Other people's time

"Tiffany" had the computer tech rolling his eyes today. Our printer apparently had some secret and emotional communication with our computers which ended badly. It no longer recognized our machines and no amount of amateur troubleshooting could repair the relationship. Tiff got it to print a test page and said, "See? You just have to keep at it and not give up." When it wouldn't print anything else, I asked what she did the first time. The response: "I just pushed a bunch of buttons and then hit 'Select'." After listening to me arguing with Tiff for a while, ("No, it's not under warranty anymore, so tech support is not free. No, it's not. You can call them if you want. Yes, I already re-booted. Yes, I shut off the power already. Yes, I turned it back on - it's just on standby,") her boss told me to call the tech. She watched him work and kept asking him to check things as if she knew his business ("Did you check the cable? Maybe it's worn."). I just bit my lip and kept trying to look busy - no easy feat without the printer.

After I told him Tiff was "helping" the tech, her boss finally sent her on a 20 minute errand that lasted for 45. The tech looked at me and said, "She's kinda pushy, huh?" Her boss said, "I don't know what planet she emanates from." Interesting choice of words but fitting somehow.