How to get better Tech Support
Aside from development I do have a day job. I’ve been working in the IT department of Spinneybeck for about 2 years now. One of my job responsibilities is to answer support calls from our sales reps. They all have their own PC, most laptops but some desktop computers, and all of them have a Blackberry. From my experience working with each rep I’ve come to realize a certain attitude will get you much better support and help when you need it most. There are certain reps that I would go out of my way to help with anything and certain reps that make me cringe when I see them on my Caller ID.
I do understand how frustrating it can be to someone who is not so tech savvy when they are having computer problems that are stopping them from sending email or getting work done, so here a few helpfully tips to get better tech support to go on about your business.
Before you pick up the phone
Don’t jump into a panic the minute something acts up, take a deep break and preform some of the following steps:
- Reboot the computer - This is always my first suggestion; “Did you try and reboot?” and 5/10 times it corrects the problem. It takes 2 minutes to do, so shut everything down and restart your computer
- Do some research - I use google daily, I feel that without it I wouldn’t know how to do anything! So give it a try your self. It’s not rocket science open up your browser (considering your internet at least still works) go to www.google.com and type plain english what your trying to accomplish. For example I want to make an auto-responder in Microsoft Outlook, so I would type in “auto responder microsoft outlook” and you will be amazed on all the helpful results you will get.
- Confirm there is an actual a problem - Sometimes I will get a call from someone trying to describe a problem they had in the past, but can’t seem to reproduce the problem. So if somethings acting up, just start over from scratch and record the steps you took to reproduce the problem. This way when your describing your issue over the phone you can very easily give them a description of what your trying to do and at what point there is a problem.
While your on the phone
You’ve tried a few things your self and either got frustrated or simply couldn’t figure out what the problem is. So you’ve proceeded to make in the call for support. Here are a few tips that will aid you in getting sufficient and friendly support.
- Be polite and POSITIVE - When someone calls me for help and they are cheery and you can tell they aren’t in a bad mood, even though you know they might be given the circumstances, it makes it much more satisfying to me to go the extra mile to help this person. So be polite, friendly even. Ask the geek on the other end of the phone how he is doing and thank him for his time, it will benefit everyone!
- Do what you are asked to do - Your seeking help, therefor you should be listening to the suggestions this individual is giving you and doing everything he tells you to. Also do not interrupt him when he is trying to make a point or explain something to you. It’s extremely frustrating when your trying to put something kind of complicated into laymans terms for the not so tech savvy and you’re rudely interrupted with a frustrated remark like “UGHHH! I HATE THIS”.
- Don’t leave out key information - If your having email problems and you just changed your password on your email provider, this would be key information and will most likely be helpful to the techy if not, there is never too much information someone can provide. You’re also going to want to me completely honest. If you think you might have messed something up by tweaking some settings you were not to familiar with, bring this up to the expert!
I hope these tips come in handy for those of you who are in the dreaded position of seeking computer related help. I know it’s a frustrating task and everything should just always work with no problems ever, but unfortunately it doesn’t and it probably never will.
Tags: phone, tech support