Any tips for a helpdesk position!! gotta 2 week contract job, im scared!!

HLRS

People will be calling in and I will pick up the phone and try to resolve the problem.. I know how to fix pc's but still not sure if I can fix all the issues. What happens if I can't troubleshoot? will I be fired?

Iristheangel

No one here can tell you whether you are going to be fired or not.

As far as what happens or what you can do if you can't troubleshoot a problem, I believe you got some excellent responses here: http://www.techexams.net/forums/off-topic/79136-what-do-when-you-cant-troubleshoot-problem.html

benbuiltpc

Chances are your attitude, willingness to help, and customer service skills will matter more than your ability to fix a particular problem. Your customers will have much more patience if they know you are trying - even if you don't have the answers right away.

tprice5

If you cannot solve the customer's needs you will likely have an instruction sheet telling you where to forward the ticket to. If you dont know, just be honest, take down their contact info, and tell them you will get back to them.

ThunderPipe

2 week job?

N2IT

You'll do fine.

cyberguypr

1. Bookmark this: Let me google that for you
2. Type the issue the user is experiencing
3. Click on 'Google Search'
4. Email them the resulting link

Seriously, don't overthink it. What has been said already is great advice. Do your best, research if you have the time, escalate if not. It all depends on the SLAs and policies in place within that specific environment.

And I'm also curious, just two weeks? Is it a rollout of an application or hardware refresh?

bdub

One piece of advice I didn't see in the other thread and I did not mention before because I thought that other thread was a bit odd (sorry I guess I just have never worried about what to do in such a circumstance) is listen to the user. All too often people in support positions forget to listen to the user, and use selective hearing only partially listening to their problem and ignoring the rest. Its very important in these types of positions to not only make them feel as though you actually want to help and care about their issues but also its important you get as much info about the issue as you can. I can't count how many times I had people call up who had worked with someone else previously who's issues were easily fixed by just listening to the user and finding the root of the problem.

The other piece to listening is to ask questions, one the most important ones being "when was the last time this worked". Ask them as many questions as you can think of, if they start to get irritated by your questions (believe me many people will) just reiterate to them that you want to help solve the issue and need to know these things. This is another example of "I can't count how many times" that I fixed an issue because there was some tidbit of information the user didn't think was important enough to tell and I only found out because of drilling them with questions.

When you get in tough situations where you don't know the fix right off the top of your head and a quick google search turns up no good results, you really need to start asking questions. Ask as many as you can think of that might lead to a possible cause. Find the cause, you find the solution.

HLRS

ok cool thanks man

bdub wrote: »

One piece of advice I didn't see in the other th a quick google search turns up no good results, you really need to start asking questions. Ask as many as you can think of that might lead to a possible cause. Find the cause, you find the solution.

effekted

Your soft skills are the most important for a HD role. Thoroughly listen to what the callers are reporting and avoid interrupting or talking over them. "Just to ensure I understand your problem correctly, <repeat the issue back to them>" and then use something like "I'll be happy to look into this for you, would you mind if I place you on hold to look into this?" and that's when you google or look in a knowledge base if there is one, and last resort ask your team lead/supervisor or a colleague. Thank the caller for holding when you return and try not to let the hold go over several minutes without checking in on them to let them know you're still working on it. Unless the company has a problem with doing this, offer to call them back if they prefer that over holding after they've already held for 3-4 minutes.

MiikeB

I completely agree about the "listen to the user approach." A lot of times they will be satisfied with a work around for a problem they mention instead of needing the actual problem fixed. Figure out what the end result they want is and don't get caught up in getting there the way they are trying to, if you can find another way offer it up as a suggestion.

Example - User calls in stating they need to turn this Excel Spreadsheet in to a PDF and attach it to an email but every time they try to use the pdf printer it comes out random characters. They need this ASAP as it is part of a weekly report they have to email to a customer. You try reinstalling the pdf printer and it doesn't fix it. Google turns up no obvious answers.

