Tag Archives: IT managed service provider

How to Handle Distraught IT Help Desk Customers

January 5, 2018Manage Serviceit help desk, IT managed service provider, IT support, MSPSystemsNet Administrator

Angry businessman yelling at an IT helpdesk person on the phone in front of a broken desktop computer.

Understanding the customers perspective is key in providing quality support

Working with computers, especially broken or misbehaving ones, is not easy for everyone. Of course, almost no one is having a good time when a computer or program they rely on suddenly becomes problematic, but some people handle this better or worse than others. Members of your IT Help Desk team can be considered pros when it comes to resisting the frustration of a broken computer but your clients may be a completely different story. They probably tried to fix it themselves at least once and, having failed to do this, are feeling a combination of disappointment, frustration, and embarrassment at not being up to the repair and even a bit of betrayal because they trusted the machine or program to work for them.

This is a heady cocktail and can lead customers, even those that are usually very well mannered, to be terse, upset, or angry when on the phone with their IT help desk technician. Fortunately, all your staff needs is a little patience and a few positive techniques to cheer their customers up by the end of the call.

Bring the Positivity

From the moment you answer a call, a help desk technician needs to be a source of positivity. This doesn’t necessarily mean overwhelming cheerfulness, just a generally upbeat attitude and friendly demeanor. Because many customers call in a bad mood, this permeating positivity will help keep their negative feelings from making the entire encounter an unpleasant one for both parties. Remember that you are the expert and are here to help them with whatever the problem might be.

Don’t Take Offence

When customers call in angry, upset, or disappointed, it’s all too easy to transfer those bad feelings onto the company and its representatives. Some customers might be bitter, accusatory, or just downright mean, but it’s important not to take these things personally. They don’t know you, this is their frustration speaking and if you can solve their problem, or even just give it a good try, their feelings are likely to change. Let their negativity slide off you and maintain your positive attitude.

Listen to the Whole Story

Many customers, when asked to explain their problem, will launch into an entire personal narrative of their experience with the bug or malfunction. While it may be tempting to ask them to cut to the chase, it is often more beneficial to let them finish. The story telling acts as a form of venting, gets some of the frustration off their chest, and often contains important details about why their computer may be having problems.

Alleviate Tension with Humor

Some of the embarrassment and nervousness your customers feel when asking for technical help can be eased with amusing stories about other people who found themselves facing a similar error. Even if the problem was caused by client actions, this will help them understand that computer problems happen to everyone and might even get them laughing.

Explain the Solution

When you finally discover the source of their problem and implement a solution, don’t leave them in the dark about it. Make the customer part of the solution by explaining it to them, along with why the trouble shooting steps you went through together revealed the fix. This makes customers feel included, like they’re on the team, and may help them to avoid this problem in the future.

Offer Something Extra

When all is said and done, whether or not you were able to fix their problem, always ask if there’s something more you can do. Often there isn’t, but sometimes a customer will have a question they’ve been wanting to ask or a small account management task they haven’t been able to accomplish. With this simple act of good customer service, you gain their gratitude and show that their needs really do matter to you.

When you follow these simple steps, most help desk customers will feel better about you and the company by the time the ticket is closed. All you need is positivity, patience, and an inclusive attitude to turn even the most distraught customer into your trouble shooting ally. For more helpful tips on IT help desks, contact us today!

Keeping Your Help Desk Online with Managed IT Services

December 14, 2017Manage Servicehelp desk, IT managed service provider, IT support, MSPSystemsNet Administrator

Managed IT services providing support vector man and woman with headsets and chat bubbles

Communication is key in providing support to customers

For a modern online company, whether you offer software as a service or sell shoes through an e-commerce portal, the help desk is a vital part of nurturing customer relationships. When a customer has a problem or a question, you need to be ready and available or risk creating a breach in your comprehensive policy of customer support. For this reason, your business software suite and network access are vitally important. The quality, reliability, and integrity of your CRM and maintenance of your help desk computer systems can make the difference between a happy customer with a growing sense of brand loyalty and one that feels disconnected enough to seek a new vendor. Managed IT services can provide both broad support and detailed repairs the moment your system shows signs of faltering, ensuring that your help desk stays online and your customers remain satisfied.

