Get the Most From Your Call to Technical Support

I have spent a lot of time taking help desk and technical support calls. I often wonder how much of my time is spent actually solving problems over the phone as opposed to dealing with all the other things that don't relate or hinder the troubleshooting process. I decided to make a simple little guide that everybody should follow when calling a support line or their help desk for their technical related problems.

1. Stop complaining and let me solve your issue
 

Us people that take support calls, we are problem solvers. We want to solve your problem and get you off the phone. Ok, so your issue has been happening for a while, and you've been dealing with other people in my department, I understand that. Can we please get to solving what you called for please? If I can just do that, there will be no reason to complain. I can understand some level of venting, but when it goes on forever it hinders our ability and desire to help you.

2. Follow our direction and do nothing else

Call, describe your problem and then let us take over. It's now time for us to direct you now. Click only where we tell you to click and type only when and where we tell you to type. Forget about the screens you were on before or other areas where there was a problem. Bouncing around and doing your own thing will only result in a longer call.

3. Don't say that you are a tech

If you are a computer tech yourself and you feel you are going to win points with the tech you are calling by saying "I'm a tech.", forget about it. Understand that 9 out of 10 people that claim they are "techs" aren't able to follow the simple direction they are provided. If you truly are a tech, you won't need to tell me, because I will know just by the way you follow direction. I also know you want to solve the issue now by trying your own things in the middle of what I'm trying to tell you, but please see #2. People that say they are technicians are the #1 violators of rule #2.

4. Have the error message written down

If there was an error message, please be sure you can recite it to the tech when you call. That way we can search for it in our knowledgebase or on the internet and come up with a quick solution. If you don't have the exact error message VERBATIM, it helps us very little. Don't just make up an error message that sounds similar to what you read.

5. Be in front of the computer when you call

It amazes me how many people call and think that a problem can be troubleshooted while they are on their morning drive miles away from their computer. This should be a no brainer, but I guess people feel they are somehow saving time instead of wasting mine.

6. I can't help you in getting compensation

If you want money back because your computer problems are making you suffer, I can't do anything about it. Seriously! I have no "pull" in that direction, nor do I care to. Take all that up with your salesman or our billing department. We are problem solvers. We solve the technical issue you are having and that is our only function.

7. No, we don't know it all

Some people expect all of the answers to their problems right now. They get frustrated when they don't get them right away. Please understand that things need to be researched and that may take time.We also may give information that is not true from time to time. Again, we don't know it all and we are human and may slip up from time to time. It doesn't mean we are stupid or have less knowledge than somebody else.

8. Before calling support, please try restarting your computer

I hate asking people to restart their computer, but sometimes I have to. Sometimes I don't even remember to ask until an hour into the call because this should be tried by the user before they even call. Computers malfunction and sometimes just need to be restarted. If that does the trick, then move on. By doing so you avoid wasting our time and your own.

9.Be sure you are calling the right people
 

Check to make sure the product you are using is supported by the people you are calling. If you bought a Dell computer loaded Adobe software on it, Dell is not going to help you with it. They know nothing about it. Call Adobe.

Most tech's really want to help you out, although there are a few that have a bit of attitude. In that case, ask for a manager, or just hang up and call again to get somebody else. In most cases though, you can simply follow these guidelines and you will be ensured your problem gets solved as quick as possible.

This article is featured at Technipages where you can find articles and downloads related to anything technical. Submit your own technical article or post a message at the Computer Help Forum to obtain free computer help

Technical Support Psychology - Dealing with Stress

Good people skills are essential.

Each job has its own level of stress, some more so than others. Providing technical support in the IT industry in particular can be extremely difficult because, as well as dealing with sometimes incredibly complex equipment, the engineer onsite must also try to pacify an irate CEO or business executive.

