Reynholm Tech Roy Trenneman Forfeits £100 Wager Over Reboot Script

IT Crowd - Have You Tried Turning It Off And On Again? — Cam G Videos

Cam G Videos

Technician Roy Trenneman surrenders a £100 bet to colleague Maurice Moss after proving that IT support cannot resolve internal computer failures without mandating a basic restart.

AI-assisted summary of IT Crowd - Have You Tried Turning It Off And On Again? — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published:

Key ideas

  • Reynholm Industries technician Roy Trenneman relies on a single deadpan phrase—'Have you tried turning it off and on again?'—to resolve virtually every internal IT support call. (0:00)
  • The reboot troubleshooting step applies across all organizational levels, including high-priority issues on executive Denholm Reynholm's personal laptop. (0:00)
  • Roy estimates he repeats the phrase roughly a thousand times per day, eventually wagering £100 with colleague Maurice Moss that he can avoid saying it again. (1:00)
  • An attempt to circumvent the £100 bet by mumbling into the receiver fails due to caller confusion, forcing Roy to state the catchphrase clearly and forfeit the bet. (1:00)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by Cam G Videos on November 16, 2010, this clip features the recurring IT support gag from the British sitcom *The IT Crowd*. The video's description directs viewers to a new channel link, announces that the current channel will soon become inactive, and thanks viewers for watching.

## TL;DR Reynholm Industries technician Roy Trenneman spends his workdays answering technical support inquiries with the exact same deadpan troubleshooting question: 'Have you tried turning it off and on again?' Callers consistently realize they overlooked this basic fix, and even executive emergencies reported by department head Jen Barber receive the identical advice. Driven to exasperation by repeating the line hundreds of times a day, Roy makes a £100 bet with his coworker Maurice Moss that he can avoid saying it for the rest of the shift. Unable to assist a confused caller while mumbling, Roy finally gives in and repeats the catchphrase clearly, instantly losing the wager to Moss.

## Atmosphere & style The video carries an atmosphere of deadpan workplace cynicism and escalating comedic frustration. Roy's bored, slumped posture and mechanical delivery capture the mind-numbing repetition of repetitive desk jobs, contrasting sharply with the sheepish panic of clueless callers. As his apathy curdles into exasperated defiance, his doomed attempt to subvert his own routine gives the short clip a sharp, farcical comedic arc.

## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) Reynholm Industries technician Roy Trenneman relies on a single deadpan phrase—'Have you tried turning it off and on again?'—to resolve virtually every internal IT support call. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) The reboot troubleshooting step applies across all organizational levels, including high-priority issues on executive Denholm Reynholm's personal laptop. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Roy estimates he repeats the phrase roughly a thousand times per day, eventually wagering £100 with colleague Maurice Moss that he can avoid saying it again. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) An attempt to circumvent the £100 bet by mumbling into the receiver fails due to caller confusion, forcing Roy to state the catchphrase clearly and forfeit the bet.

## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) Roy Trenneman handles basement IT support calls with an automatic, repetitive routine, answering almost every inquiry with 'Have you tried turning it off and on again?'. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) Callers repeatedly realize their own oversight upon hearing the prompt, admitting they neglected the most basic reboot step before seeking help. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) Severe customer service fatigue leads Roy to lose patience and snap aggressively at incoming callers over the receiver. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) Executive-tier technical emergencies, including issues with Denholm Reynholm's laptop reported by Jen Barber, receive the exact same reboot instruction. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Roy experiences a breaking point with the phrase, hanging up mid-call and vowing that his approach to answering support calls will fundamentally change. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Vows to abandon the phrase collapse almost instantly, as Roy instinctively repeats the line on the very next incoming phone call. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Roy defends the necessity of rebooting to skeptical users, emphasizing that later diagnostic steps cannot proceed without completing a restart first. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Frustrated by saying the line an estimated thousand times a day, Roy wagers £100 against Maurice Moss that he will not repeat it for the rest of the day. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Roy tries to bypass his wager by disguising his voice with an incoherent mumble, but caller confusion forces him to enunciate the phrase clearly. - [01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Moss wins the £100 bet immediately after Roy surrenders and repeats the standard troubleshooting question.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=0s) The IT Department's Infinite Loop

