Have You Tried Turning The Technician Off And On Again?

(My job is sending lab tests to different labs, which is more typing out the tests than actually moving the samples around. I don’t usually turn on my computer until I get my first stack of tests, which can take a couple of hours depending on the day’s traffic, so I don’t really notice if my computer is working until I do. After getting my first stack of files for the day, I notice my computer isn’t working, and after trying to fix it, the whole electric circuit jumps. This means that other than the computer not working, we also have no fax or copy machine. I can’t work, which might cost me, since my boss isn’t exactly my biggest fan. A coworker of mine calls an electrician. The electrician checks everything, tries to turn the computer back on, and nothing happens, so they say it’s the computer and go. My first thought is that I’m going to need a new computer, but my coworker says she’ll call IT. They say it’ll take a while and end up sending someone about an hour later.)

IT: “What’s the problem?”

Me: “The whole circuit doesn’t work, and when I try to turn on my computer, there’s a red light and it beeps.”

IT: *taking his time going through everything* “What are you saying? What is that supposed to mean? Are you sure it’s not the circuit that’s problematic?”

Coworker: “We just had an electrician here, and everything is fine.”

Me: “It’s the computer. And the screen, and the copy machine.” *muttering to myself* “And now also my phone. Great.”

IT: *after twenty minutes of just poking around* “I’ll take your computer for a second and check. It might be the circuit.”

(The guy leaves for another ten minutes, and when he comes back, he lays this gem on me:)

IT: “I just tested your computer in another room and it works just fine, so it’s the circuit.”

(He then proceeds to plug the computer back in, which — yet again — jumps the whole circuit, and possibly the printer, too, which is rather far from my desk.)

Me: *to my coworkers* “Well, I guess I’m not working today! My computer is dead!”

(The IT guy then decided that I might need a new computer. And that’s a conclusion that took me two minutes to reach, originally.)