Rejecting a promotion sent field service tech into support hell

In a recent case of field service tech's rejection of a promotion, Preston, a senior field service engineer, chose to decline a consultancy position. He had grown fond of working on-site and valued the appreciation of his team for his skills. Upon arriving at client locations, Preston was fond of receiving a cup of coffee prepared just as he liked it, which further motivated him to remain in his current role.

Preston's colleague, however, accepted the promotion and quickly began managing tasks such as reconfiguring Windows NT 4.0 servers, configuring backup systems, and ensuring uninterruptible power supplies (UPSes) were functional. As Preston continued to handle routine tasks, it became apparent that his colleague was struggling with basic mistakes on a majority of his assignments.

Some mistakes were so severe that a customer refused to work with the new consultant after a crucial database was wiped due to an inadequate backup system.

One assignment that Preston was entrusted with involved fixing issues caused by the consultant's actions. In one instance, the consultant erased a customer database that Preston's backup regime had been designed to protect. In another situation, the consultant created a system that would power down every day needlessly and improperly installed the UPS that could have prevented the issue. Preston had to step in and rectify the mistakes to protect his company from the incompetent consultant.

After experiencing these incidents, Preston decided to leave the IT services industry and became a trainer instead. He used these experiences to educate others on the importance of proper installation and fault-finding on customer sites and emphasized the significance of not relying on the person who performs a job before you to get it right. If you've had to clean up after incompetent colleagues, the On Call column encourages readers to share their stories for future Friday columns.