10 Things A Help Desk Service Can Do To Improve Service

I worked (or worked closely) with a large part of my career at the help desk, and for the rest of my career I had to call the help desk regularly. During that time, there were many help desk habits where phone calls didn't work. Here are 10 things every help desk service worker should do to maximize customer service and satisfaction.

1: Answer The Phone Correctly

It's amazing how the first words come out when you pick up the phone and you can set the pace for the entire call. Unfortunately, many helpdesk organizations assume that employees know how to answer calls, but many do. A typical "script" suitable for answering a phone is: This allows the caller to know that they have reached the right company and the right phone number, to tell them who they are talking to, and to show them that they are there. In many cases, you will be called saying "Do you have a ticket number?" Or just "Hello". This really makes the caller feel like the technician is trying to get off the phone as soon as possible.

2: Explain Why You Are Heading In A Particular Direction

When I call the help desk, when a technician follows a particular troubleshooting route, nothing is helpful, and it's usually really frustrating to claim that it's correct. If that's the address I've already investigated and told the technician, it's even worse. At the same time, we know that many helpdesks require that we follow standard scripts or flowcharts to solve problems. Also, the technician can really know what I don't know.

In any case, we have found that it is best to explain exactly why technicians are taking the steps we are taking. Example: "Sir, I understand you may have tried this, but our policy requires that you try it anyway." After all, this configuration may be the problem. By saying something like this, the caller understands that they are not just trying to provide solutions or ignore them. They know that you really need to follow these steps.

3: Read The Ticket Note

If you want to offend the caller, ask the previous technician to do what they already did, or request the information they provided on the last call. Real steam? Ask them to tell you what the problem is. This type of deterioration can generally be avoided by reading the notes on the ticket. If the note is unclear or incomplete, you should discuss it with the person who wrote it, and if that doesn't work, you should speak to your boss.

4: Write Useful Notes

Speaking of ticket notes, be sure to leave your own note on the ticket! This is what I want to record:

• Who did you speak with
• Why did you call me this time?
• Steps performed, results, error codes, etc.
• Used parts, serial numbers, etc.
• Actions Callers Should Take Before Calling Again and Why
• Actions to be taken by help desks and why and when
• If the help desk intends to contact the caller, how or if the caller will call again

5: Investigate The Previous Case Of The Unit

Often, a problem with the caller will find clues to the customer or unit in the above case. For example, I used to work for a help desk organization where an RMA took out an old unit, restored it, and shipped it back, but sometimes the restoration process did not solve the real problem. By reviewing the unit's past ticket, we were able to determine if it was a permanent lemon and inform the RMA department that it needed to be destroyed. We also saw certain clients who had problems in an environment and those we had did not work. Therefore, by verifying the previous ticket, we were able to know when to start verifying the environment.

6: Know When To Escalate A Case

Too often Pride and Ego keep us away when we need to send cases up the escalation chain. We admit that we are confused and proud to tell someone who knows us best. This does not help anyone. Customers have not solved the problem, seem reluctant to try to obtain the solution, and the entire organization is incapacitated. There may not be strict guidelines on when to escalate a case in an organization, but as they say, "I know when to retain them and when to fold them."

7: Understand Current Policies

It is difficult for any organization to fully understand politics. However, receiving inconsistent help desk service can be really frustrating for callers. For example, if Jim wants to RMA the unit after one failure, and Susan claims three failures, unless Susan does the same quick fix as Jim, the caller is quite upset. You must do something before continuing. The problem is that people are generally taught the policy once during training and it is rarely accelerated afterwards. This is not the responsibility of the technician. However, if you find that different policies apply to the same situation, you should ask your supervisor to warn you that your understanding of the policies within your department may seem different.

8: Know The Market

Callers can search for technical information to help determine if the product they are considering buying is right for them. It is helpful to understand your product line and the product lines of your competitors. Then if someone calls you for this kind of presale information, they have a full notice to help you unless the policy is to redirect those questions to another department. You can receive it.

9: There Is A Direct Line Of Communication

I find a help desk that cannot work directly with the next level of support. In the best case scenario, you can leave a note on the ticket asking them to call the next level customer. For me this is obviously ridiculous. Do customers really hear "I left a note on my ticket to request a callback" when the previous three notes didn't get the call I needed? Of course, no.

Often, there is a policy to connect clients directly to the next level of support, but even if you need to use your manager as an intermediary, you still need to find a way to communicate directly with your clients. This way, if you need immediate attention to a situation, you can provide it.

10: Take Ownership Of The Case

There are two main reasons why you have an angry customer. Either your product has made them absolutely miserable, or your organization has posted an answer to their problems. In the latter case, the best strategy I've found is that other technicians may have made a mistake, or the product in question may be causing the problem, while personally trying to find the best solution. It is to confirm that it is exhausting. If not, take ownership of the case and find a solution. So you really have to keep that promise.

When you do, call back to provide frequent and regular status updates (even if you don't report changes) and internal events (level 3 supervisors or technicians). Etc.) the loop continues. Be warned by thieves). In most cases, all it takes to keep a "furious" customer from "rather annoying" is to show that they are taken seriously. And that means more than words.