Now you could get in to more intense troubleshooting, or you could say "Would it be acceptable if I had you print out the spreadsheet then scanned it in as a pdf. We can finish troubleshooting this issue when you have more free time?" Or "Can you email me the excel spreadsheet and I will convert it for you then we will troubleshoot your issue later?"

txraider09

These days most companies expect great customer service out of their L1's. If your not able to solve it, someone higher up will. Im sure there will be some sort of knowledge base for you to follow. Just follow the steps and it will lead you to some sort of outcome. But be sure to at least try.

the_Grinch

It's ok to feel a little apprehensive when you first start, as we all have when we began. I remember taking my first call and thinking God what did I get myself into. But that will go away pretty quickly and you'll eventually start having some "fun". You'll find that your expectations will be a lot higher then any users that call in. Use the resources that are available to you and research research research. Have all the facts before you ping someone above you or escalate an issue. Other then that, take a few deep breathes and just chug along.

Devilry

1. Breathe

2. Try your best

3. Ask for help from team

N2IT

Follow processes

Lock onto a mentor

Actively listen to your customer

Documentation is very critical

Try your best

Krunchi

Agree with the others listen I would add keep it simple don't over think the issue work from the bottom up not the top down.

Roguetadhg

You won't be able to solve all problems, at least not right away. (If you can, I'd like you to resolve the issue of world hunger ) You won't know everything, you can't. There's so much information, so many problems, the knowledge of generations of products is mind boggling. All anyone can do is to inform themselves on the topics to make informed, educated guesses.

Correct Documentation is key for troubleshooting. If you have incorrect documentation, you'll spend time troubleshooting more than you need to. I've learned to keep notes about everything. Every.Thing. I have Excel, Word, Visio, Pictures... Everything to make sure that I can just look. Answer. No problemos. If I didn't, I'd be looking, hunting. It looks great when you pull out sheets of current docs, it looks bad when you're fumbling for an answer.

Your Mentor/Bosses and Search Engines are going to get you by things you don't know. I used Google today to try to find out information about fixing a Beeping Monitor from Dell. Warranty is out, so it's a dead fish - I shall revive her!

---

Most of all, Above everything else... Keep calm. You can't troubleshoot and think through the problems in the middle of an adrenline rush. if you've got nerves of swiss cheese. Experience taught me to take a deep breath. A second of everything going away makes a world of a difference. In that second you can clear your mind. Its much like turning off and turning on a computer will clear out the RAM. It helps, It's cheesy. But it helps. Knowing this now, and doing this when you need too are two different things if you don't practice it. Take the time to just reboot your mind a few times a day

Most people won't be telling you all of what you need to do for troubleshooting. They won't really know what you need to know, most of the times. You need to take the reins of the conversation, after the person has explained their situation and life story . Ask questions, ask the stupidest and smallest of questions. Knowing that asking these questions will help you help them. Show genuine interest and care about their problems - If it wasn't for them, you won't be there.

Follow procedures. Some places, even if you have advanced knowledge, you can't work on a problem if it lies outside of what you're to do. That's fine, it's not your problem. However, do your best to figure out why it's not your problem - instead of just pushing it out on someone else. Don't just hear some of the story, or assume you know all of the story.

Cover your butt as much as possible - See the earlier tips. Expect to be tossed under the bus if it's your fault. Make it not your fault by doing everything you can. Be Paranoid about things. It's foolish to trust everyone, it's just as foolish to not trust everyone.

Will you be fired? I don't think that's the best attitude. It sounds to me like you're expecting to be fired. Realistically - You may be fired. You may not. Nonetheless - It's a job, it's not the end of the world.

...Realize that your time there may be short. Take every chance you can to pull experiences from the wood work. Talk to your co-workers, learn from their mistakes. Be hungry for the experiences and knowledge. Stories are great too. As my personal non-tech example from Wally-world: I've learned more about China and Korea thanks to a young woman teacher that I just helped her out with her fridge. I've never been to China, she has. She talked my ear off - and I wanted her to continue because I've never been there!

Mellow. Do your job to the best of your abilities and keep learning from everything and everyone. Don't ever stop learning.