Kat (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
wildvision) wrote2016-07-09 08:48 am
wildvision) wrote2016-07-09 08:48 am
Seriously?
Well, Murphy's out in full force today.
I just got home from work. Yeah. Just now. Look at that time stamp. Nearly nine in the morning....my shift ended at 1:30!
So what happened? Well, it was a cluster, basically. Shortly before I was about to go home at the end of my shift, I checked one of the handhelds, to see if it had a load in it. This is standard, but it's almost a formality. The majority of the time, it's a simple check, I see that yeah, it's fine, and that's it. But not this time. Oh, no. I look for the load...and it's not there. So I try another route. And another. And another.
When none of those worked, I realized we were in trouble. So, I called E, our department head. No answer. So I start to leave a voicemail...and his mailbox is full! So I'm sitting there, trying to think who I should call for help on this. Thankfully, E calls me back a few minutes later. So I explain the problem, and we start going back and forth trying to puzzle it out. Nothing failed, or gave an error. Everything ran like normal, and no problems were found until now. So, we're somewhat at a loss. Usually, when something goes wrong, it's more obvious. A process fails, or generates an error message, or something. But not this time. Everything seemed perfectly fine, until I checked that handheld. If I hadn't, we wouldn't have had any idea anything was amiss.
So he tells me to call CJ and CR, to see if they have any ideas. I call them both, and get no answers. I leave messages, and call E back to tell him. I vaguely remembered us trying running a certain sequence of processes over again the last time this happened, so I suggest trying that. E agrees, so I run through those again. Check the handheld again. Nothing. E tells me to try the tech support number for our handheld software company. I call them, and get put on hold, citing 'excessively high call volume'. (At two in the morning! Someone's pants are on fire...) I'm on hold for a while; they keep prompting me to leave my number for a call back. Finally, I do. So I call E back and tell him, and then we're both trying to call CJ and CR, with no responses.
A while later, I actually get a call back from the tech support. But the guy is so mumbly that I can barely understand a word he's saying. I keep having to ask him to repeat himself, which I think annoyed him. And he was completely useless, anyway. He asked for our company ID; I give it to him. He says that's not right, it has too many digits. Well, that's the number E got from this company a little while ago. So that's all I have. Then he tries to look us up, and starts asking for 'truck numbers'. I'm not entirely sure what that even means. I gave him some of our route numbers, but those didn't work. So he says maybe he's got the wrong company. I agree, and tell him I'll ask my boss about the number and call back later.
Another round of calls, and I finally manage to wake up CJ. He sounds nearly incoherent, but he suggested another configuration of processes to try re-running. So, I do that, but it doesn't work. E finally ends up coming in, maybe around 4:00 or so. And we keep calling CR, but he must sleep like a brick, because he just will not answer. Then he tries the tech support. Similar problem. They won't accept his company ID. He fusses with the person on the line enough to get them to find our company, somehow. Then, the kicker? At the end of the call, he asks for our company ID, so we can get it right next time. They give him the same one that they said was wrong. Yeah. This company's support is completely useless. After all that, all they did was 'escalate' the problem, meaning they sent the tech an email. (Email! Not a phone call or anything, a freaking email!) So, we knew we wouldn't be hearing from that guy tonight. (And we didn't.)
More calls, and CJ says to try rebooting the server. So, I do, and no surprise, it doesn't work. At some point N also comes in. (Our Director of Admin, who is a step above our department head in the food chain, I think.) We're all just running around, trying to think of anything else to try. But with little luck. We're looking over old error resolutions, trying to check anything and everything we can think of, to see where the problem even happened. We try calling EB and R, neither of whom answer.
It's probably close to 6:00 when CJ comes in. He starts poking around, but he's not finding much, either. Still can't reach CR. At this point, the drivers are starting their routes. So, they can't use their handhelds normally; something about the inventory not showing up, so it'd cause hiccups in the paperwork or something. It's a big hassle. We're still trying to figure things out. CJ finds the orders, but he can't see why they haven't gotten where they need to go.
Oh, and the icing on the cake? They cut the power off at 7:00! Yeah, I guess they were doing some work or maintenance, or something. We knew it was coming, but we didn't think we'd be here working! Ugh. So, like usual, everything dies but our computers. So E and N are running around, stealing table lamps from offices to bring back to us.
At this point, it's getting late enough that they start checking the loads for Monday. It's too late to salvage Saturday, but if Monday's working, that'll be a big relief. And thankfully, the loads for Monday showed up just fine. It's probably 8:00 by this point. Finally, they get EB on the phone, and he has a theory. He thinks that Dispatch may have messed something up with one of their processes, somehow. (And they'd all been gone since maybe 7:00-8:00 the night before. While we're all here until 8:00 in the morning. Grr....)
Finally, at maybe a quarter after eight, E tells me I can go. They won't need me to run anything, and since Monday's loads are okay, all that's left is to chase down the issue that caused this mess. (Which I can't really help with.) So, I headed home. It was a little nice not having to walk to my car in the dark, but driving home in the early morning daylight was weird! XD
At this point, I'm starving, since I haven't eaten since dinner. So, I stop for breakfast. One other small upside to all this; I got to have Hardee's for breakfast. <3 It's a little silly, but I love their breakfast sandwiches, and I never get them, since I'm not awake during the hours they sell them. So that was nice, at least. I just finished eating, and now I'm off to bed. I'll have to sleep in a little tomorrow, since I'm up nearly two hours past my bedtime. Thank God it's Friday, or I'd really be in trouble!
