Novel System for Improved IT Support Efficiency

A novel IT Support Call Handling Scheme guaranteed to improve efficiency:

1. Having received a support call or e-mail, do nothing about it
2. If there is no further contact —> the issue is solved
3. If the user calls again, pretend you care. Keep doing nothing about it
4. If there is no further contact —> the issue is solved
5. If the user calls again, provide assurance the problem is being looked at. Once again, do nothing about it
6. If there is no further contact —> the issue is solved 
7. If the user calls again, repeat from step 5
8. If the user acts unreasonably and calls your boss, look busy and go to step 5
9. At this point, the issue is either solved, or an absolute emergency
10. In the latter case, start dealing with it

The above is based on the established fact that most of the time issues solve themselves, because the user gives up, moves to another job, or finds a way around the problem out of frustration.

As the end result is that everybody in IT support works on emergencies all of the time, their jobs will be safe for the foreseeable future, and users will just be grateful whenever any issue is actually solved.

Is that “maximum efficiency” or what?

Hypothesis Russia

More details are coming out about the reasons behind the war in South Ossetia between Georgia and Russia. Beyond the rhetoric (here’s a shameful commentary by The New York Times), it appears clear that Saakashvili wanted a fight, but Putin/Medvedev were also fully ready for war.

Anyway I look at it though, I can only think of one way to explain the whole situation…and that involves having one or more Russian agents in the upper echelons of the Tbilisi government.

The Russian victory on all fronts, military, political, diplomatic is so complete, it can only have been carefully prepared for months in the past.

I was kidding when suggesting that Saakashvili be a friend of Russia. Or was I?

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By the way…from Wikipedia, a map of ethnic groups in the Caucasus. Looks like more than one border should be redrawn…