Welcome To The Digital World, Folks
On a scale of 1-10, how tech-savvy are you? 10 being “excellent” and let’s be truthful on this.
I grew up with computers and television, but I can honestly say the only time I feel at a level 10 is when I’m helping my parents with something on their smartphones. Shoot, I’m nearly Apple support when it comes to my grandparents, but I would consider myself to be at a level 7 or 8 on average.
Since the older generation didn’t grow up in this digital world we have become, they tend to be less tech-savvy than the younger generation. Not saying this applies to all, but I can say, for the most part, speaking in terms of computers, smartphones, cookies, the internet, this may sound like a foreign language to them. And technology isn’t stopping anytime soon for them to catch up. Every day technology advances at what seems at a rapid-fire pace with new and improved software, smartphones, cars, and anything else imaginable, which is causing constant struggles for the older generation in their daily lives. You can’t even go to Mcdonald’s without the pressure to use one of their digital touchscreens to order a burger and fries.
Tech expert, “Kam” would concur.
When a student, he worked at his university’s IT helpdesk for a couple of years, so he has handled his fair share of head-scratching moments when trying to resolve users’ issues. However, there was one incident that takes the cake of how just technologically illiterate some adults are.
One day a university employee walked in, needing a simple password request only for it to turn into a whole ordeal – leading him to believe Kam was able to change ALL of his passwords, yes, all. And as we all are aware with our own grandparents, they do not like change. So, I can’t imagine how this will unfold.
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He Forgot His Password
“Hey, I forgot my password, can you help?” “My password expired, how do I log in?” With the number of passwords we have to remember, there’s no doubt, we forget some, especially for sites or accounts we rarely use. And it’s pretty normal, so normal and common, Kam and his IT coworkers had a strict policy to follow regarding passwords; Anytime someone forgets their password, it’s an automatic password reset since no one has access to see their password. And student employees were only allowed to reset students’ passwords, but for professors and other faculty members, an IT ticket needed to be open for Network Services to reset the password. It all came down to security measurements. Normally, no one had a problem with the process, until one day.
Kam and his co-worker, “Tony” were the only two working the morning shift when “Donald” from the accounting department came in to get some IT help. He needed access to a specific form on the university’s website, but the only way to access it was to log into his university account, however because he rarely used his account, he forgot his password. Following the policy, this meant two things: his password would need to be reset, and an IT ticket would need to be open.
Tony said, “We’ll get a ticket sent off to Network Services. We’ll give you a call once your password is ready. What’s your phone number?”
Donald immediately rattled off two phone numbers he could be reached at, but he said it in a manner where it seemed like he was some sort of auctioneer, so Tony asked him to repeat it. It took a total of five times of asking him to repeat himself before Tony was able to jot down the phone numbers.
Tony said, “Perfect! Someone will give you a call as soon as Network Services has reset your password.”
Donald replied, “Well, I’ll just come back in an hour, how’s that.”
And out he went. I guess the time spent on getting his phone numbers wasn’t needed after all. But it should’ve been a foreshadowing for what was to come next. I mean, who knew getting a couple of phone numbers would turn into a five-minute hassle of deciphering it.
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A Confused User Vs An Even More Confused IT Guy
An hour later, Donald returned as he said he would, but this time Kam was the only person at the desk. Having been there from earlier, Kam knew exactly what Donald needed, so he went ahead and retrieved the IT ticket in the system.
Kam said, “Hey! My team got your password reset. Did you want me to write it down on a sticky note for ya?”
Again, this was a simple password reset, he’d probably already done a few that same morning with no issues, so he wasn’t expecting this one to be any different, but then he saw Donald making a rather perplexed face.
Donald asked, “So this won’t change my password, right? Cause right now, when I log in on my phone, it shows those little stars and enters my password by itself.”
He was basically describing “password autofill” when the site or the phone’s application (app) saves the user’s login information (username and password), so every time they log in, the site or app automatically populates the login information. However, once a password is reset, it doesn’t automatically change it on the site or app, so the user must then manually enter the password the next time they log in. From there, the user can choose “password autofill” for the new password going forward, so it will autofill with the updated password. Easy-peasy, right?