Don't get overwhelmed by the situation

In most companies, time is money and there could be anywhere between 2 and 2,000 people waiting for you, the engineer, to fix the problem. When faced with this kind of pressure it's very easy to be overwhelmed by the situation and go into a 'panic mode', trying various things at random, without any kind of definite plan. This is generally a very bad place to be, as more often than not, you'll make the problem worse and not better.

I have found that the best approach to this is to take a mental step back then a few deep breaths to try and calm your mind. It's going to be a tough day but it's only a few hours of your life so there's absolutely no point in getting too stressed out about it.

Do not confuse relaxing with not caring.

You still have a problem to solve with professionalism and expediency. Once you have control of yourself then you are ready to take care of your client.

Another situation that generates stress is that, during the course of troubleshooting a problem, you will run out of ideas. It's inevitable that at some point in your career this will happen to you. Again, the key here is not to panic or despair.

Go back over the facts and try to think 'outside the box'.

It's possible the solution to your problem is sitting right in front of you but you are simply too close to see it.

Try to get a second opinion if possible.

Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes on a problem is all it takes to resolve it. If this isn't possible then perhaps a sounding board will help - just someone to bounce ideas off to help get your mind back on track. They don't have to be technical or understand what you are talking about. In fact you can even talk to yourself (although I don't recommend this especially if there are other people around...). The main aim here is to get the situation completely clear in your head.

De-stress Your Client

It's quite common to receive a call for help some time after a problem has occurred (sometimes even months may have elapsed). Perhaps the client thought they could fix the problem themselves or maybe they thought the problem would just go away. Anyway, it hasn't, the client is in a panic and now it's YOUR job to fix it.

When faced with this situation your first priority is to calm down your client. Have no doubt that they'll be all over you on site, maybe trying to help or just trying to make you understand the urgency of their situation. Remember, they could be losing thousands of dollars an hour so make sure you respond appropriately. They will be stressed. If they want to know what you are doing, tell them.

Always speak to your clients at their technical level

If your client is a technician then talk technical, if not, then drop the 'jargon' as far as possible. Watch them as you are talking and make sure they're not phasing out. The blank look is a sure sign they don't understand what you are saying and have tuned out. It's very easy to fall into the habit of using technical jargon and acronyms that are completely obvious to people in the industry but mean absolutely nothing to your client. If they can't understand you, they'll just get more stressed.

Another thing you should be aware of is even if your client doesn't understand what you're talking about they may not say anything or ask any questions in fear of looking stupid. Make sure you're all on the same wavelength.

De-stress Yourself

In order for you to fault find effectively you'll require a degree of peace and quiet to be able to think clearly. If your client is panicking or there's too much going on around you try using the following strategies:

Reassure your client that their problem can and will be fixed as quickly as possible.

Speak calmly and firmly so they know you are in control of the situation.

LISTEN to what they have to say. This will also have a calming effect on them and show them you care.

Try to organise one point of contact so you're not constantly disturbed by various people popping their heads in to see how the repair is going.

Once you have your client under control you'll be able to get more useful information from them regarding the problem.

The whole point here is to try to create an environment which is as stress free as possible.

Paperbark Solutions, Robert Verstandig

Robert is a Senior Systems Engineer currently under contract with Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia. He has over 25 years of experience in the Avionics and IT industry and has supported a wide variety of technology. Robert is also the author of the book, Secrets of Troubleshooting Systems, which describes the ins and outs of fault diagnosis in complex systems.

Customer Support Solution - Does It Make A Difference?

Starting your own online business may seem to be the most lucrative option. But, if you really want to make a difference, then you will have to do a lot more than you can possibly perceive. You see, the success of your online business basically depends on how well the customers take to your products or services.

This is why you need to do everything in your capacity that will help in satisfying customer needs and expectations. Quality and pricing may still play the dominant role, but other than that, the thing that matters most is the effectiveness of your customer support services.

This is often the main headache for small time operators simply because, most of them often do not have the requisite funds as is necessary for starting and operating a full-fledged customer support center. Even if they do manage somehow, it does not help much because they have to share their profits with the outsourcing company.

