Last January, I went on an extended business trip to Asia. VPN connection to the office server, our in-house system and my office email were checked twice by the IT guy to ensure that I have access and am accessible during my 3-week trip.
As soon as I got to Hong Kong, I immediately went online to have my first on-site test if the system really works. It was perfect!
That is, up until one of the trainees sent me a 5GB file by email which blocked every other email (including the one which a client sent and which I needed the most). Don't ask me why she didn't compress the file before sending it.
To make matters worse, the IT guy was not in the office for a whole week. Hence, I couldn't upload all the other emails I had on queue.
I called the office several times to instruct them to retrieve my emails using my office PC so I could get access to all my other emails. But, again, do not ask me WHY oh WHY none of the 2 people I asked could figure out how to make it work.
Lesson Learned: Write a very detailed memo on how things should be done if something goes wrong.
Since then, I always made sure that I had the IT guy's mobile phone number before I leave for a trip.
What about you? What experiences have you had that makes you want to swear at the people who are left back at the home office?
Comment Preview