Open Communication Channels

The time in which customers either called on the phone or arrived in person with their questions now seems like the distant past. There are now a dozen or more possible ways a client can contact your helpdesk, from social media posts to email and online chat services. Phone calls are still a big part of the customer service package, but these days it’s often done with VOIP instead of conventional phone lines. A managed IT service will help you monitor every avenue for communication and repair them if even a single one goes down. From your chat program to your phone system, you can rely on IT professionals to keep you connected and available.

Fast Service Resolution

Losing connection to the internet may be an irritating hassle at home, but for a help desk office, it can be disastrous. Whether you’ve got one machine that’s started refusing connections or the whole floor goes inexplicably offline, a managed IT service will notice immediately and work at lightning speed to diagnose the problem and get you back online. They will work with your in-house technicians, get on the phone with your ISP, and even send their own people to your building to see if the problem can be found from there. Whatever it takes to restore your internet services, your IT team will provide quickly and efficiently to minimize your downtime.

Managed Network Protection

The best problems are the kind that don’t happen at all. You can always spot a high quality managed IT service when they take the time to monitor your network for early warning signs. By keeping a watchful eye on network activity and data access, your remote IT team and local techs can work together to prevent major issues before they happen. When this is paired with a strong firewall and a comprehensive malware detection system, you have cut off most of the common causes of major network failure. Your customers and support technicians will appreciate the seamless connection that never drops calls and always customer data that is always available when it’s needed.

Best Practices Advice

There are some things only experienced technicians know about computers that can significantly increase the performance, usefulness, and lifespan of your help desk systems. One of the best ways to avoid inconvenient downtime is by taking good care of your machines, keeping your software updated, and maintaining your firewall security. A managed IT service that offers personalized advice can help you make the most of your help desk computer systems and prevent problems in the future.

When your helpdesk is offline you are disconnected from your customers in a way they feel and respond to. In order to minimize downtime and keep your computer systems in the best possible shape for customer assistance, contact us today and we’ll help you find the right managed IT service for your business.

What The Future of Help Desk Support Looks Like

April 23, 2015Manage Servicehelp desk support, IT managed service provider, professional IT supportSystemsNet Administrator

If employers don’t adapt to their employees’ use of personal devices for work, they risk leaving themselves open to security threats.

One of the best tools available from a managed service provider is their help desk and support services. These IT pros must keep their finger tightly on the pulse of rising technology to manage their customers ever-increasing needs. In the fast-paced world of growing tech, when looking into the future, these three things are certain:

BYOD is Growing, Learning to Adapt

Employees that BYOD (Bring Their Own Device) to work currently only account for about 1/3 of hardware being used professionally. According to a survey of over 1,400 executives, when asked this question, “Do you allow your employees access to your networks via their smartphones, tablets and laptops,” only 33% replied affirmatively.

But the truth is, employees are going to work from their personal devices whether corporate likes it or not, so the best course of action is to adapt. If enterprises don’t allow access, users will simply leave IT behind and risk security threats and data breaches.

Mobile First Mentality

We’ve all seen the statistics about the tremendous growth of mobile devices and this trend has not fallen on deaf ears at the help desks. The number of mobile WiFi hotspots, some public and unsecured along with those safer connections available at home and work have also increased significantly.

Due to this tremendous increase in traffic, many IT help desk operations have deployed separate departments just for mobile inquiries. This streamlines the process and concentrates support processes quickly and more effectively.

24/7 Real Time Support

Long gone are the days of waiting for hours, days, let alone weeks or more for support. Customers expect answers almost immediately, anytime and anywhere. Emergency service is simply a given for this profession.

For all your managed IT service needs, any questions, comments or concerns you may have, please contact us. We offer on-site services in addition to special pricing platforms for group packaging and a la carte options for any or all of your IT issues.