Here is the thing about client requests, or tickets as we call them.

We like to see them come in. It is why we have a job after all. Not all client tickets are equal though. Some are easy. Five minutes, and done! Some are repetitive. Imagine watching the same sitcom episode, on repeat, on a regular basis. There are days it’s okay, almost comforting. Then there are days where being mauled by a bear would be preferable.

Still, you don’t mind the repetitive ones because hey, you know the answer! Copy and paste can be your friend. Not to mention it looks great on the stats, and makes you look brilliant. All winning situations.

Then there are the ‘what the hell is this?’ tickets. I’m partial to these personally. These tickets mean digging in. Throwing the headphones on. Getting lost in programs or queries. Resurfacing only when the coffee runs out. There is a sense of accomplishment in these tickets the others don’t provide.

Let’s not forget the ‘Pop Quiz’ tickets. These are tickets the client submits to test you. You know they know the answer. They know you know they know. Yet, they submit them anyway. These are not the repetitive ones. No, these are ones you see once, maybe twice, a year. The proverbial unicorn in the forest. A lesser man, or woman, would be lost in the thicket; survival questionable. We glide through them with grace and aplomb…usually.

Dante’s nine circles of hell are no match for this team of Analysts!

We might be stumped by a ticket with a single sentence in it though. Details people! Details! We can’t work a ticket when you don’t give us details. We’re Analysts, not mind readers. Although…there was this one time…

Yours Faithfully,
R3b3l G33k