Helping Your Help Desk Representative

We have all been there. You are working on something important, perhaps working to meet a deadline, and bam, your computer stops working properly.  You panic, and realize you need to call the help desk. You really want them to get you back up and running quickly. What can you do to help? This article from Inside Indiana Business provides some great tips for helping your help desk representative solve your problem. https://www.insideindianabusiness.com/articles/7-tips-to-help-your-help-desk-representative?utm_source=covid-wrap-up&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=2022-05-06

• Be calm. As the article states, everything has a fix. The key is to be patient and “before calling a help desk remember, being nice goes a long way in the long run. Take a deep breath and be calm.”
• Resist the urge to self-diagnose. The article advises “Something in a computer goes haywire, and we think, I’ll Google it and find a fix. Unless you’re a computer expert, don’t do it. Calling a help desk rep and saying what you think it is, is like going to a doctor telling them you looked on WebMD. Typically we find the worst case scenario, and we all know how far that gets us in a doctor’s office, not very.”
• Make notes before calling. “Instead of self-diagnosing, write down exactly what’s happening, take screenshots of error messages, be factual and don’t over explain. Note when the problem started (don’t overthink it). You’ll be asked if you did a restart. Don’t be frustrated by this. The help desk rep needs to know (and yes, we all know a good restart is sometimes an easy fix). If you choose to use email to communicate, use the list of facts and screenshots in the message to the help desk rep to give them a place to start diagnosing.”
• Choose the right communication tool. “If you need an immediate fix, calling is a better method then email. The help desk rep may ask to receive details via email. But don’t use it as the main method of communication if the help you need is hot.”
• Be in the right place. “Don’t call from a loud coffee shop asking for support. It’s hard to help someone or receive help if you cannot hear what’s being said.” The article advises to find a quiet place to have the call and be sure it has good access to WIFI.
• Know when to escalate the issue. The article suggests “Know when it’s time to nicely nudge a rep by saying, “We seem to have done a lot. Is there someone else on your team who might be able to figure out what’s happening?” Often we find an automatic update overnight creates a repetitive issue in computer users systems. Once we figure out one person’s fix and share it with each other, the rest of the callers with the same problem have a quick resolution.”

These tips can help everyone to be an active participant in engaging with a help desk representative, increasing the overall satisfaction with the process.

To learn more about TCC’s IT Managed Services please visit our website https://www.e-tcc.com/managed-services.