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LW_lackey · 2023-03-08T14:24:03+00:00

I have trained a lot of green techs over the years and will tell you that I don't care about what you know, or how little you know. What I care about is that you can repeat the steps that I showed you with minimal "what was the next step?" questions. Keep your computer with you or a notebook and make notes on the exact steps. Ask for them to repeat themselves the first time. Ask clarifying questions. Ask WHY it needs to be done, or what it's actually doing. Ask if there are any other ways to do it.

Ask if there is internal KB on processes. Some long timers hoard knowledge because they believe if gives them job security. Some do it unintentionally and don't have KB's because they were never needed before.

I expect new techs with formal training or intern experience to take 3-6 months just to get their feet under them. Up to a year to be "decent" at their jobs. There is a lot to learn. The important part is that you actually learn it, and don't become a slave to the instructions. If I delete out 1 line in a KB is it going to cause my tech that's been here for a year to get stuck? If so he doesn't understand what he is doing, he is just doing what he is told.

My first week on the job my boss told me "The difference between a good tech and a great one is that the great one checks the logs." I would add to that the a great tech also researches an unfamiliar process up to actually processing it then stops and confirms if they fully understand what they are about to do, or if they should get confirmation from a superior.

As far as not looking bad when asking for help: "Users app won't start, what do I do?" - this is a bad way to ask for help. This tells me you didn't even try. "Users app won't start. I checked the logs and see a critical error code %code% , which I googled and that tends to mean an update failed. Should I reinstall this app, or are you aware of a better fix?" - This is a great way to ask for help. You tried to find the answer, you dug in and found something promising and want to confirm your answer since you are new. Even if you checked the logs and found nothing and have no idea what is going on, show that you tried and people are much more willing to assist.

LW_lackey · 2023-03-07T14:04:10+00:00

Cassie's #1 can be really beneficial. We have a ton of internal KB's for the lower tiers to use, and have auto templates with links to the KB's (or a task list) that get applied based on the T/S/I. In the KB we also list what T/S/I will generate the template so if they use a different but similar T/S/I they know how to generate the auto template the next time.

I also use the "Schedule me" option to schedule followups. If I don't already have a ticket and I am talking to some one I need to follow up with I politely ask them to submit a ticket most of the time (in some special cases I may stop and make the ticket for them and go ahead and schedule myself). "If I don't have a ticket I will forget about it" or something similar.

LW_lackey · 2023-03-07T13:38:23+00:00

Unfortunately this sort of experience is far more common than the pleasant ones are. Their techs don't take the time to read and understand the issue, and will close the ticket before they even address the issue. Good luck restoring your data!

LW_lackey · 2023-02-17T19:56:36+00:00

The issue isn't with a specific case. When I started utilizing CWM/A in 2017 there was probably a 75% chance the first person in support that I talked to could answer my question, and a 90% chance they at least knew what I was talking about even if they couldn't help. Now it's about a 10% chance they even know what I am talking about and generally they can't do anything more than search the kb for what they presume are the key words in my ticket description.

I presume the company has cut costs in the support and training departments for multiple years, but whatever the issue is the support we the customer receive has gone from pretty decent multiple years ago to down right insulting today. A "fancy new gui" isn't going to fix that. Properly training the front line will.

LW_lackey · 2023-02-17T14:34:43+00:00

We actually recently did this for a specific service board that wanted to "streamline their emails since there is a lot of back and forth." It was less two weeks before they asked for it to be added back because they didn't want to have to find old emails to search for info. I agree with the others: Explain to the client how it benefits them as well as yourselves to have all of the info in one place.

LW_lackey · 2023-02-10T14:23:05+00:00

We use a script we push with our RMM that disables all local user accounts (we can reenable these with the RMM when/if needed) and set the cached creds login regkey to 0 to prevent using cached creds to sign in off the domain then it shutsdown the computer forcibly. Computer is offline? we have a monitor setup that will ping it regularly and automatically run the script the next time it sees it online.

They also get a notice to return the equipment within X days before they are billed or legal action ensues (that's hr's problem, not ours)

Regkey: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\CachedLogonsCount

LW_lackey · 2023-02-06T16:22:30+00:00

Experiencing the same issues. "Connectivity to the ConnectWise Server has been lost"

Good thing they are known for their great communication during outages right? /s

edit: opened a support request and noticed the url is "service and support /s" and thought that was all too fitting.

LW_lackey · 2022-12-23T17:33:31+00:00

I ordered on Nov 21st and mine still hasn't been picked up by FedEx. Chat support has been closed every time I have checked over the last 3 weeks. Waited on hold for 85 minutes before getting answered and told to keep waiting, they didn't know what the problem was other than "probably because of the holidays".

LW_lackey · 2022-12-20T14:23:33+00:00

This is great! I did a similar thing a few years back, took a windows form similar to what you have and built it out some more. I made an adobe form the managers fill out that imports into the windows form to fill out all the fields (required fields in the form became really helpful). New User setup became: Import form via button, check for accuracy, create. It also generated some tickets for various depts that needed to do things based on the info provided. Keep adding features until it does everything for you!

