One thing I've noticed about working in IT is that it seems like those with the know-it-all attitude about technology are the ones who are the most ignorant about computers. They also get into all kinds of scrapes because they haven't taken the time to learn otherwise or they've resisted any help.
I've seen this attitude in many end-users, but one of the most memorable experiences I've encountered happened about 10 years ago. I was working as IT support for a training firm in Scotland.
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The job was a mix of duties: supporting the trainers and salesmen at that particular site, while maintaining PCs from other locations. By far, the biggest challenge of the job was dealing with the attitude of the end-users.
Some of them believed they knew everything about computers; they never asked tech support about anything until it became such a problem it stopped them from working. Tech training or similar suggestions were met with much resistance and hostility. One of the worst of these was a trainer we'll call "Bob."
One day, Bob demanded help with what appeared to be a simple problem: His PC wouldn't let him save a document. It turned out his hard drive was full. It was a 200MB drive, but only a couple dozen kilobytes were available. As I started troubleshooting, he walked away.
I quickly discovered that his trash bin was taking up about 80 percent of his drive. It appeared that Bob hadn't bothered to empty his trash or perhaps didn't know how. I emptied the trash, and the document saved successfully. Problem solved.
Before I got back to my desk, Bob returned and screamed, "Where have all my documents gone?!"
