This marks another official week of shadowing. From my ML mentors I learned about our SINC site computers: who can use, who can request access, and how to use it. Recently, the school got rid of guest access to the computers in order to strengthen security. This means that only those who pays a technology fee to the school will have access to the computers. If the user does not pay a technology fee but is a faculty or affiliated guest, they can request access through the ITSM ticketing system. I also brushed over some of the fundamentals of printing. Those who pay a technology fee will be automatically given 2100 pages to print for the whole semester. Although these pages do not roll over if they are not used up, it should be a more than sufficient amount to use. If the user no longer has any quota left, they can use Wolfie wallet. Wolfie wallet can be used for anyone who wants to print but does not have a quota. They can put in money to their Wolfie wallet through various means. There are kiosks that accept cash only for any amount that you wish to put in. You can also charge you Wolfie wallet online but there is a $10 minimum and it only accepts card. You can also go to the union FSA and pay by cash, check, or card. If you do not have a Stony Brook ID card to charge it on, you should be given a temporary card to use. Users that use these cards will send it to mainq_guest when they release their print job and put in the card number as their netID.

An interesting interaction I had this week was with a user who did not show common courtesy. I had been working behind the desk and tried to answer her question but she eventually showed impatience within 5 seconds of our conversation and left. I may have thought that I was doing my best but to the customer’s perspective I may have not. It helped me reflect on the way I could have handled the situation with more assertion and confidence that I could help her. Not all customers will be polite, but there will always be ways to accommodate those who are not by even the slightest change in tone or attention. I hope to grow in knowledge about this aspect of customer service: difficult customers. Also, I realized that I should not take anything personally.

This weeks discussion board topic was on ADA compliance. It opened my eyes to the various kinds of users that would utilize the facilities in our SINC sites. In order to accommodate those with disabilities, our SINC sites offers special computers that are higher and easier to access. These computers are labeled so that users will know it is for them.