Co-workers...

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So I was at work today and I was trying to track down an office computer I was responsible for that I suspected had been moved to a different building. So I called the other building, and when I reached the person in charge over there, I told him I who I was, that I was missing a computer and I told him what the serial number was and that I needed him to check his computers to see if he had the serial number over there, as I suspected. Instead of saying "Sure thing," he instead told me that he didn't appreciate me tone and that I was rude for telling him I needed him to do something. Then he told me he would do it but not to ever call him and tell him I needed him to do anything again. I took a few seconds to say something, and all that came out was "Oh, I'm sorry." but now I keep replaying what happened over and over in my head and feeling bad. Is he just a jerk, or was I really rude to tell him I needed him to do something?

He was just being an a**hole because he didn't want to do his job. Don't listen to what he said to you, and if he's a prick again, report it to his supervisor/boss. If he can't be bothered to do his work, then he shouldn't be working there.

What I found strange as well was that I have known him for a while and I thought we were on friendly terms.

Sounds like a perfectly reasonable request to me. From my experience working for big organisations many managers and particularly middle managers will see any IT related issues as insignificant. They expect that the IT team will just deal with the infrastructure and that no cooperation is necessary.

Maybe try mimicking the tone you used whilst asking to someone whose opinion you trust (preferably NT) and just see if they feel it could be misconstrued as overly commanding or insulting to their authority.

I guess it could be because he was not IT.

I'm guessing he didn't like the phrase "I need you to [whatever]". It might have had an overbearing tone (from his point of view). It's typically something that supervisors use when giving assignments. Next time you ask him for something, say: "Can you [whatever]?" He might be more comfortable with that.

Unless I missed it you didn't mention your rank and his. NT's are big on rank, title and that subordinants not speak to them directly. The old highest person on the totem pole thing. So this may be why he was so offended. Or he may just be a s**thead.