In the basement IT department of Reynholm Industries, technician Roy Trenneman spends his workdays fielding an endless barrage of internal support calls, answering virtually every single one with the exact same deadpan troubleshooting question: “Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?” The repetition plays out as a rhythmic montage of workplace apathy, with Roy barely looking up from his desk, snacking, or leaning back in his chair while reciting the line on autopilot. In one exchange, an employee calls in distressed, admitting, “Hi, uh, something's wrong with my computer,” to which Roy immediately fires back with the standard reboot inquiry, prompting an embarrassed “No, no, no, oh dear, thanks” from the caller as they realize they overlooked the most basic fix.

As the monotony wears down his patience, Roy’s polite customer service façade cracks completely. At one point, pushed past his limit by another incoming ring, he snaps directly into the receiver: “Have you tried sticking it up your ass?” Even executive-level emergencies are subjected to the same baseline advice. When department head Jen Barber reports an urgent issue on the executive floor—explaining that Denholm Reynholm's laptop has broken and that something flashed up on the display—the immediate reaction is the identical suggestion: “Have you tried um turning it off and on again?” to which Jen sheepishly confesses, “No, we haven't tried that.”

- **Standard IT opening:** The identical greeting, “Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?”, is delivered across multiple calls regardless of the specific computer issue being reported. - **Caller realization:** Most callers immediately recognize they neglected to perform a simple reboot before contacting technical support. - **Executive escalation:** Even when Denholm's personal laptop breaks down, the primary instruction remains turning the machine off and back on.

---

[01:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8&t=60s) Breaking the Catchphrase and the Hundred-Quid Bet

The psychological toll of repeating the identical sentence all day eventually leads Roy to a breaking point. While answering another call, he stops himself mid-sentence and abruptly hangs up, declaring to the room, “You know what? I'm sick of saying that.” Determined to break out of his operational rut, he resolves: “From this moment on, everything is going to be different.” The resolution lasts only seconds before the phone rings again, and Roy instinctively picks up the receiver to recite the exact phrase once more: “Hello, IT. Have you tried turning it off and on again?” In a follow-up conversation, Roy tries to justify the madness of the ritual to a skeptical user on the line, firmly arguing that rebooting is not just a lazy brush-off: “Yes, if you don't complete that part, there's no way that you're going to be able to do the next bit.”

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: IT Support Call Flow accDescr: A decision flowchart showing Roy's troubleshooting loop and his failed attempt to break it.

A["Incoming Phone Call"] --> B["Roy Answers Receiver"] B --> C{"Attempting New Approach?"} C -->|"Vows to change"| D["Hangs up in frustration"] D --> A C -->|"Standard routine"| E["'Have you tried turning it off and on again?'"] E --> F{"Did caller reboot?"} F -->|"No"| G["Instruct user to turn off and turn back on"] F -->|"Yes"| H["Proceed to next diagnostic step"] ```

Later, venting his exasperation to his colleague Maurice Moss, Roy complains about how mechanical his job has become, noting, “And I have to say 'Have you tried turning it off and on again?' about a thousand times a day. It's like a bloody catchphrase!” In a bid to prove his self-control and adopt better posture, Roy wagers real money against his own compulsive habits: “All right, okay, a hundred quid says I don't say it again today.” Almost immediately, the support line rings. Unable to think of any other way to resolve the problem without his go-to sentence, Roy attempts to disguise his voice, mumbling into the receiver so indistinctly that the caller asks, “What?” twice in confusion. Broken by the communication failure, Roy finally surrenders, drops his muffled disguise, and clearly enunciates, “Have you tried turning it off and on again?”—prompting Moss to immediately celebrate across the desk: “I just won 100 quid!”

