I received an award today at work for excellent user support.

J

JCitron

Trainzing since 12-2003
I don't usually pat myself on the back and walk around with my head all swollen up unless I'm being bitten by a bunch of mosquitoes, but anyway I received the MVP award by the management for being a significant contributor to the organization.

Like Zec, and the other guys here at Auran/N3V, I support end-users. In my case the user base has grown from about 275 people when I started last July to nearly 550 as of today, and I am the sole support guy for the this hub. There are over 100,000 people in Oracle, and I support the Burlington, MA hub of the sales org.

Anyway, why did I get this?

The manager felt that in my position, technicians and support people never get a real thank you no matter how hard we try to keep everyone up and running smoothly, and he felt that I needed to be recognized for the work well done in supporting his group. During his speech, I nearly passed out from the embarrassment, especially when I had to get up to receive the reward.

To me the receipt of the reward shows how great these end-users are in my organization. I have never seen this before, nor did I ever expect anything. To me they are my customers. The fact that I go above and beyond what is called for me to support everyone shows my work ethic, which I have always maintained to the highest degree I can. I treat the user base just as I would treat people that came to my company. I work my best to always perform the job with a cool calm manner even when under pressure. I take the time to listen to the people before I speak, and gather the information. And above all, maintain a great sense of humor no matter what. Believe me. It gets tough. I am not well physically I am fighting a degenerative neurological condition, for which there is no cure, but I continue to work and always do my best.

So what's all this BS you're thinking? Yeah, it's great that JCitron received this fancy platinum colored star on a glass base. So what?

Well the great point I'm trying to make, and yes you always see I have a moral, or some kind of learning experience when I post a long diatribe, let's cut Zec and Chris some slack. These guys do a tremendous job with little support. They too have their own lives outside of Auran, and really go that extra mile too. At the moment I am looking at building a tech team, and if I could I would hire them in a heartbeat. These are the kinds of employees that companies should have.

Something to think about before you go off ranting about the DLS being down, or some other issues have come up. Instead of spouting, ask and be patient. The crew is there working hard trying to solve your problem with the minimal amount of resources that they have.

John
 
Congratulations, it's nice to be acknowledged for hard work sometimes.
On the other hand about 5 years ago I took it upon myself to build a database for my workplace that would enable our maintenance department to check each spec for each space in our 1300 patient room hospital. I was encouraged to finish the project by our vice president, and was in the process of entering all the data for each space according to the blueprint number assigned.

Of course, the vice president got the boot, and my database soon after.

Apparently it's preferable for each trade (electricians, painters, mechanical techs, etc...) to have to search through hand written index cards that have been used and scribbled over for the past 50 years.

Who would have thought that was more efficient? :(
 
Well said, JCitron. It is nice to be acknowledged once in awhile; particularily when all you normally hear is 'this is broken; fix it, NOW!'

To the hard working support team at N3V, thanks for everything.


Apparently it's preferable for each trade (electricians, painters, mechanical techs, etc...) to have to search through hand written index cards that have been used and scribbled over for the past 50 years.

Who would have thought that was more efficient? :(
Click to expand...
Management, evidently!:hehe:

Matt.
 
Some jobs are thankless. I'm sure there are others out there who feel the same, but hey, they are the people who make the World go round.

Cheers :)

AJ
 
Great little story young John, congrats on being recognised in your role. I agree with AJ, that it's the unsung heroes who generally take all the flak with being on the front line, and very little thanks is offered towards them, it's no different on here, tech. staff and moderators have always done a grand job in difficult times, being a referree and keeping the peace is not an easy task, and they do an admirable job in the face of adversity. I'll put my bacon sandwich down for a moment and raise my coffee cup in a toast to all of ya......:hehe:

Cheerz. ex-railwayman.
 
Congrats, John!

Being that I lived in your area and know it pretty well, it's even more meaningful.

Way to go!!

Jim

Did the crowd look something like this?

:Y::Y: :):sleep: :clap::clap::clap::Y::clap::Y:


Did they hold the event at the Haverhill Country Club?
Just wondering because that's where my wife's Christmas parties were held.
 
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John, if I can add my congratulations to those above. Those of us who are at the "coal face" in jobs that deal directly with Joe Public often only see their anger and frustration and, as the company front line representatives, we often find ourselves the target of abuse. It is nice when you get recognized for your work not only by the company but by your peers and sometimes (although it seems rare) by Joe Public as well.

