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16 Apr 2020

Tech Support For Dummies – “Life on the end of a phone”

The tech we all use every day is pretty amazing. So many little parts, so many lines of code, so incredible that it works at all, let alone consistently. Mostly it does work but when it fails, we need help straight away. Enter the tech support personnel.

Looking after those in the field
From the outside, tech support is all troubleshooting 101. Having spent years on the other end of the phone, I can attest that it is so much more.

It’s not really about tech – it’s about supporting people who are having tech problems. Often, they are experiencing the same issues that you have seen and supported others on.

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Sometimes the issues are completely new or unexpected. Either way, the customer in need is your main focus and you are helping them to solve their problem.

Respond quickly but calmly. Above all, don’t forget to breath. If you are not calm, you may miss the crucial part of the puzzle. Further, a good part of your job is reassuring the person on the other end of the phone that you are there to help them out of their current pickle.

If you sound flustered, that will come across. Remember that the caller is potentially onsite, in front of an exasperated client, due to head to another job, or under any manner of stresses.

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a good part of your job is reassuring the person on the other end of the phone that you are there to help them out of their current pickle.


The next step is to try and identify the actual problem.

Basic troubleshooting steps are a start. This is where you have to ask some leading questions. The most elementary of these is “Have you got a green light?”.

Depending on your relationship with the site tech, it is hard not to be condescending when saying this. I carefully asked this once and heard “Gotta go. Urgent.” as a response.

I knew that he’d forgotten to do the most fundamental thing and flick the power switch, but I let him save face on the day and when we next caught up in person, had a good laugh about it.

We all do dumb stuff occasionally so it pays to cut some slack.


Empathy and patience
In support, you’re helping users to help themselves. In this context, soft skills are as important as any hard tech skills that you may have.

When it’s minutes to home time and you are faced with what seems simple to you, it’s tempting to just tell them to “RTFM / Google / FAQ / Wiki” the answer.

That won’t keep you employed for long.

Effective support staff put themselves in the user’s shoes. Picture yourself in front of a non-functioning system. What would you do, how would you feel?

Asking the client to “please humour me and try XYZ?” can break the ice and buy some time for parties at both ends of the line.

The classic “have you turned it off and on?” can work wonders too. Often, one of you will “ahah” the answer as you’re talking and working through options.

Another approach when sussing out what is going on is to ask if you can “check on a few things and call back?” This buys time to research the problem and see if it is a known issue or a new beast.

You can do the hard work of the Wiki-search (or relevant method) then respond with a workable answer.

Ideally, you find a good solution and get time to both step the user through the fix and document it for other support staff and users.


Impressions count
The more time I spent in support, the more I found that letting the customer know that you have their back is half the battle won. If you can find a remedy immediately, great. Everyone moves on and, if you are lucky, the

field tech sings your praises to their boss.

We all do dumb stuff occasionally so it pays to cut some slack.


More complex or peculiar problems can take days or weeks to resolve. When this occurs, it is wise to call back every day or two on pending cases to provide reassurance that you are still on the job and haven’t forgotten them.

This was one thing that I stressed to new support staff – “Keep the customer in the loop”.

Sometimes, the appearance of having done something is enough.

Working for a residential integrator, I received an urgent Saturday night call from a client holidaying in Europe. Turns out the poor fellow couldn’t turn on his spa in Toorak from the other side of the world.

Calmly, I logged into the online console for the control system running his house and flicked the virtual switch for the spa to make it appear active. Called him back and his gruff response was “Good, now I don’t have to sue you on Monday.”

Your rewards may vary…


Inevitably, you’ll end up with some self-important person calling in with one of the following gems:

“Surely you’ve seen this problem before.”

“You’re just saying that you’ve never come across this.”

“How come you don’t have an instant fix?”

“Manufacturer X never has this problem”

It’s tempting to tell them where to go but patience, diplomacy and calm firmness are required. If you are clear and positive in your answers, including “I don’t know but will find out”, you might quell even the grumpiest know-it-all.


Firmware
A favourite peeve from a support perspective is field techs ‘upgrading’ firmware just because a new version has been released.

The system that previously worked fine is now borked because someone didn’t read the release notes.

The golden rule of thumb for firmware upgrades (and site fixes in general) is: “If it aint broke, don’t mess with it.”

The exception is when the manufacturer / distributor recommends it. Then it’s on their head to find the fix if things go awry.


Distributor / manufacturer constraints
Part of tech support is towing the company line. When you see the same problem recurring, or have to support some flaky kit and no fix is forthcoming, it is frustrating at best.

Particularly so when you have to deliver the bad news to the field tech that you don’t have an answer nor any timeframe for one.

Remember who signs your pay cheque each week – and pay the price of corporate life!

Warranties can be a real pain too. With many local distributors sourcing most product from overseas, you are constrained by:

a) how much spare stock is on the shelf at any one time

b) lead time on restocking if shelves are cleared

c) differences in manufacturer (OS) and distributor (AUS) warranty terms

d) batteries (produced on Y date in X country, shipped on Y++ date, stored locally for Z months, shipped to integrator for install, then up to 18 months after manufacture finally used by the end client, who expects them to be flawless and limitless.)

Working in telephone technical support requires careful interpersonal skills, as John O'Brien writes.


Where to next?
It’s not all tears and anxiety though. When you’ve answered the immediate calls and cleared the backlog, it’s time for R&D.

One great aspect to a support role is pulling equipment apart and assessing it. You get to disassemble non-functioning products and poke around.

Being paid to release the magic smoke is fun.

Called him back and his gruff response was “Good, now I don’t have to sue you on Monday.”


If you enjoy doing all of the above and hang around for long enough, you can rise to a senior support level. Here, you get to trial the beta and new stuff first before any slick sales guys can demo it in the market place.

With luck, you can help keep their promises to customers in the realm of the possible. You might even be fortunate enough to visit the manufacturers’ facilities, pick the brains of their senior staff and see all the real cool gizmos.

For the personable, supporting the Sales team at trade shows is also a boon. Setting up all the gear on top of your normal support role is the payoff.

The complexities and constant updates to all our widgets mandate ongoing training. Often seen as a poor cousin to field work, training is a skill unto itself and an entirely valid career path for the right tech person.

All support staff need to keep their chops up and regularly attending or running a training session assists this.


Just rewards
As with many other multi-disciplinary roles in modern life, good technicians do not necessarily make good support staff or trainers.

Supporting people who are up against it can be very stressful. Doing it remotely, with only a few pieces of the entire puzzle, all while staying calm is a skillset requiring as much emotional intelligence as raw tech knowledge.

When it all comes off though, it is also incredibly satisfying.



CX Magazine – April 2020   

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