Typical Tech Guy

Relationships series – Part 3

So, if I’m up front and honest and asking for what I want, how in the world does that give me an edge over my competition? Let me fill in some gaps here. I mentioned Joe Blow (remember, name changed to protect the innocent) in my last post and how I have unknowingly replaced him on two separate occassions. I forgot that I have another client that used to use another person, and the transition was the same. Basically, not happy with the service, work not being completed etc.

I’m not sharing these situations to brag, but it does set the stage. First, let me say that God has really opened some doors for me, He gets all the glory here. He is leading me in a new direction into situations where I have no other option but to trust Him and hang on.

The typical tech consultant is pretty simple to peg. It’s consistent in my recent situations and I have seen it time and time again, prior to this.

• This person really knows what he’s doing
• This person can tackle any situation and fix it
• This person might have to explain why it doesn’t work the way you thought it would when he got done
• This person might even have to explain why whatever you wanted is not important, like you thought it was.
• This person will make it clear that he knows way more than you and don’t you forget it
• This person knows you need him more than he needs you.
• This person knows that there’s no way you could ever understand what he has to go thru to solve your dilemma, so don’t even ask.

You know these guys, you get them on the phone sometimes, but the bottom line is, it sucks. This gig is not about me showing off how smart I am, it’s about addressing the current situation and working on the relationship.

I am smart enough to know that if you don’t like me
or if you are not comfortable with me being in your office
or if I’m not helping you do your job better because the technology works,
then you are not going to keep me around.

At least you shouldn’t.

You’ve got to have the relationship. With that comes trust, and beyond that comes honest conversations and learning from each other and growing.

I’ve learned some things over the years as I have worked with all kinds of people. The big lesson is that everyone is different. Some people just want their computer or network to work, other people want to understand what happened and what went wrong. It’s pointless to explain a problem and solution in detail to someone who doesn’t care, unless you take joy in seeing the blank, glassy eyed stare. It’s also pointless to hide the truth from someone who wants to understand.

Early on, many years ago, when troubleshooting a computer, I would make it clear what I’m doing, why I’m doing it, what the alternatives are etc. because I didn’t know any better. Now that I am serious about this and a so-called ‘professional’, I do the same thing, much to the chagrin of the competition. My goal, however, is not get in, get the job done and get out, my goal is the relationship.
More to come…