A technical support helpdesk can be the pride of a business or an unfortunate hurdle that has to be encountered on the road to productivity. I started my career as a technical support engineer and now work as a business consultant to improve departments such as IT, so the Tech Support Helpdesk is definitely something I know and love.
When I consult with businesses I’m often presented with process diagrams, breakdowns of call/ticket turnaround times and SLAs (Service Level Agreements). Management are keen to demonstrate their range of technical products and reassure me their engineers have the highest standard of technical training but this is rarely the problem.
Technical skills are great (and necessary) but most of the time the ‘Support’ element is lacking and this is the area that causes the most customer consternation. Techie’s are passionate about technology and natural problem solvers that’s why we need them there for the end users but focusing on the ‘experience’ of support is also important as it results in improved morale, faster query resolution and increased customer satisfaction.
People make a team, teams make departments and departments make a business so it’s always best to start with the individuals and work our way up.
So here are 10 ways to improve your technical skills (or the skills within your organisation)
1. Set the tone – The initial contact you have with the person you are about to support is crucial. If you are answering the phone, show enthusiasm by using the tone of your voice. The speed at which you talk can also be used to express the energy of your intention. If you are supporting someone face to face, the same rules apply but the inclusion of a big smile will go a long way.
2. Know your place – Realise where you are joining the customer in their frustration cycle. Chances are the person you are talking to has been battling with the issue for over an hour, has called several friends, searched the net and now they have to call you and pay for the privilege. Also remember that they wouldn’t have to call you if “your crummy product actually worked!”.
3. Don’t take it personally – Step 2 was the precursor for what can start off as a tense conversation. Aside from the technical issue, the person may be uncomfortable with technology and will not want to appear stupid. Fear of a technical question they ‘should know’ but cannot answer will make them anxious and also compound the issue. If this is not enough most people have their finger over the ‘anger’ button waiting for you to say the magic words ‘there is nothing we can do you need to buy a new one’. The conversation you are about to have may be difficult, awkward or at worst abusive so the key is to remember “This isn’t personal, this person is just frustrated, anxious and fearful”. This may not be true in all cases but it will put you in the correct mindset to provide a good support experience.
4. Listen, Listen and then listen some more – After you say the words “What can I help you with today?”, you must LISTEN. Yes its your 24th call of the day, yes you’ve heard it a million times, yes it’s a standard problem, yes a trained monkey could solve it but for this person this is worst thing in their life right now and they want to vent their frustration and get you up to speed the best way they know how. The key is to let them finish without interrupting. There are advantages here for the technician too. If you have been in support for any period of time you will know it’s the bits in-between the customer’s salient points that lead to a large number of the fixes. For example, they may be keen to point out their desktop wallpaper didn’t appear as fast as it normally does but they will skirt over the notification which said windows was updating their PC the night before. The devil is in the detail so an open mind and open ears will make your life easier.
5. Empathise don’t patronise – Always remember that everyone has pride and we should work to uphold it. They are not as technically savvy as you but this is not a crime or a flaw in their character they simply have other priorities in their life. Agreeing that this is a difficult situation for them and not patronising them for not carrying out the ‘basic checks’ will give you common ground and build rapport which will serve you well for the rest of the call.
6. Reassurance – We all like to feel that we are dealing with a skilled professional that can resolve our issues and put our fears to rest. A simple line such as “Yes, I have seen this before. Let’s take a look and get you up and running again” will give you instant credibility.
7. Ask the right questions – Understand that ‘Techie’ and ‘end user’ are different languages. You ask her if “The network cable is connected to the router and also connected to the Ethernet port on her PC”. It couldn’t be more basic for you, however, port is the drink she had last night, the router is the ‘box with the blinky lights’ and her PC is her ‘screen where the internet lives’. Trust me you’re going to have a long conversation if you don’t decrypt your language.
8. Solve or update – Sometimes you can’t solve the issue straight away so you must do the next best thing ‘Provide regular updates on progress until it is resolved’. Most people are reasonable and understand there is no magic wand so a little update now and then will show you haven’t forgotten them and make them feel valued as a customer.
9. Signoffs and repeat business – Hopefully, by the time the call starts to wind down you have gone through the above steps and provided the customer with an A1 technical fix but do you stop here ?. No. Before saying good bye you should always ask if there is anything else you can help them with and if not, reassure them that if they encounter ANY future issues all they have to do is contact you again. This should be delivered in a sincere and enthusiastic way and if it helps imagine that if they call back you get a huge bonus!.
10. Post support – Technical support on the whole does not come with a lot of customer appreciation and if a customer has had a difficult time on the build up to your call your reception may be somewhat frosty. Therefore to stay upbeat and positive I always focused on the ‘Helping’ rather than the ‘Thanks’. As technical staff you have skills and knowledge that others do not have and you get to demonstrate your talents in a way that improves some ones life. They may not thank you for it or put a picture of you up in their living room but your contribution to world is necessary and valuable.
If this post has been helpful to you or you would like to share your own tips, please leave a comment below.
