Some of us take the simple act of logging onto the computer for granted. Others have a harder time -- and we're not talking about simply forgetting the password. This true story takes the cake when it comes to user-induced trouble!
Rick Elkins is a systems administrator, where he supports seven servers and 48 users at a small company that sells swimming pool toys.
One memorable day, a user contacted Rick insisting, "Something is wrong with the network! I can't log in!" Rick was perplexed; there had not been any other complaints regarding login troubles from any of his 47 other users. Why would this one user have a network problem?
Rick began by trying to log on as the user. It worked fine for him. He then contacted her and asked her to try logging on again. To Rick's amazement, the user still could not log in. "Could you please come down here and help me?" she begged.
Rick had no idea what the problem could be. He walked into the user's office and tried to log on himself with her computer using her username and password. Sure enough, it worked with no problem.
Rick assumed that the Caps Lock key was on when she had been trying to log on. He made sure it was off, let her know she was all set and left to begin working on another issue.
About an hour later, Rick received a phone call from... guess who. "I still can't log on! I have work I need to do! Can you please come back down?"
Rick was dumbfounded. He could not fathom what could be wrong with this person's computer. He returned to her office and made her log on slowly while he watched her every move. The user typed her name, B-E-R-N-D-A. Suddenly, the light bulb went on -- in Rick's head, that is. He stopped her and said, "Brenda! Your name is Brenda! B-R-E-N-D-A!"
We've all had Monday Blues, but this must be a record. After some initial embarrassment, the user was happy and Rick could return to his more serious tasks. The lesson learned: Do not attempt mentally challenging tasks such as spelling your first name before you've had a good amount of caffeine.
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