Stupidity- "Help" desk - 10 tickets

A LONG POST WITH A LOT OF JUMPING THROUGH HOOPS AND VENTING
We have two "new" copiers in our office: one that was supposed to have been delivered in early February, that wasn't delivered until the end of February (a machine previously located in a west coast sister office, which was shipped to the north Midwest (in error) then back to Dnever) and a brand new one that was supposed to be delivered in May, that was delivered in mid February.  Guess the salesman needed his commission.

Along with the new copier, was scanning / OCR software, which needed to be installed on a server.  Being a small branch of a large company there are procedures to be followed in accessing a server.  Following the procedures, I submitted ticket #1 to get access so that I could install the scanning software... which almost went without a hitch.  Turns out there was a service pack to install that had a prerequisite of an operating system patch which requires permission and a reboot.  Access to a server is one thing.  Rebooting a server is a holy privilege reserved for the elite in the network maintenance staff - and can only be done by submitting a request through the help desk. 

I submitted a trouble ticket to get permission to install the operating system patch (ticket #2).  That done, I had to submit another request (#3) to get back on the system to install the patch, then (ticket #4) to get the system rebooted.  Tickets #2 and #4 were done by a phone call to the help desk.   Several days later I got a response to the phoned in request for a reboot: request denied - a reboot request can't be submitted by phone.... it requires manager approval on a service request form.  I was not inclined to mess with the paperwork while Susie was in the hospital so complained (no response) and the install just sat for two weeks.

Last Thursday, I finally decided that I needed to complete the installation (helps to have the software installed before the appointment to configure it), so I submitted the request for the reboot (Ticket #5).  I hadn't gotten the approval from my boss (who is out of state), so close to the end of the day, I called him.  Turns out he was out of the office for a week.  I called another supervisor, who I caught 20 minutes before the end of his day in a different time zone and he authorized the reboot on a new ticket (#6).  (At which time my boss checked his email and suggested that I contact someone else.  I told him I already had and that he could safely ignore the request). 

I forgot to specify a suitable time for the reboot.  So 10 minutes after the request was approved, my phone started ringing - there were a number of users that couldn't access the server.  End of day in the Midwest = mid afternoon on the west coast.  Got everyone settled down and back online; and installed the service pack for the scanner software (access via ticket #7), which required a reboot.

Time to submit another ticket (#8) to get manager approval to have the server rebooted.  This time I was smart enough to specify the reboot time at the close of business in our office.  As I clicked "SEND" on that request, it dawned on me that the west coast closes an hour after we do.... which resulted in a call to the help desk, so that they could amend the time on my reboot request (which required another ticket be generated #9).  Reboot approved and completed per the revised schedule.

Today, I had a meeting with the software vendor to configure the scanner / OCR software (access via ticket #10).  We were having some issues with the installation options, when suddenly my connection to the server went away.  Before I could get back on to the server, my phone started ringing: users couldn't access the server.  I was wondering what I had clicked on in error that could take down the server.  Then I got one more call from the help desk.  They had just processed a request from me to reboot the server... yes, the original request that I had sent my boss (ticket #5) when he was out of the office, which I told him to ignore, had just been approved.

After that, the training and configuration went mostly without a hitch.