel like an idiot.”

The situation was diffused without turning the user into an angry or bawling mess. I also showed her (and that district) that I could be trusted to get the job done without belittling the user for simply not knowing what to do (which brings me to a discussion on assuming things about our users, but I will save that for another day). How does this tie in to today’s post? Please consider the following email exchange (names have been removed) that took place the other day:

From User:
Hi David,
I tried to log in and it won’t let me.
I used: thepassword
Password: theuserid
Am I doing something wrong?
Please let me know. THANKS!

My Response:
You have the right username and password, but you have them flipped… your username is theuserid, and the password is thepassword. Also, we just got done re-booting the server, so it could be possible that it was still coming back up, if you just tried it a few minutes ago. Trying again now should let you in. If not, let me know and I’ll shoot, er, troubleshoot it.
--David

(I received a “Thank You” and then the following email)

From User:
I tried again (with them in the correct order) to no avail. Please shoot the computer…oh yeah, I meant troubleshoot

My Response:
Hmm.. I tried it and was able to log in as you. See if you can get in by copying and pasting your username and password from our previous email. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try something else on this end. If that DOES work, then it usually just means there was something mistyped – usually it is a capitalization issue.
Keep me posted!
--David

(A few minutes later, I received the following email)

From User:
Got it! It seems that my computer had an operator error.
Thanks!

My Response:
No worries! Mine has the same problem more often than I care to admit!
Glad you got in!
--David

Do you see what happened there? First, I helped the user get the correct order of things for logging in. This was done without making the user feel stupid. I also added a bit of information that may or may not have been related to her problem. This lets the user know that she is not being “blamed” for the inability to log in (that is, it might be related to a server rebooting – which was true based on the time of the reboot and the time of her email). Third, I encouraged the user to try again, and threw in a bit of ‘dumb tech humor’ to alleviate any negative feelings the user may be having (possible due to her realization that she had switched her username and password).

When she responded that it still did not work, I logged in with her credentials so that I could see if something had gone wrong with her account. I was able to log in. I let her know that I could get in, and offered a non-combative suggestion (copy/paste). I also explained what to do whether my suggestion worked or not. I also offered an explanation that helped (I hope) her see that she was not the only one this happens to and something (capitalization) she may have overlooked as she typed her password.

Her response lets me know that she was able to get in, and she used “tech humor” back at me, which let me know she was taking things pretty light-heartedly. I followed her response up with some of my own self-deprecating humor, letting her know that I make the same kinds of mistakes, too.

I give you this “play-by-play” in order to demonstrate and explain the process (or at least one possible one) through which IT professionals can help users solve problems without making them feel stupid or inadequate. I could have responded with a simple, “You have your username and password backwards, and make sure you check the punctuation and capitalization of your username and password.” Perhaps some users would appreciate such a direct, terse response. But, in my experience, taking the direct blame away from the user keeps whatever “us vs. them” issues out of the conversation. In fact, she threw in her OWN “operator error” comment about herself.

If you want to keep your customers coming back to you, treat them with respect and TEACH them what they need to know. One of the things I will often ask a customer when I am trying to help them solve a problem is, “Would you like me to teach you to fish, or would you rather I fish for you?” Usually, the first time I work with a user, they tell me to fish for them (that is, get the problem fixed and get out of the way), but the next time, they will ask me to teach them to fish (that is, show them how to fix it themselves). But, even when I am doing the fishing, I am always trying to at least do a little teaching at the same time. Feed your users/customers for a lifetime without making them feel stupid for not knowing how (or for tangling the line, breaking the hook, etc) in the first place.

Super Tuesday not so super

I voted yesterday (Tuesday). I am an Independent, but Arkansas is an 'open election' state, so I got to go and select the party from which I wanted to choose, and then I got to pick the person I wanted to vote for. I am a huge fan of electronic voting, and once they get Internet voting down, I am all for it.

When I saw the list of candidates, I was surprised to see that the list contained people who had dropped out (obviously "electronic" does mean "up-to-date"). And, it so happened the guy I wanted to vote for was still listed! Many people will say that voting for a candidate who dropped out is a waste of a vote. I disagree. And, so do at least 1999 other Akransans who also voted for the same person I did!

Let me make sure everyone understands this: I knew perfectly well that my choice had dropped out. I am not some bonehead that thought he was still running. I made the conscious decision to vote for the person I would have chosen had he not dropped out. Why?

I voted for him because I want him to know that he does have people who thought he was the better choice, especially given the alternatives. I admit, I also figured the news would show how many people voted for everyone on the ballot (which they did, and which is how I know at least 1999 others voted as I did). So, I figured that if they came on said, "Only 1 person voted for so-and-do..." I would know it was me. :-)

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Now, what I want to know is how in the blankety-blank did ALABAMA, excuse me, AL-OBAMA, possibly vote for Barrack!? Hello!? This is ALABAMA we're talking about here! I am stumped, given the racial tension in that state... Then again, maybe there is no tension anymore...

