I Need More Space
Shawn W. was a newbie support tech at a small company. Just as he was beginning to familiarize himself with its operational quirks, he got a call from Jim: The Big Boss.
Dread seized Shawn. Aside from a handshake on Interview Day, the only "interaction" he'd had with Jim thus far was overhearing him tear into a different support rep about having to deal with "complicated computer crap" like changing passwords. No doubt, this call was bound to be a clinic in saintly patience.
"Tech Support," Shawn greeted. "How may-?"
"I'm out of space and I need more!" Jim barked over the line.
"Oh." Shawn mentally geared up for a memory or hard drive problem. "Did you get a warning or error mes-?"
"Just get up here and bring some more space with you!" Jim hung up.
"Oh, boy," Shawn muttered to himself.
Deciding that he was better off diagnosing the problem firsthand, Shawn trudged upstairs to Jim's office. To his pleasant surprise, he found it empty. He sank into the cushy executive-level chair. Jim hadn't been away long enough for any screensavers or lock screens to pop up, so Shawn had free rein to examine the machine.
There wasn't much to find. The only program running was a web browser, with a couple of tabs open to ESPN.com and an investment portfolio. The hardware itself was fairly new. CPU, memory, hard drive all looked fine.
"See, I'm out of space. Did you bring me more?"
Shawn glanced up to find Jim barreling toward him, steaming mug of coffee in hand. He braced himself as though facing down an oncoming freight train. "I'm not sure I see the problem yet. Can you show me what you were doing when you noticed you needed more space?"
Jim elbowed his way over to the mouse, closed the browser, then pointed to the monitor. "There! Can't you see I'm out of space?"
Indeed, Jim's desktop was full. So many shortcuts, documents, widgets, and other icons crowded the screen that the tropical desktop background was barely recognizable as such.
While staring at what resembled the aftermath of a Category 5 hurricane, Shawn debated his response. "OK, I see what you mean. Let's see if we can-"
"Can't you just get me more screen?" Jim pressed.
More screen? "You mean another monitor?" Shawn asked. "Well, yes, I could add a second monitor if you want one, but we could also organize your desktop a little and-"
"Good, get me one of those! Don't touch my icons!" Jim shooed Shawn away like so much lint. "Get out of my chair so I can get back to work."
A short while later, Shawn hooked up a second monitor to Jim's computer. This prompted a huge and unexpected grin from the boss. "I like you, you get things done. Those other guys would've taken a week to get me more space!"
Shawn nodded while stifling a snort. "Let me know if you need anything else."
Once Jim had left for the day, Shawn swung past the boss' office out of morbid curiosity. Jim had already scattered a few dozen shortcuts across his new real estate. Another lovely vacation destination was about to endure a serious littering problem.
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