Depending on what you're needing done, a lot of times IT has to cover their asses. If it didn't happen on that phone call, it didn't happen. I always appreciate the gumption, you probably saved us like, 30 call just from figuring out other issues yourself. If it's anything that will cost the company money, though, like replacing hardware - if I don't take due diligence in making sure those earlier steps are done, it's my ass on the line.

You know you're smart enough to do the troubleshooting, but that technician has probably 1000+ users that rotate weekly, they can't keep a log book of which ones are good and which ones will land them in the shit. I totally get the frustration, but the ones who lie about doing simple troubleshooting ruin it for everyone.