The Flaming Workstation: When Tech Support Meets Industrial Chaos
Some tech support calls are routine: a frozen screen, a mysterious beep, a cable knocked loose. But every so often, a request comes through that sounds simple—until you arrive onsite and find a workstation that's literally been reduced to a pile of molten slag. Welcome to the world of “The workstation that doesn’t work,” a tale from r/TalesFromTechSupport that’s as much a lesson in industrial safety as it is in customer support... and creative report-writing.
It all began with a vague, nervous phone call from a steel mill—one where the details were as thin as the patience of someone whose lunch break is interrupted by a “surprise IT emergency.” The only clue: a workstation that “no longer works” and is “not on the network.” What could possibly go wrong?
When Tech Support Becomes a Scavenger Hunt
The original poster, u/dr_stevious, describes the experience of being the lone tech at a PC shop, summoned by a major client on the other side of the city. Armed with tools and spare parts (and a healthy dose of optimism), he set out, hoping for a simple fix—maybe a loose cable or a failed network card.
Instead, what he found resembled the aftermath of a small-scale volcanic eruption. In a “grimy, crusty office within one of the smelting factories,” the workstation wasn’t just broken: it was obliterated, a heap of fused metal, melted plastic, and scorched mystery bits. The wall behind it? Charred. The air? Still thick with the stench of industrial misadventure.
As any experienced tech can attest, the vaguer the problem description, the wilder the actual issue. As u/samzeman commented, “You can tell within 1 question usually if someone is genuinely making a good faith effort to get you as much information as you might need.” In this case, the vagueness was a red flag—a desperate attempt to avoid admitting the scale (or stupidity) of the problem.
The Case of the Unplanned Torch Job
So, what actually happened? After some prodding, the truth emerged: someone, for reasons lost to time (and likely poor judgment), decided to cut through the office wall with a blow torch—from the other side. They assumed the office was empty, but missed one critical detail: a fully functional PC sitting against the wall, right in the blow torch’s path.
Cue: workstation flambé.
One community member, u/born_lever_puller, couldn’t help but draw a parallel to firearm safety: “Never point your muzzle at anything you don’t want to destroy.” Apparently, this rule should also apply to high-powered cutting torches. It’s a reminder that in both IT and heavy industry, awareness of your environment (and what’s on the other side of that wall) is crucial. Otherwise, you might accidentally create a “workstation where work stops”—a punchline delivered by u/NekkidWire that’s almost too perfect for this molten mess.
Cover-Ups, Dad Jokes, and Industrial Lessons
Faced with the evidence, the steel mill’s staff went into full damage-control mode. They requested a new workstation, but were cagey about the details, hoping to keep management in the dark. As u/bwade913 put it, “Always funny when the customer is trying to sneak something by.” They just wanted the tech to declare the old machine “dead and not worth fixing,” with no mention of the blow torch incident.
This sparked a debate in the comments: was this an elaborate scheme to get a shiny new PC, or just classic workplace bumbling? As u/throwaway126400963 wondered, “Are they idiots or was it intentional to get a new workstation?” u/Tyr0pe chimed in with what might be the best summary: “Not mutually exclusive.” Sometimes, incompetence and opportunism go hand-in-hand—especially when the alternative is admitting you’ve just incinerated thousands of dollars of equipment with a poorly aimed flame.
The community consensus? While the story is hilarious in hindsight, it’s also a stark lesson in safety, transparency, and the fine art of not torching your own IT infrastructure. As several commenters noted, the physical risks were real—especially if power cables or wall conduits were hit. Sometimes, what’s funny on Reddit could have been a whole lot worse in real life.
Conclusion: When Workstations Become Work-Stop-Stations
In the end, the steel mill got their replacement PC (minus a detailed incident report), the tech got a story for the ages, and the Reddit community got a cautionary tale with all the elements of great IT folklore: mystery, destruction, cover-ups, and dad jokes.
So next time you get a vague support ticket—or consider “just cutting through that wall”—remember: behind every melted workstation is a lesson waiting to be learned. And if you’ve got a similar tale of tech support absurdity, drop it in the comments below. After all, as r/TalesFromTechSupport proves, the best stories are the ones that don’t work… until you share them.
What’s the wildest thing you’ve ever found on a tech support call? Let’s hear your stories!
Original Reddit Post: The workstation that doesn't work