As Kam was going to further explain, he was immediately was cut off by Donald.
Kam said, “Well, yes, this does change your password, bu-“
Donald exclaimed, “Shoot! I don’t want to change my password!”
Too late, bud.
Kam thought, “If you didn’t know your password, then how did you expect to log in? A new password was the only route to go.”
But questioning this man’s thought process wasn’t going to help him, so instead, Kam said, “You can always change your password to be anything you choose once you’re logged in.”
What he thought would alleviate Donald’s concerns, only did the opposite.
Donald exclaimed, “So you changed my phone password? Wait! You changed my online banking password and everything else?!”
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“I’m A Technology Amateur”
The man couldn’t have been more wrong. It would be almost impossible for a student employee at his university’s IT helpdesk to have the power to change all of Donald’s passwords, down to his online bank account profile. But then again, something that is a no-brainer to more tech-savvy folks isn’t as easy to comprehend than to others who aren’t too familiar with how technology works. Let’s just say, Kam wasn’t some lowkey hacker who was working part-time IT to only mess with the university users.
Kam assured him, “No, this only changed your password for university services.”
Donald said, “Oh, okay, that’s good. If it changed my other passwords, I’d have to go talk to ‘Tyler’ to have him fix my phone again. He does all of my technology stuff for me. So now, how do I do the conflict of interest form?”
Kam said, “Well, I don’t have the link to the form handy, but when my co-worker who made the form is at work later today, I’ll get the link from him and email it to you so you can fill it out.”
He promptly declined the offer, saying, “Don’t bother, I’m a technology amateur. I don’t know what I’m doing. When does your co-worker come in?”
Kam replied, “11 am.”
Donald said, “Great! I’ll see you at 11 am, so you guys can walk me though it.”
This time, Kam was the one with the confused face. The form was rather easy to complete, so why would he need assistance? Was this going to be another situation where it’s going to take longer than expected?
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The Conflict Of Interest Form
Kam didn’t understand why he would need someone to walk him through the Conflict of Interest form, it was ridiculously easy to follow. Once users logged into their university account, their name and department auto-filled in the correct fields and the only thing they had to do was enter their birthday and phone number as verification reasons and check the necessary boxes regarding the conflict on the form.
It was actually the exact replica of the physical form before it went digital, but yet, just like Donald, users had a hard time with it. There were constant complaints about how complicated it was, but in reality, it was only seen as complicated because it was online and people who weren’t as competent had the biggest trouble. Some even claimed the form was broken, only to find out, they ignored the disclaimer below where their phone number must be entered in the exact format as shown on the form to be accepted.
And Donald didn’t disappoint when he returned again at 11 am. In his true fashion, he made the process more difficult than it should’ve been. He even didn’t know what Kam’s co-worker meant when he was asked to “scroll down” and had to be shown how to scroll from his mouse. But eventually, everything was handled and everyone was satisfied – it just took longer than it should’ve been. But, I guess, that’s customer service for you.
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Thoughts From The Author
After reading this story, I couldn’t help but think of my own experience working at a helpdesk and just how mindboggling to realize how the older generation has such a struggle with the easiest concepts regarding technology. And honestly, there’s not much you can do, other than grab their hand and walk them through it. For some, they are willing to learn on their own, but just need a little guidance and explaining, but for the most part, they just want the problem resolved right away.
I am impressed by how Donald wasn’t a prick about the ordeal. Normally, people tend to get frustrated after the second visit to get something done, but nope, he stayed calm and respectful throughout. Even when he thought Kam changed his password for his online banking profile. That would stress anyone out, who didn’t know any better. I almost couldn’t stop laughing at that part. Aww, poor Donald. The things people come up with, just because they just don’t know any better.
Overall, I’m glad both parties were able to say calm and collective because it can also be stressful for the employee (Kam) when the user isn’t getting the memo. Sometimes, it’s not the system’s fault, but rather the user’s fault and you kind of have to explain every little thing. And Donald is just another person in this digital world who battles with technology. We all can’t be at a level 10 and honestly, I don’t mind it. I like being my grandparent’s tech support.
And soon than later, we’re all going to be Donald one day if not already, because technology doesn’t wait for anyone.
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