We received this bit of useful information from Alice Collins. Thanks.
I was having trouble with my computer. So I called Harold, the computer guy, to come over. Harold clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem. He gave me a bill for a minimum service call.
“So, what was wrong?”
He replied, “It was an ID ten T error.”
I didn’t want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, “An ID ten T error? What’s that — in case I need to fix it again?”
Harold grinned, “Haven’t you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?”
“No,” I replied.
“Write it down,” he said, “and I think you’ll figure it out.” So I wrote down, “I D 1 0 T”.
I used to like Harold.
Tom Gunther immediately replied:
See, that’s why at the Help Desk I run, we use the term “PICNIC” to describe these problems.
“Did you fix it?”
“Yeah, it was a PICNIC.”
It sounds innocuous enough to users that they don’t ask.
What does it mean to us?
Problem In Chair, Not In Computer
Brian P. Combs
/ March 25, 2010I’m reminded of a support call I took in the mid 90’s. The customer needed to replace the cup holder in his computer because it had broken.