Joszt, Judge and Jury: OIT Kentucky help desk fried: not as good as original recipe

By Oliver Joszt

“Please leave your name and number and someone will get back to you tomorrow.”

That is exactly what I heard when I called OIT 24/7 for the first time.

I just finished unpacking all my bags into my suite when I decided that it was time, like a typical college kid, to “Facebook stalk” people. Yet, to my surprise, I found that my Internet wasn’t working. I just figured that it was the start of the school year and the Internet might be having some troubles after the long break.

Nevertheless, day after day I still found myself without Internet service. I needed to print something out for class off Blackboard, but without Internet access it didn’t seem likely. I knew that OIT would help me with my problem if I called, but I was in class all day long and didn’t have a free moment until after 10 p.m.

I was reminded by a friend about the 24/7 OIT service from Kentucky implemented this year. I know what you’re thinking: Kentucky? How is someone from Kentucky supposed to help us? Trust me, I was wondering the same thing, but I had hope — and desperation — on my side. Mostly desperation, though. So, I picked up the phone, and after a minimal wait, I got through.

The man who answered the telephone was very nice and, surprisingly, did not have a southern accent. He asked me for all my information and after a series of being left on hold we finally got down to business. He began by asking me if I had all my wires plugged into the right places. That question made me feel a little dumb, but fine, I figured this was just the begin- ning and people make those kinds of mistakes all the time.

Next, he asked me to restart my computer. How restarting my computer could solve my Internet problems, I had no clue, but I still held onto my optimism.

Finally, he made me open my Internet properties and check if I enabled my Internet, but I told him I had been trying that all day. After that, he told me to hold on a second. I happily waited. I started to think this was it. He was coming back with a brilliant plan that would reunite me with my Internet connection once again.

Sadly, that was not the case. Once he came back he just asked me for my information and told me that someone from Rider would get back to me tomorrow. After wasting about half an hour of my time on the phone I got no further. I could have gone to the library the next morning with my information without wasting 30 minutes of my time.

However, I want to specify that in no way does this reflect on OIT in general. Whenever I go to the library with a problem the OIT staff members are more than happy to help me and, luckily enough, they do.

But let me just leave you with a bit of advice: If members from Rider’s administration ask you whether they should keep the 24/7 OIT service, ask them to leave their name and number and tell them that you’ll get back to them tomorrow.