- **Frequency of the line:** Roy estimates that he is forced to repeat the line roughly a thousand times a day to clueless employees. - **The £100 bet:** Roy wagers £100 that he can make it through the remainder of the workday without uttering the catchphrase. - **Failed workaround:** Roy's attempt to circumvent the wager by mumbling the words into the handset fails when the caller cannot understand him, forcing him to say the sentence clearly and forfeit the money.

## Mentioned The IT Crowd, Roy Trenneman, Maurice Moss, Jen Barber, Denholm Reynholm, Reynholm Industries

## Video description NEW CHANNEL: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEjwgKUADCmMzhGHrlueKYw

This channel will become inactive in a few weeks. Thank you all for watching :)

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nn2FB1P_Mn8)

中文简报

因重启话术打赌，Reynholm技术员Roy Trenneman输掉100英镑 技术员Roy Trenneman向同事Maurice Moss认输100英镑赌局，事实证明IT支持若不要求执行基础重启就无法解决内部电脑故障。 Reynholm Industries技术员Roy Trenneman日常接听技术支持咨询时，总是面无表情地搬出同一句排障口头禅：“你试过把它关掉再重新打开吗？”来电者总是意识到自己忽略了这一基本解决方法，甚至连部门主管Jen Barber汇报的高管紧急状况得到的也是一模一样的建议。由于每天重复这句话数百次而感到抓狂，Roy与同事Maurice Moss打赌100英镑，称自己在当天剩余班次中可以忍住不再说这句话。然而，在含糊不清地嘟囔导致无法协助一位困惑的来电者后，Roy最终屈服并清晰地重复了这句口头禅，当场输给了Moss 100英镑。 Reynholm Industries技术员Roy Trenneman几乎全靠一句面无表情的口头禅——“你试过把它关掉再重新打开吗？”——来解决几乎所有的内部IT支持电话。 (0:00) 这一重启排障步骤适用于组织内的所有层级，包括高管Denholm Reynholm个人笔记本电脑上的高优先级故障。 (0:00) Roy估计自己每天大约要重复这句话一千次，最终与同事Maurice Moss打赌100英镑，称自己可以不再说这句话。 (1:00) 他试图通过对着听筒含糊咕哝来规避这笔100英镑的赌局，但因来电者感到困惑而失败，Roy被迫清晰地说出这句口头禅并输掉了赌注。 (1:00)

Original transcript

[0:00] [Music] [0:11] hello it have you tried turning it off [0:14] and on again hello it have you tried [0:17] turning it off and on [0:19] again hello [0:22] it yeah have you tried turning it off [0:25] and on [0:26] again hello [0:28] it hi uh something's wrong with my [0:30] computer have you tried turning it off [0:32] and on again no no no oh dear thanks [0:36] hello it have you tried turning it off [0:38] and on [0:40] again hello it have you tried turning it [0:42] off and on [0:43] again have you tried sticking it up your [0:47] ass and um uh Mr ROM's laptop is broken [0:51] something flashed [0:53] up no have you tried um turning us off [0:56] and on again no we haven't tried that [0:59] hello it have you tried turning it off [1:01] you know what I'm sick of saying that [1:02] from this moment on everything is going [1:04] to be [1:06] different Hello it have you tried [1:08] turning us off and on again yeah but [1:10] that's an important part of the process [1:12] yes if you don't complete that part [1:14] there's no way that you're going to be [1:16] able to do the next bit okay so now turn [1:19] it back on [1:22] again and I have to say have you tried [1:25] turning it off and on again about a [1:26] thousand times a day it's like a bloody [1:28] catchphrase all right okay 100 00 says I [1:30] don't say it again today how's that for [1:32] posture you try turn off again [1:36] what have you trying turn off and on [1:39] again [1:41] what have you tried turning us off and [1:45] on [1:46] again I just wanton 100 quid [1:50] [Music] [2:00] w