July 13, 2009 at 03:28Harsh everyday life of a service engineer
I had a chance to work in such a mysterious field of activity as “installation of commercial equipment, service and 1C-franchisee” for some time. In fact, this means that you (with a partner) rush about like crazy bees around the city and set up another outlet or repair broken equipment in an already running one. By the degree of nervousness, this position takes place exactly between the system administrator in the bank and the enikeyschik in the office: the responsibility is like the first, and the level of knowledge of users is worse than the second. Awful combination.
Probably, many of these stories seem commonplace. And there is. But someone may suddenly penetrate and decide to try themselves in this area. Or decide absolutely never to try. It's not bad too. Although the first goal of this topic is to tell how someone works, so you can later buy bread in a department store or beer in your favorite bar. Rather, that you could sell them.
To be honest, all this mysterious technology, standing under the shelves, most often is no different from the one that is under your table. Apart from fiscal registrars and some other little things. But this does not make anyone any easier. Never, never go to such a position if there are any others. They can pay well for all this, but no salary pays for the collision of another representative of the fair sex, for whom "something does not work." And these unforgettable calls from bars and convenience stores ...
"This is B ****** (the names are prudently censored). Our cash register flew, it does not send data. ”
"What time is it? Nine in the evening? The most influx of visitors? Now we will ... "
Gentlemen, the bartenders dragged a keg with beer and gently slammed it onto the wire, imprudently folded at the bottom of the cash register. The wire is not simple, but golden ... That is not a network card, but a real COM. The only one in the cash register, by the way, which is an ordinary computer in a compact case. And what will happen to him after bridging all the wiring, I think, is understandable. One chip just exploded, and by what miracle a rare mother did not fly - is unknown. Fortunately, there was only one PCI available, in which they stuck a board with two ports, strictly forbidding to repeat such experiments.
“Hello, this is A ****, when will you launch a trading floor at our place?”
The goods in this beautiful store are so diverse that the boss - 1Snik - has been struggling over the configuration of “Trade 7.7” for the second week. Why all this does not work out of the box, science does not know. And the work, by the way, is worth it. Although we have already installed the most ordinary PC in the hall, connected it with a bookkeeping network (which required the forwarding of vituha under the false ceiling and the drilling of four walls of an appalling length with a drill) and now we are trying to teach two saleswomen how to work with the shaitan machine. The girls seem to understand everything. What a blessing ... Only two days later it turns out that the accounting department is moving all the kagal to the other end of the building.
“Hello, this is A *******, we are shocked by your equipment, come!”
I frantically think where and what was not grounded when I passed the bookkeeping. Everything seems to be in order ... but never mind? I come, sit in the place of an accountant (severe aunt in years and dimensions). Aw! Really beats. Nowhere is there a trace of a cliff, 220 sockets here have been made up to us, but from a pair of ethernets they should not be so fucked up. I look suspiciously at the system staff and immediately pay attention to the freshly washed floor and the telephone wire stretching along the baseboard. And then the thought works quickly. The cleaning lady — oh, that IT guy’s terrible dream — neatly chopped a wire with a mop, and he kept it on the wet floor, and from there - over the metal legs of a cheap chair. After that, you will begin to believe in coincidences.
"Hello" - and this is the boss. - “They brought us the cash desk here, it doesn’t work. Understand. "
That's bad luck: the “cashier” is a monoblock comp with a touchscreen, card reader, barcode scanner, a dash in a mortar. And information on how to disassemble this thing has to be searched for online for a long time, it is not possible to crack with a raid. And just hard flew. Nothing, replace it. We pull out one of the four delivered to the desktop, acting as an accounting machine in the same store. Or was it a restaurant? Who sold them a system with four hard drives, but without a sidirom (there was simply no space left on the loop), given that accounting and a collection of music for the soul, along with backups, really take 25 gigabytes out of 500? Ah, some kind of "office that came before us" ...
Yes, if another company “led” the store before you, you need to prepare for surprises. Tear a twisted pair, and then push the bad twist into the channel in the wall so that it is not visible? Configure 1C backup on hard with the base itself? Glue the barcode scanner gun to the table with super glue - "so as not to be stolen"? All this will be provided to you by your predecessors.
There is no worse moment in the installer's life than an attempt, without any noise and dust - in the literal sense - to stretch a whitewash across the plasterboard ceiling in an expensive clothing store. Well, who for the sake of some kind of computer technician will take off dozens of black suits from hangers, in fact? And the gypsum dust is being poured, poured ...
Although no, it can be worse. For example, to assemble a computer on an ATX board in an AT chassis. Yes, yes, with a big round hole under the keyboard connector. Three PCI-boards had to be pushed into it, which is a rarity for a cash register. And during transportation, two of them fell out of the connectors and burned these connectors along with them to the damn grandmother when they first turned on. Who came up with the brilliant idea to save on the case? Well, not for the pickers for sure.
Or attempts to figure out what is still buggy in the ancient brand-name POS from HP, built on some strange microATX. Both of its COM ports refused to be friends with the electronic scoreboard, giving out krakozyabry and hanging the whole machine. The reason was never found.
Well, stories of store owners trying to spend as little money on technology as possible are a topic for a completely separate article. Although it happens the other way around: the spectacle of the licensed Kerio Winroute Firewall in the design office for three cars was very pleased . "What for?!". "And that was ... we were advised." 300-plus euros, why, garbage a question.