I have just finished 35 years at the "chalk face" dealing with often troubled teenagers and their sometimes less than supportive parents. Tomorrow, July 1st will be my last day on the job. The abuse I have received in those years will not be remembered - but the praise and thanks for the efforts I have made will be.

Peter Ware
 
Hi John.
Congratulations on receiving the award and I am convinced that no one would have deserved it more than yourself. I have always enjoyed reading your postings on this forum as everyone can see that you always put great thought and effort into your writing. Obviously it is now for everyone to see that you put the same thought and effort into your dealings with the people in your working life as you do with the members on this forum.

On the other side of the coin, while you where enjoying yourself receiving the reward I was unfortunately having to attend an industrial tribunal court in London as witness for a company who had dismissed a young manager following an accident at the depot he was managing.

I had carried out the route cause accident investigation which had shown that he had indirectly caused the accident through thoughtless cost-cutting which led to equipment failure and the accident. Thankfully nobody was killed or injured in the incident but at a different time of day there could have been multiple casualties. However I do think the decision to dismiss him was a bit harsh although I have no say in that.

On reading your award it just makes you realize at the end of each day some people finish up very happy while others can be in complete distress at the day's events as the young manager was when he lost the case. I have to say that I felt a bit down on the way back to the hotel and overnight, but reading your award when I logged in to the forum on the train this morning made me feel 10 times better.

Again John congratulations, no one deserves it more than you.

Bill
 
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Well done John. :)

Agreed, it's somewhat of a thankless job.

However, for me, to be able to help someone find solutions to their issues with Trainz, and for them to then find enjoyment in Trainz, well it far outweighs the other side :)

Plus, you often get a laugh in these jobs. Such as when you get a ticket that simply reads "help".
 
Job well done, John. We've never crossed paths and yet I think I know what this about. Ya see, I'm a retired teacher and, well, dealing with parents about their kids... isn't that a simile/metaphor for what you do?

My heartiest congratulations to you!
 
Congrats John, well done! I have worked in IT support for the last 10 years, and know what a thankless job it can be sometimes. I'm glad you got the recognition!
 
Hello John.

And yes, its the engine room people that make the wheels go round and they do hardly ever get a thank you for it. I as well agree that Zec and Chris do a great job on limited time etc.

So Congratulations John, very well deserved, and Thank you Zec and Chris, Your hard work is appreciated my end :)

Cheers

Trent
 
Thank you, and especially again to Zec and Chris. I get those "Help" or "It's broken" tasks all the time. In addition to the SRs that come in off of the Global-IT helpdesk. It's funny these people are the ones that complain the most about how bad the service is. When I finally see them, I tell them if they had a more intuitive question, the answer and help would be more forthcoming.

The satisfaction is there with me too, knowing that I've helped my coworkers keep working, besides there's a little self interest here. The sooner they are fixed, the less they'll bug me because I'm on-site and can't hide. :)

@Ed. - This sounds like managerial politics. Is that a disease of some kind, by the sound of it? I'm sure once the got rid of you and your manager, some new guy came along and redid the project all over again. I saw this at Polaroid. No wonder they went belly up. Every time a new version of a product was developed, a whole new dev team was brought in, and nothing was saved from the previous project.

@JimDep - You hit it right on the head! This couldn't have been so true!
They really are a great crowd to work with, and I do get my share of teasing as well. It really is a small world, now that I remember, you dealt with my former neighbor in the Amesbury Hysterical Society. She lived two streets over from me in Merrimac.

@Bill - That really was a bummer of a day. I agree the guy probably shouldn't have been terminated, but this may have been a political move to save someone's backside somewhere else. I've seen that way too many times in the corporate world.

Any way, thank you again to all for your great support.

John
 
all dust settles and your still floating in heaven

waited a little before congrat you on the achievement.
Savor the moment and month after.
Nice to see people get reckoned for succesfully survive the hardship of daily work so obvious and normal to the outside world.

Good job John and now time to look for retirement and Trainz:hehe:

have a wonderful day after tomorrow my friend

Roy and Ning:wave:
 
JCitron said:
@Ed. - This sounds like managerial politics. Is that a disease of some kind, by the sound of it? I'm sure once the got rid of you and your manager, some new guy came along and redid the project all over again. I saw this at Polaroid. No wonder they went belly up. Every time a new version of a product was developed, a whole new dev team was brought in, and nothing was saved from the previous project.
Click to expand...

They actually kept me on, but refuse to consider the value of such a database. The only thing I can imagine is that one of the VP's holds stock in an index card manufacturer.:hehe:
 
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