Respect

In every profession you have “that guy”.  Do not let that person let you think we are all like that.  I am here to help you.  I am here to provide knowledge and a different perspective to your meeting.  I don’t tell you how to be an accountant.  But I will tell you what can and can not be accomplished with our technology and limitations.  We are geeks, we want the latest and greatest in tech and make amazing things happen.  We are not trying to make your job harder.  Limitations are set by regulation or management  or budget.  If there was something that would make your job easier and make you a better accountant or admin type we would be glad to make it happen for you.  We dont know everything but this is our job.  Just like you had to go to school for your occupation and that is what you focus on, the same applies for us.

But what really makes us go crazy is that you think we don't want to help you.  No we cant wave a want over it and say "hocus pocus" and everything will be better.  Technology fails sometimes.  Yes it sucks that you clicked through the error message and it takes us longer to figure it out because we don't know what the computer said was wrong.  Yes we have to Google stuff, random things that when we do one thing one time does not work this time and we need more info.  Sometimes we dont have the parts or we can not save your hard drive.  It frustrates us just as much as it frustrates you that the problem wont re-create itself when we get there.  We do believe you have a problem but machines can just be a temperamental beast.

Just don't question my Skills, Integrity, and Qualifications.  I don't know what it takes to do your job, and you don't know what it takes to get mine.  Both were hard to do in different ways.  I could not do your job and you could not do mine.  Have people scammed the system and got a certification with out having the proper prerequisites?  Of course.  In my job and yours.  Was that other IT a jerk?  Yeah so was that other HR person we helped yesterday.  Do not mock what you don't know.  Do not blame if you don't know why.  We need to work together to get it done.  There is no us against them mentality.  Just take things in perspective because it is not you we are picking on.  The rules apply to everyone, the crashes happen to everyone, and if we cant fix it we are truly sorry. 

Your IT guys never get any love.  Maybe you do not either, but it is always easy to blame the ITs in the heavy technology corporate environment.  Don't take the easy way out and blame IT maybe a look at the big picture will put things in perspective.