Lessons a Tech Support Specialist Could Learn From Ferris Bueller

Ferris Bueller became the Hollywood hero of a generation: the persistently optimistic and charismatic high school senior who taught us all a lesson in how to cut class. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off has left its mark on cinema and pop culture but has influenced and affected many other facets of our society. While the tech he had was just on the cusp of the digital era, Bueller was seemingly a master of many trades. Modern tech specialists can definitely take a few pages out of his book.

He Asked for a Car, He Got a Computer

Though he was using it for personal gain, Ferris hacking into school records to reduce his absence count is an example of fledgling remote support.

Remote support is an excellent tool that a technical support specialist uses to support and connect with client’s on-site computers, allowing them to perform maintenance and software installations much more efficiently than in person.

Physically breaking into the school to hack their computers would have carried too high a risk of getting caught, and frankly, would have been too much work for Ferris. He thought like a technical support specialist, albeit perhaps a bit of an unscrupulous one, and used remote “support,” which allowed him to get away with altering his truancy records.

Life Moves Pretty Fast

Ferris Bueller was the original king of “YOLO”, though he was much too cool to ever lower himself to actually using that phrase. This iconic line has been forever stamped into pop culture.

From a tech support perspective, this sentiment can be tied to monitoring software and preventative maintenance for client’s and their businesses. Patch management is a very opportunistically driven tool that allows a service provider to manage and schedule software updates for a business, which slashes downtime. This allows employees to make the most of their time at work, just as Ferris made the most of his day.

Your Technical Support Specialist will Drive You Home Backwards

Ferris’ fast-thinking solutions to problems were perfectly executed throughout his day off, but his attempt to remove the added mileage from Cameron’s dad’s Ferrari was the days undoing. Ferris’ suggests simple solutions, such as driving home backwards and cracking open the odometer. Cameron takes these at face value because, well, everything else Ferris suggested that day worked out beautifully.

The truth is – Ferris could save both himself and his entourage the headache of leaving the added milage, as well as Cameron’s berserk episode, simply by seeking the consultation of a specialist. For a tech support, they are the specialist for the average consumer. They are the voice of reason that corrects the Ferris-esque idea that a client comes up with for their computer problems.

Ferris was (and is) the icon of a generation. His confidence, quirkiness, and dry wit still impacts so many today. His reach has extended from the silver screen into our lives, making him one of those classic characters that everyone can learn something from, even tech support. IT Direct has a technical support specialist just waiting to help you – as soon as you get back from your day off.