However, you need not worry too much, because cheaper yet highly effective customer support solutions are now available in the market. You just have to go and get one.

There are many options available, but if you are looking for something that provides the best value, then just invest in a customer support software package. These packages are designed to automate your customer support services, making it possible for you to spend your precious time and effort on more productive activities.

You may not be able to visualize it initially, but you will easily see the benefits of using these software systems in just a week or two. You will no longer have hundreds of unread messages in your inbox, but you will find mostly customer queries, suggestions, feedbacks and complaints.

The software will automatically lead your customers to what they might be looking for, thereby doing away with the need to send emails to your inbox. Another benefit is that you will get protection from spammers that are always on the lookout for new mail ID's.

Make it a point, to send hundreds of mail messages over to the recipient. In effect, you will never again see spam mails in your inbox, if you opt for a customer support software package.

The good thing about customer support solutions is that most of them are available at affordable rates, making them the perfect option for small time operators such as you. What is even better is that most of them are available as free trials, allowing you to test the software before you actually invest your hard-earned money in buying it.

So, if you want the best results, just download some of the free trials and test them. You can then easily select the one that best suits your needs and requirements.

If you need a powerful solution for your support make sure you check out the Premium Response Customer Support Solution for more info.

Will A Customer Support Software Improve Your Life And Well Being?

Customer Support Software is a software solution that handles issues about certain products and services. The software is based online and uses the 'help desk' and 'trouble ticket' system to help and assist customers. An essential component of a marketing strategy and business, customer support software is highly productive in customer service management.

A more traditional method of offering customer-service was through an interstate, low toll phone line. However, as businesses grew and spread over the Internet, customer service came online and is easily accessible now to customers 24/7. An online customer service solution easily assures satisfaction to customers who are constantly seeking help and answers to their queries.

Custom support software is stand-alone software and can easily handle customer upkeep. In many organizations, it is used to integrate and stabilize the functioning of multiple channels, deliver response to multiple users, allocate distinctive task assignments and alarm systems to set alerts and escalation.

On the front-end, the software offers a friendly interface to handle email responses, offering priorities through the 'trouble ticket' system and assigning unique service requests. In advanced packages, the software even offers a separate inbox that can be used to browse customer queries, suggestions, feedback and complaints.

The Trouble ticket system is based on the priority and urgency of the query or complaint. The system was created to resolve problems within a specified time-line and under a specific service level agreement. Overall, the trouble ticket system can help classify, identify and handle a problem, creating a unique log in the centralized database.

To create a successful customer service department, an organized 24/7 support team of people is not sufficient. Creating an accessible and commendable database is also necessary. A well-organized customer service can help you customize the 'help desk' software for event logging, communication between operators and to maintain schedules.

Other add-on features that can improve a customer service:
* automation of work process
* integrating a group of features, so as to form a customized template
* ticketing system with a closed loop facility, that monitors, raises, assigns and manage issues
* self-help facility
* individual and group access to the mail servers and inbox
* VOIP (voice over Internet protocol) to conduct a real time conversation between agents and users
* Maneuvering and handling the existing self-help knowledge base

Available on the Internet are a variety of customer service software:

The Bridge CRM software solution:

BridgeCRM is a web based software that is used to conduct PC based Customer Relationship Management (CRM). It is used for small-time customer service support as it is suited for 10 users. The database used by the software makes procedures quick and easy.

ChatStat Customer Interaction Software system:

The Software is easy to use and is available with an instant online messenger interface. The messenger service helps agents to provide live chat support to clients and customers.

If you need a powerful solution for your support make sure you check out the Premium Response Customer Support Software for more info.

Automating Your Customer Support

 

My regular readers will know that one of the things I highly recommend doing with any online business is automating as many of your day to day tasks as possible.

