Customer Service on the Other Foot

I've complained a few times on this blog about lousy customer service, that as a tech professional I often feel I understand systems better than those paid to understand and support them. But of course, sometimes the problems go the other way: good, helpful, knowledgeable customer service trying to help clueless users. CentOS.org, a provider of Linux operating systems, publishes a long email exchange with the city manager of an Oklahoma town (who claimed to have an extensive background in computer systems).

The city manager has his own page on the city website. Turns out his "22 years in computer systems engineering and operation" is comprised of being a manager. This demonstrates the point I made last year about management philosophy: "The model of management we have in business and government has at least one basic flaw: the focus is on management skills, not on the skills being managed." Managing computer systems does not make one knowledgeable about computer systems.

(Hat tip: Brewtown Politico)