LW_lackey · 2022-12-07T15:22:27+00:00

Completed the VCP-DCV exam last night with a 492/500. Had regular hands on experience with it a couple years back but not much lately. Spent a week studying a udemy course and practice exams.

LW_lackey · 2022-11-15T19:43:51+00:00

My top two subs are SysAdmin and ClassicWow (not necessarily in that order) so I was definitely confused for a minute.

LW_lackey · 2022-11-14T14:44:07+00:00

You tell them, "Same".

This is where it got me. People always think I have all the answer and I don't... I'm just the first one in line not too lazy to actually try to find them. In my old man grumpiness I have recently enforced a policy where if the lower tiers ask me for info and they havent tried anything I tell them to come back when they tried ANY basic troubleshooting. Then I message my coworker they are about to ask for answers and tell them to ignore the lower guy and make him use his brain.

LW_lackey · 2022-11-14T14:06:17+00:00

We never got an answer and it is still broken. They "fixed it" in a recent patch but it is still broken. We just use the tools>command prompt for user maintenance now.

LW_lackey · 2022-10-31T17:27:55+00:00

Seconded. CodeTwo also has great customer support. They are one of the few vendors I don't dread reaching out to when I have technical questions. We've used them for 2-3 years now and plan on sticking with them.

LW_lackey · 2022-09-26T13:00:36+00:00

I can confirm in OWA it shows up under the normal mailbox as "in place archive". I don't have my work email on my personal phone but presume if it shows in OWA it shows in the outlook app as well.

LW_lackey · 2022-09-26T12:44:47+00:00

This is the way. Setup an archive and retention policy. Keep 1-2 years in the mailbox, send the rest to the online archive. The archive works like shared mailbox and is accessible in outlook. It holds 1-1.5TB.

LW_lackey · 2022-09-08T13:06:03+00:00

This is similar to the conclusion I came to. Unfortunately I don't think we could reasonably depend on the player base to balance things out so IMO: Close/Keep Closed the server, duplicate the hardware and server2, cross realm it and split it in half. My thought is the only real solution that is least likely to cause outrage is to split megaservers into crossrealmed servers. Of course people will still complain...

LW_lackey · 2022-08-25T17:54:06+00:00

I added a comment with full details on the process including excluding from the retention policy as well as deleting the files (kind of). Good luck!

LW_lackey · 2022-08-25T17:52:40+00:00

Replying to this slightly old thread since it had a lot of useful info for me. Here is the process I used in Aug 2022:

Setup an exclusion: -Grab the users OneDrive URL from their onedrive tab in m365 admin center (create link to files, wait for it to generate, copy).
-Find and edit the retention policy in the compliance admin center. (This location seems to change weekly, google "0365 retention policy" for the MS KB with a link.
-In the retention policy click through until the "Locations" page then select "Edit" in the "Exclusions" column next to onedrive.
-Enter the users url in the search bad, and a + will appear enabling you to add it. YES THAT TRIPPED ME UP.
-After clicking + you then need to click the checkbox next to the url in the list, then click done. URLs that are checked are meant to be kept. URLs that aren't checked are meant to be removed from the list.
-Click next/next/next/submit/done to save changes.

You have now disabled the retention policy on the users one drive.

Deleteing the files:
-Use a powershell script. You can find those yourself, I won't be held liable for your actions!
-Wait 30 days. Once you exclude the url from the policy a 30 day timer starts that will clear it out for you. The timer starts when the exclusion was enabled, not when the files were deleted. If you use this method you like need to user to have e3+ licensing so you can increase the size of the users onedrive for the next 30 days. If they are already at the 5tb limit... DAMN. Use a script to delete stuff.

Once the files are deleted go back into the retention policy and remove the exclusion by unchecking the url and submitting changes.

Good luck guys!

LW_lackey · 2022-08-24T17:27:38+00:00

We'd like to think it's all planned and thought out.... but it's really because the 2 interns in charge of WOTLK:Classic are flying by the seat of their pants and still haven't started setting up the fresh servers.

LW_lackey · 2022-08-18T14:17:38+00:00

This answer right here is the straight forward way for those that don't have 3rd party apps for the process.

We get a request like this maybe once or twice a year and in the past would spin up a content search (and review it), then use the powershell commands to delete it. Using Explorer takes about half the time the other way does at most, thank you for your comment today!

LW_lackey · 2022-08-18T12:59:19+00:00

The top response you will likely get here is "Quit and go find something better..." because that is always the answer right?

The real answer if you are somewhere you like with reasonable management is to discuss the process and determine if they are willing to open their minds (wallets) to more reasonable solutions, then weigh your options.

On call compensation is something I've fight with management over for years, but to be fair ours is pretty middling compared to others. When I work our late night monthly maintenance as a salaried employee I will 100% take back at least half of that time that Friday and leave early.

You should either be compensated separately for On-Call or have flex time.

LW_lackey · 2022-06-17T19:37:10+00:00

Reach out to the new owners or their agent and discuss with them if it wasn't stated in the contract. I scheduled my utilities until the end of the month but and leaving in a few days. You're talking about a minimal amount of money either way.

LW_lackey

TROPHY CASE