From a personal point of view, one of the tasks that takes up a lot of my time is answering emails. It isn't just answering email that eats up the hours - sorting through and deleting spam and junk mail absorbs a lot of time too. In the good old days, I used to get a couple of spam emails a day. Now it is closer to 1000 a day!

In fact, when you look at it, email isn't always the best form of online communication. Not only is there the junk mail issue to contend with but also the fact that email is not 100% reliable. Emails do 'go missing' far more regularly than you might expect. Often this is simply because the recipients email software has decided that a particular email is junk and has transferred it directly to the 'Delete' folder. Other times it may be because the recipients ISP has decided that the email is junk and deleted it BEFORE it has even been seen by the recipient! (Yes this really does happen - imagine if your postman sorted through your mail and made the decision of which letters you want and which ones he should throw away?!)

One way to help avoid the spam problem when dealing with customer support enquiries is to make use of a contact form on your website instead of posting an email address. This will certainly help to cut down on spam but it still means that you have the problem of emails not getting to their destination (and when you have a frustrated customer waiting for assistance this is not ideal).

Therefore, probably the best option on the market presently is a full-blown helpdesk system. Setting up a dedicated helpdesk is a superb way of automating your customer support and speeding up the process of dealing with enquiries and support emails. Not only that but if you use a system that allows customers to create 'tickets', you don't have to rely on email as your customers can login to a special web page and view both their tickets and your replies online.

Another feature of many helpdesk scripts is an 'FAQ' or 'Knowledgebase' section. This is simply a collection of the most frequently asked questions/queries/problems along with answers and solutions. This means that customers can search the knowledgebase and hopefully find the answer to their question without having to contact Support at all.

Some of the more advanced scripts will even scan the customers support ticket prior to submitting it and then list a few possible answers to their questions just in case they didn't read through the knowledgebase before typing the ticket out - very clever stuff.

These scripts are also very powerful in terms of how they can benefit you. Just think how much time you could save if, say, 40% of your customer support emails just stopped coming due to the fact that your customers were now able to find the answers to their questions automatically.

Having an online helpdesk is also of benefit if you travel around a lot or if you are away from the office on vacation etc. Instead of having to take a laptop loaded up with previous emails from customers, you can simply login to your helpdesk admin page and all of your previous correspondence will be online and at your fingertips. It also means that you won't have to spend hours in an Internet cafe deleting a days worth of spam at a time just to get to the important emails since only the important emails will have made it through to the helpdesk in the first place.

As with most things, setting up a customer service helpdesk is one of those tasks that is always better done when you first start your online business. That said, it is fairly easy to integrate such a feature into your existing set up and that is exactly what I have done for all of my websites...

Over the next few months, I will be phasing many of my email addresses out - I simply can't stand the spam any more! With immediate effect, all customer support issues for all of my products and websites will be handled via a central Customer Support Helpdesk.

I am confident that this will improve the overall 'support experience' for both my customers and me :-)

If you are interested in installing a similar helpdesk on your own website/s, there are numerous options when it comes to suitable software. I chose a product called eSupport (link below) and whilst this is a very powerful script, I am hesitant to give it my full recommendation since the installation/set up process was, how can I put this, slightly painful. It doesn't help that there is no manual for the software which means that new users are left to figure out how it works by trial and error or by trawling through hundreds of posts on the company forum. That said, I am advised by the software creator that a manual is in the process of being written and will be available soon. As I say, an excellent and powerful script once installed and configured but definitely not for those lacking patience (and indeed, some computer knowledge). If you opt for this script, my advice would be to get the publishers of the software to install it for you. You can find out more about eSupport at: http://www.kayako.com

Other alternatives (neither of which I have tried myself) include Perldesk ( http://www.perldesk.com ) and Cerberus ( http://www.cerberusweb.com ). One advantage of Cerberus is that there is a free version :-)

Richard Grady has been helping ordinary people earn online since 1998. He writes a free newsletter which is published every two weeks. To subscribe (and claim your free gifts), visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html