Idiot tolerance

[OBonio]

Is it a fault of character to be unable to tolerate an idiot?

A chap here has been with us well over 6 months and is still asking questions I would expect from a first dayer. He has a rake of notes, and still has to repeat the question.

It drives me barmy and I've recently found myself losing my rag a little which is quite out of character.

Are my expectations too high? Or is he in the wrong job?

[4getmenot]

ah so you reported him :-)

[whiffey]

It does depend on the job, which you don't specify. For example, there are some people who will never grasp regular expressions in a whole lifetime.

[OBonio]

I actually mean 'here' as in at work...

[ummmm]

He's in the wrong job by the sound of it.

[OBonio]

whiffey, strangely enough a discussion I just had was about using a RegEx for validation.. *looks over shoulder*... The job he is performing is a system tester.

[nat_84]

Awww poor thing (him not you! lol). Well usually they do say to people dont be afraid to ask and that it's better to ask than to be unsure.

6 months... isnt THAT long, maybe he's finding it difficult or lacking in confidence.

I think you should cut the poor thing a bit of slack.

[Champagne]

I once worked for a company where the P.A. (a very lovely lady in her early 50's) did not always grasp the technical aspect of her job. For the early part of her career she used manual typewriters and so was fairly basic with her computer literacy skills (for example; whenever she closed down Word the computer would ask if she wanted to save 'Doc 1' and due to her ignorance she would always save it, which meant she had over 100 blank .doc files on her PC!!).

The IT Manager despaired of her. He had thrown manuals in her direction in order to get her off his back but those books may as well have been in German to her. Parrot-fashion was the only way to teach her. I ended up taking her under my wing because I have the patience of a Saint when it comes to things like this. I even did a training session on mail merge with the 3 other secretaries in the company one day. I knew FOR A FACT that they would ask me again and again and again, even though they had made notes on the training. It's just the way a lot of people work I'm afraid.

I'm actually quite an exceptional P.A. in that I am advanced in all the packages required for my job role. But I have learnt from experience that you don't need to be advanced in those packages to be a sufficient P.A.

Have you ever thought that maybe you excel in your field? And therefore have the ability to be a bit more of a perfectionist? Whic means that most people will never quite achieve your standard?

Or maybe he is just an idiot. :o)

[4getmenot]

ah sorry I live in the AB world :-)

[OBonio]

The problem being, cutting him some slack usually costs me a couple of hours of time which I can ill afford. Most people fear his 'have you got 5 minutes' type queries.

[Panic Button]

Perhaps it is time for a quiet word with your boss.

If this person is making the department inefficient and a reasonable time has passed,then it is up to him or her to take appropriate action.

Depends on how you rate your boss whether this will work for or against you.

[Loosehead]

3 posibilities, he's just not intelligent enough to grasp the job or, more likely, he just does not have the aptitude for this particular job or possibly he's lazy and intelligent and has figured out that you will think for him. I think the 2nd answer is most common.

[curlyperm]

lol 4get, i was along the same lines as you hee hee x

[OBonio]

I think the 'idiot' has also now started winding my boss up!!

Having firmly told him no on a particular subject, he then starts on a colleague, to which I interrupt and again firmly say no, it's not a priority. He has now sent an email to my boss, trying to get him to say yes, but who has answered no.... do I feel a little p***** off with this? Damn right.

[nat_84]

surely if u have time to be on AB most of the day then u could have time to go through a few things with him so he feels more settled?

[Mr Tall]

Sack him and get a fit bird to do his job. Can't be much worse the the fella you got and least you could admire the view.

[OBonio]

A fair comment nat, but some of the stuff is being repeated for the 5th time. And that's by me alone. I'm sure he's asked the same question of others.

[society]

give the guy a chance. pull him aside and explain to him that he has to buck up or his job might be on the line.

maybe he's confused and scared? how old is he?

[nat_84]

Maybe you should tell him to join the Answer Bank - so he can relsease some of his questions on to us! lol

Also might keep him quiet for a few more hours.

[Loosehead]

I think MrTall has a good idea!

[OBonio]

Agreed, Loosehead. If only I had the power, or some influence on our recruitment techniques.....