Phone rings, internal number.
"Front Desk, this is Sonya."
"Hey Sonya, this is Fresh Out Of College Sub-scientist. I need to get in touch with one of the IT guys."
"IT is at extension 9000, do you want me to put you through?"
"Nobody answered."
"If it's an emergency, you can dial 9000, then press # and the tech-on-call will be paged to your number. Is it an emergency?"
"No."
"Do you want me to transfer you to 9000?"
"And, like, what? Leave a message?"
"Ummm, yeah. That's what I'd suggest."
(exasperated exhalation) "Fine."
Transfer, and release.
What the fuck are you calling me for? Do you think I have some magical power that makes the Techs answer the phone? Do you think a special red phone rings in their office when it comes from my desk? Sheesh.
Posted by Sonya at September 2, 2004 03:51 PMYes. As a matter of fact, he does. They all do. It never ceases to amaze me.
Posted by: molly at September 2, 2004 04:09 PMAs a fledgling engineer, I can honestly say that I would probably have done the same thing... that is if we had a front desk and someone to manage said desk.
I think he needed to talk to someone, regardless of whether or not they could answer the question. If it had been me, I would probably have segwayed into random questions about your day and tried to start some sort of converation about the weather and how its very Seattle-esque. This would not solve the problem that orignated the phone call, but it would be more fun than talking to tech helps answering machine.
Posted by: Tom at September 2, 2004 08:50 PMHe may be fresh out of college, but book-smart doesn't mean common sense.....sometimes we must be patient with the peculiar.
Posted by: someone else's mom at September 3, 2004 08:06 AMHe wanted you to transfer his call to the IT's Shoe Phone.
Posted by: dayment at September 3, 2004 10:33 AMI get these a lot when I get stuck covering phones at my job. Nine times out of ten it turns out that what they actually want, surprising as it always is to me that someone would actually ask this of another person, is for me to physically go looking for the person they're trying to reach.
Sometimes I hold the receiver at arm's length and stare at it like it as if it had just licked my ear.
Posted by: Joshua at September 3, 2004 10:59 AMI have nothing unique to add but just a confirmation that the do sort of think you have a special red phone line, and if not that you are willing, with a little pressure, to go physically find someone. For some reason, to me, the red phone is not as insane as the getting-up-to-go-find-just-for-you-sweetie scenario. Get the fuck up of your special lumbar support office chair and find the dude you want yourself! I'm a peer not a lacky! Dumb, I know but a feeling I'm having right now.
Posted by: JtotheP at September 4, 2004 01:44 AMYA!! Ditto and Amen. I get this all the time at work too. Thanks for saying it so I don't have to cause I'm tempted to refer people to this post whenever this happens now.
Posted by: Wow at September 4, 2004 07:16 AMOh, great. Now I know what I have to look forward too (again) when I go back to work from vacation on Tuesday...
Posted by: KING COMTE I at September 5, 2004 07:10 PM