God, what a mess. At least I'll get overtime for this...
I just got home from work. Yeah. Just now. Look at that time stamp. Nearly nine in the morning....my shift ended at 1:30!
So what happened? Well, it was a cluster, basically. Shortly before I was about to go home at the end of my shift, I checked one of the handhelds, to see if it had a load in it. This is standard, but it's almost a formality. The majority of the time, it's a simple check, I see that yeah, it's fine, and that's it. But not this time. Oh, no. I look for the load...and it's not there. So I try another route. And another. And another.
When none of those worked, I realized we were in trouble. So, I called E, our department head. No answer. So I start to leave a voicemail...and his mailbox is full! So I'm sitting there, trying to think who I should call for help on this. Thankfully, E calls me back a few minutes later. So I explain the problem, and we start going back and forth trying to puzzle it out. Nothing failed, or gave an error. Everything ran like normal, and no problems were found until now. So, we're somewhat at a loss. Usually, when something goes wrong, it's more obvious. A process fails, or generates an error message, or something. But not this time. Everything seemed perfectly fine, until I checked that handheld. If I hadn't, we wouldn't have had any idea anything was amiss.
So he tells me to call CJ and CR, to see if they have any ideas. I call them both, and get no answers. I leave messages, and call E back to tell him. I vaguely remembered us trying running a certain sequence of processes over again the last time this happened, so I suggest trying that. E agrees, so I run through those again. Check the handheld again. Nothing. E tells me to try the tech support number for our handheld software company. I call them, and get put on hold, citing 'excessively high call volume'. (At two in the morning! Someone's pants are on fire...) I'm on hold for a while; they keep prompting me to leave my number for a call back. Finally, I do. So I call E back and tell him, and then we're both trying to call CJ and CR, with no responses.
A while later, I actually get a call back from the tech support. But the guy is so mumbly that I can barely understand a word he's saying. I keep having to ask him to repeat himself, which I think annoyed him. And he was completely useless, anyway. He asked for our company ID; I give it to him. He says that's not right, it has too many digits. Well, that's the number E got from this company a little while ago. So that's all I have. Then he tries to look us up, and starts asking for 'truck numbers'. I'm not entirely sure what that even means. I gave him some of our route numbers, but those didn't work. So he says maybe he's got the wrong company. I agree, and tell him I'll ask my boss about the number and call back later.
Another round of calls, and I finally manage to wake up CJ. He sounds nearly incoherent, but he suggested another configuration of processes to try re-running. So, I do that, but it doesn't work. E finally ends up coming in, maybe around 4:00 or so. And we keep calling CR, but he must sleep like a brick, because he just will not answer. Then he tries the tech support. Similar problem. They won't accept his company ID. He fusses with the person on the line enough to get them to find our company, somehow. Then, the kicker? At the end of the call, he asks for our company ID, so we can get it right next time. They give him the same one that they said was wrong. Yeah. This company's support is completely useless. After all that, all they did was 'escalate' the problem, meaning they sent the tech an email. (Email! Not a phone call or anything, a freaking email!) So, we knew we wouldn't be hearing from that guy tonight. (And we didn't.)
More calls, and CJ says to try rebooting the server. So, I do, and no surprise, it doesn't work. At some point N also comes in. (Our Director of Admin, who is a step above our department head in the food chain, I think.) We're all just running around, trying to think of anything else to try. But with little luck. We're looking over old error resolutions, trying to check anything and everything we can think of, to see where the problem even happened. We try calling EB and R, neither of whom answer.
It's probably close to 6:00 when CJ comes in. He starts poking around, but he's not finding much, either. Still can't reach CR. At this point, the drivers are starting their routes. So, they can't use their handhelds normally; something about the inventory not showing up, so it'd cause hiccups in the paperwork or something. It's a big hassle. We're still trying to figure things out. CJ finds the orders, but he can't see why they haven't gotten where they need to go.
Oh, and the icing on the cake? They cut the power off at 7:00! Yeah, I guess they were doing some work or maintenance, or something. We knew it was coming, but we didn't think we'd be here working! Ugh. So, like usual, everything dies but our computers. So E and N are running around, stealing table lamps from offices to bring back to us.
At this point, it's getting late enough that they start checking the loads for Monday. It's too late to salvage Saturday, but if Monday's working, that'll be a big relief. And thankfully, the loads for Monday showed up just fine. It's probably 8:00 by this point. Finally, they get EB on the phone, and he has a theory. He thinks that Dispatch may have messed something up with one of their processes, somehow. (And they'd all been gone since maybe 7:00-8:00 the night before. While we're all here until 8:00 in the morning. Grr....)
Finally, at maybe a quarter after eight, E tells me I can go. They won't need me to run anything, and since Monday's loads are okay, all that's left is to chase down the issue that caused this mess. (Which I can't really help with.) So, I headed home. It was a little nice not having to walk to my car in the dark, but driving home in the early morning daylight was weird! XD
At this point, I'm starving, since I haven't eaten since dinner. So, I stop for breakfast. One other small upside to all this; I got to have Hardee's for breakfast. <3 It's a little silly, but I love their breakfast sandwiches, and I never get them, since I'm not awake during the hours they sell them. So that was nice, at least. I just finished eating, and now I'm off to bed. I'll have to sleep in a little tomorrow, since I'm up nearly two hours past my bedtime. Thank God it's Friday, or I'd really be in trouble!
God, what a mess. At least I'll get overtime for this...