Of course, that's no worse than Huckansas. But, you know why Arkansans voted for Huckabee, right? A vote for Huckabee is a vote that he gets the heck out of our state! Same pretty much holds true for Hillary, though on a less direct scale. You all realize that is why Bill won the state, right? We were so tired of his crap, we didn't care where he went, just so it wasn't here anymore! Though, I do have to admit, I ended liking what he did for the country politically. I believe he can truthfully says, "I did not have sexual relations with that country!" Unlike Bush, who has done us over so many times, it's no wonder the nation has the highest rate of colon-related problems ever....

All I ask is that whoever wins in November, please, dear Lord, abolish "No Child Left Behind." Special Ed kids are Special Ed kids for a reason. On top of that, not all children are meant to be the next leaders of the free world, of the next phase of the industrial, information, or any other age. Some people are going to be garbagemen, mechanics, food service workers, etc. And what is wrong with that? Nothing. If it weren't for the bluest of blue-collar workers, white-collar guys like me wouldn't have the jobs we have to begin with.

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Tuesday brought not only the primary, but also the worst tornadoes we've seen in the state in quite a while. We watched the news as reports of Atkins and other towns were decimated. We watched as pictures and video flashed on the screen. We waited as the winds ripped through our area, bringing torrential downpours and small hail.

We live in Southwest Arkansas, so we were not as directly affected as the hardest-hit areas. Though not directly affected, we were and are certainly indirectly affected. I am on a listserv at work that joins almost every technology-related person in K12. All day, questions about the people we know (or know of), their friends, families, homes, schools, etc came pouring through the list. Since the first day I came to Arkansas, I have always said, "Arkansas is a small town." And it is times like these that it shows - people reaching out to those who are hundreds of miles away, as if they were their next-door neighbors.

I've lived in/near Pittsburgh, Denver, Boulder, and D.C. Arkansas is a small town, and there are very few places I'd rather live.

Giants Win!!

Normally, I wouldn't care one way or the other which team won this year's SuperBowl. In fact, when I started watching the game, I specifically said that it didn't matter to me which team won. But, ultimately I wanted the Giants to win. What swayed my vote? Belichick threw a challenge flag when one of the Giants was in the air, jumping to get off the field. That was the most ridiculous challenge I have ever seen. Right then, I wanted the Giants to win against this cry-baby, spying bonehead. As it turned out, the challenge amounted to nothing, and the Giants sent the trademark-cocky Patriots packing. So much for the "19-0" and "19-0 The Perfect Season," huh?

I do want to say that Peyton Manning is one classy guy. While his brother was basking in his victory, Peyton remained in his executive booth, watching the events on the big screen. I tip my hat off to the big brother who tasted the victory last year, and let his brother drink it in this year.

Cow Worming

I can now add another skill to my growing list: Cow Worming. I've wormed horses before (you take a tube of de-wormer, set the appropriate dosage, stick the tube in the horse's mouth and press the plunger), but I offered to help Shan's Dad worm cows this afternoon (Saturday). In the interest of self-deprecating humor, allow me to be sure to give you as much detail as possible:

When I asked Shan's Dad if he needed help, I had no idea what we'd be doing. So, I was wearing black and blue "slick" shorts and my blue Best Buy shirt, and I had tennis shoes on. When he said we'd be worming cows, I only had the procedure for horses to go by. As we head into the pasture area he has his corral set up in, he is carrying a long U-shaped white plastic "stick" (for lack of a better description), a plastic bottle of de-wormer, and a small cup-like container. The ground is a mess from the wet weather we've been having, not to mention the cow manure all over the place, so I quickly suggest that I go put my boots on.

So, I'm in my shorts and t-shirt with my boots on. Shan's Dad directs me to stand at one end of the corral and slide boards in behind the cows when they enter, so they won't get out. He also tells me to fill the cup-like thing halfway with the de-wormer and to pour the stuff along the cows' backs when they are blocked in. This is great in theory.

When the cows enter the chute, they go bananas. As I try to pour the stuff on one of their backs (there are two cows in the chute), they jump over the far-end barrier and escape. Shan's Dad says he was not expecting the cows to do that, we go to plan B. The chute is actually an L-shaped one, so we can get one cow at a time into the last part of chute. Back up and punt.

The first cow in is so unhappy to be there that most of the de-wormer ends up on the side of the cow than on its back. I get the blockade out of the way, and the cow goes into the field. I put the boards back in place, ready for the next cow. She gets wrangled in there, and just as I pour the medicine, the cow jumps OVER the barrier. Talk about mad cow!

After a bit, Shan's Dad gets another cow to come in ans she is so calm about the whole thing, I actually get the de-wormer to go in a perfect line down her back. She even waits for me to move the boards so she can get out.

The whole time this is going on, the bull is walking around, trying to decide if he should watch or if he should send my happy butt flying. Luckily, he opts just to watch.

I think we did another cow, but I don't really remember. Well, at least I have another item to add to my resume'...

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