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Customer Service Principles for IT Support

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Depending on the individuals involved, the sense of urgency and the technical specifics, any technical support request can present new and unique challenges to those involved, both from an IT and an end-user perspective. The problem at hand may be mysterious and complex, derived from multiple sources and platform conflicts, the end-user may not be familiar with IT services, and the support analyst may faced with a problem with which he or she has little or no experience.
Obviously, technical knowledge and expertise is the key to effective technical support. In order to solve technical problems, you must have sufficient knowledge of the systems in place, an understanding of the technical principles involved, and the ability to apply that knowledge and understanding to identify and resolve specific operational problems. But, as complicated at that may sound, this technical expertise is only part of the support services picture. A successful technical support encounter must also be timely, responsive to business circumstances, and must instill confidence in IT services and abilities. Communication and follow-through are essential components of service oriented IT support.

Communication How-To:
1. Communication is an essential component of the strategic support encounter, ensuring that the end-user is properly informed, and that all responsible parties have all the information needed to research and resolve the problem.
2. The support analyst must listen and ask the right questions to get to the heart of the problem presented.
3. The support analyst must keep the end-user informed of progress along the way and expected next steps.
4. The support analyst must provide all relevant information to second level support, vendors, management, or other responsible organizations in order to resolve the problem at hand.
5. Communication must be maintained throughout the support encounter process.

Follow-through How-To:
1. This step occurs once the problem is resolved. While a problem may appear "resolved" from a technical perspective, it must also be resolved from an end-user perspective. The end-user must feel comfortable with the fix and this may take some convincing, depending on problem complexity, severity and duration.
2. The support analyst must understand the impact that the problem has had on the end-user, including the history of the problem (how long it has lasted, and how frustrating the support experience may have been).
3. The support analyst should explain the resolution in a "user-friendly" way.
4. If possible, the support analyst should physically demonstrate that the problem has been fixed.
5. If the problem has not been fixed to the end-user's satisfaction, the support analyst should notify management for further action as may be needed.
6. In this step, actions should be taken to officially "close" the problem. These steps may vary according to internal procedures, including:
a. Recording a "closed" status in a problem tracking software system.
b. Documenting the problem circumstances and specifics for future reference.
c. Reviewing the problem for "lessons learned" to improve future performance.
d. Updating technical documentation to reflect any changes made to solve the problem