In general, a good job. Weaning to be amazed at trifles, and even very little seems funny after it. Like after the army.
Good luck to you. And smart users.
Probably, many of these stories seem commonplace. And there is. But someone may suddenly penetrate and decide to try themselves in this area. Or decide absolutely never to try. It's not bad too. Although the first goal of this topic is to tell how someone works, so you can later buy bread in a department store or beer in your favorite bar. Rather, that you could sell them.
To be honest, all this mysterious technology, standing under the shelves, most often is no different from the one that is under your table. Apart from fiscal registrars and some other little things. But this does not make anyone any easier. Never, never go to such a position if there are any others. They can pay well for all this, but no salary pays for the collision of another representative of the fair sex, for whom "something does not work." And these unforgettable calls from bars and convenience stores ...
"This is B ****** (the names are prudently censored). Our cash register flew, it does not send data. ”
"What time is it? Nine in the evening? The most influx of visitors? Now we will ... "
Gentlemen, the bartenders dragged a keg with beer and gently slammed it onto the wire, imprudently folded at the bottom of the cash register. The wire is not simple, but golden ... That is not a network card, but a real COM. The only one in the cash register, by the way, which is an ordinary computer in a compact case. And what will happen to him after bridging all the wiring, I think, is understandable. One chip just exploded, and by what miracle a rare mother did not fly - is unknown. Fortunately, there was only one PCI available, in which they stuck a board with two ports, strictly forbidding to repeat such experiments.
“Hello, this is A ****, when will you launch a trading floor at our place?”
The goods in this beautiful store are so diverse that the boss - 1Snik - has been struggling over the configuration of “Trade 7.7” for the second week. Why all this does not work out of the box, science does not know. And the work, by the way, is worth it. Although we have already installed the most ordinary PC in the hall, connected it with a bookkeeping network (which required the forwarding of vituha under the false ceiling and the drilling of four walls of an appalling length with a drill) and now we are trying to teach two saleswomen how to work with the shaitan machine. The girls seem to understand everything. What a blessing ... Only two days later it turns out that the accounting department is moving all the kagal to the other end of the building.
“Hello, this is A *******, we are shocked by your equipment, come!”
I frantically think where and what was not grounded when I passed the bookkeeping. Everything seems to be in order ... but never mind? I come, sit in the place of an accountant (severe aunt in years and dimensions). Aw! Really beats. Nowhere is there a trace of a cliff, 220 sockets here have been made up to us, but from a pair of ethernets they should not be so fucked up. I look suspiciously at the system staff and immediately pay attention to the freshly washed floor and the telephone wire stretching along the baseboard. And then the thought works quickly. The cleaning lady — oh, that IT guy’s terrible dream — neatly chopped a wire with a mop, and he kept it on the wet floor, and from there - over the metal legs of a cheap chair. After that, you will begin to believe in coincidences.
"Hello" - and this is the boss. - “They brought us the cash desk here, it doesn’t work. Understand. "
That's bad luck: the “cashier” is a monoblock comp with a touchscreen, card reader, barcode scanner, a dash in a mortar. And information on how to disassemble this thing has to be searched for online for a long time, it is not possible to crack with a raid. And just hard flew. Nothing, replace it. We pull out one of the four delivered to the desktop, acting as an accounting machine in the same store. Or was it a restaurant? Who sold them a system with four hard drives, but without a sidirom (there was simply no space left on the loop), given that accounting and a collection of music for the soul, along with backups, really take 25 gigabytes out of 500? Ah, some kind of "office that came before us" ...
Yes, if another company “led” the store before you, you need to prepare for surprises. Tear a twisted pair, and then push the bad twist into the channel in the wall so that it is not visible? Configure 1C backup on hard with the base itself? Glue the barcode scanner gun to the table with super glue - "so as not to be stolen"? All this will be provided to you by your predecessors.
There is no worse moment in the installer's life than an attempt, without any noise and dust - in the literal sense - to stretch a whitewash across the plasterboard ceiling in an expensive clothing store. Well, who for the sake of some kind of computer technician will take off dozens of black suits from hangers, in fact? And the gypsum dust is being poured, poured ...
Although no, it can be worse. For example, to assemble a computer on an ATX board in an AT chassis. Yes, yes, with a big round hole under the keyboard connector. Three PCI-boards had to be pushed into it, which is a rarity for a cash register. And during transportation, two of them fell out of the connectors and burned these connectors along with them to the damn grandmother when they first turned on. Who came up with the brilliant idea to save on the case? Well, not for the pickers for sure.
Or attempts to figure out what is still buggy in the ancient brand-name POS from HP, built on some strange microATX. Both of its COM ports refused to be friends with the electronic scoreboard, giving out krakozyabry and hanging the whole machine. The reason was never found.
Well, stories of store owners trying to spend as little money on technology as possible are a topic for a completely separate article. Although it happens the other way around: the spectacle of the licensed Kerio Winroute Firewall in the design office for three cars was very pleased . "What for?!". "And that was ... we were advised." 300-plus euros, why, garbage a question.
In general, a good job. Weaning to be amazed at trifles, and even very little seems funny after it. Like after the army.
Good luck to you. And smart users.