When your screen is frozen, when your folder doesn’t show the files that should be there, when your PC just goes kaput! You are about to cry or scream… wait, take a deep breath and ring the help desk.
It’s always great to have an expert to hand to solve the big (and not so big) issues that can occur day to day in your working day. It’s important that those we rely on are fit for the job, so here is what we value when it comes to Help Desk Service.
A quick response
We want somebody that is there when we need them, at the end of a phone or a quick reply by email. We want to be able to speak to somebody on a level that we understand that is not too technical. We want them to get to the heart of the problem and take the stress away. They should take the time to find out what is wrong but also get it solved quickly. A group of technicians that are able to work on your issue, no matter who picks up the phone. Most of all we want to feel they have a genuine want to give good customer service and get us back up and running.
Good processes
If there is a ticket system, then we want it answered efficiently. We want knowledgeable staff that are able to access our history and records if it is an ongoing issue. They should have good diagnosis skills to tell us how long it will take to resolve the issue. There should be a system for escalating more complex problems up but with good communication to let us know what is happening and the time scale involved.
Escalated issues that require higher technical abilities should have their own process and group of engineers. When the service desk is closed we want to know how to contact after hours support and that should be clear, and easy to do.
Technical skills
We want to feel that they know a lot about the basic common issues and are knowledgeable about our software and hardware. We expect them to have all necessary qualifications and training that is up to date. Really we want them to be able to know what to do and access the vendors on our behalf if required. They should be able to understand logs and know what they should be looking for.
Customer service
We expect the help desk to know how to communicate with us as a customer and anticipate our frustration. They should be able to efficiently get the issue solved, knowing when to solve it now, or escalate to another engineer that needs to go onsite. Staff that are motivated and productive will be evident during the call and throughout the experience. Those that can communicate well and take an interest in the customer will be the shining stars of the company.
In general, the help desk staff are the ones that interact with the customer the most, that is why they are vital to the blood of the IT managed service provider. A slip up on this desk could lead to a lost contract, so it’s important to get it right. Well trained, experienced and happy staff that treat customers well are the best assets they could have.
The IT service desk should be there, ready to react when you need them and allowing you to get back to building your business.