Ask the Help Desk Coach
F. A. Q.s

Help Desk agents worldwide have asked these questions during customer service training presented by the help desk coach, or emailed questions to the Help Desk Coach. Look for tips that can help you in your Help Desk role.

Q. Dear Help Desk Coach:

I'm the help desk coordinator of a busy tech support help desk, and the first person the end user talks to when calling in for technical assistance. The user typically blurts out their whole problem to me. When I tell them I can't help them but have to transfer them to a technical person, they usually get madder and yell at me, even though I'm polite and tell them I can't help them with their problem but can only transfer them. In addition, I have to ask for their customer account number and sometimes the user doesn't know what that is, and they yell even more. It is frustrating and I feel like I take the brunt of customer anger all day long.

A. Dear Help Desk Coordinator:

Your job is to 'triage' calls to the appropriate tech rep, gather appropriate customer information up front, instill confidence in the customer, and keep your eye on the queue. This is not a job for sissies. You have a big responsibility and even though you aren't providing technical assistance, a big part of the customer's perception about the quality of the support your company offers is a result of how you handle incoming calls. Let me offer the following suggestions: 1) Before the caller gallops through their whole problem, gently interrupt, saying "Excuse me for interrupting, to help you most effectively, I will transfer you to one of our specialists for help with your specific issue." 2) To gather necessary information from caller, say "To help you quickly, I will need your customer account number first, please." 3) Don't forget the power of an apology. Even though you're not responsible for their technical issues, say "I'm sorry you've run into complications today." 4) Thank them for their patience, even if they're not. Being thanked for model behavior they're not modeling can be highly sobering. 5) Always communicate all information about the customer (or enter in ticket) before transferring to the technical support desk.

Q. Dear Help Desk Coach:

I work at a help desk that supports 396 educators in a school system. We provide phone support and on-site support, so we're really busy all the time. I can't understand why many of the teachers won't learn how to solve their own problems. They're teachers, but they don't want to learn! I feel really frustrated when I have to go to classrooms multiple times to (re)solve the same problem over and over again. How can I teach teachers?

A. Dear Tech Guru:

Other tech support professionals will confirm that teachers aren't the only end users who would prefer an on-site guru to resolve every issue. Part of our job is to provide technical assistance, and the other part is to provide technical coaching. Some users will always be dependent on us, however many will learn to help themselves if we coach them properly. Here are some guidelines for coaching users to help themselves: 1) Wait for the teachable moment before you try to educate them. Most tech support agents try to educate the user while solving the problem. The user is still frustrated, and just wants the problem fixed! 2) After you've solved the problem (and the user has calmed down) quickly offer a suggestion: "Next time this happens, try ______ first. If I'm busy and can't get to you right away, it might solve the problem (or provide me with valuable troubleshooting information etc.)" 3) Every time you resolve a problem or issue, add a brief suggestion or simple coaching tip. Most users will appreciate the information and will try to be more self-reliant.

Q. Dear Help Desk Coach:

This time of year I'm especially swamped with end users in my company who expect me to either support software they've loaded on their laptops themselves for their kids (or their personal use). Especially if the user is an executive I feel like I cannot refuse, but sometimes these calls are really long, and sometimes I don't know enough about the software to help, and then the user gets mad. (A few even want me to come to their house to help!!!)

A. Dear Help Desk Harry:

I hear this a lot, especially from the really good help desk agents. While flattering, these requests put you in a difficult position. When you turn down the out of bounds request, you might feel as if you're not customer friendly even though the requests violate company policy. Requests from high on the food chain can feel even more compelling. My recommendation is to 1) Tell the user you're complimented they asked you to support software the company hasn't trained you to support. 2) Remind the user that you're allowed to support company software, and don't want to provide them with bad information or waste their time. 3) Suggest they contact software manufacturer for help or 4) Recommend local tech support service that makes house calls. End the call by offering help with any company software or equipment issues.

Q. Dear Help Desk Coach:

I'm an IT specialist and I support internal users. My problem is I have a lot of friends in the company, and when I'm at lunch or they see me in the hallway (or believe it or not even in the restroom), they ask me to stop by their cube and help them. Its hard to say "no" because they're my friends and I know they need help, but my boss keeps telling us we're only supposed to help people who've filled out a ticket and when that ticket is assigned to us. Now people I don't know very well are asking me to help them because my friends say I'll be faster than the "system."

A. Dear Paul Popular:

Your boss is right. It's really difficult to assess help desk productivity (and build a case for increased staffing) if support is undocumented. In workshops I ask agents how much of their time is spent supporting undocumented issues. The average is 10 - 20%. This means 10 - 20% of help desk activities is invisible. The support you offer to your friends (and their friends) if not entered on a ticket, does not count toward your productivity or the productivity of the help desk. Your helpful nature is a great asset in delivering great technical support and assuring user satisfaction, however you should get credit for the work you perform. My recommendation is you continue helping your colleagues, however ask them to first fill out a ticket. You can say, "I want to help and I have several tickets already waiting. Do me a favor, fill out a ticket so I don't forget, and I'll make sure I help you as soon as possible." It'll feel awkward at first, but if you keep telling them you want to help after they've generated a ticket, they'll get the message. You might explain that when you help them without generating a ticket, it dings your productivity stats.

Q. Dear Help Desk Coach:

My supervisor just reprimanded me for generating tickets after I've provided IT support for co-workers. Usually the problem was simple and didn't require much time to fix, and my co-worker would have been inconvenienced by waiting a lot longer by starting a ticket. Since I filled out a ticket for them, my supervisor wrote me up.

A. Dear Helpful in New Jersey:

Please review my response to Paul Popular. This is a scenario common with internal help desks. Well meaning agents have inadvertently "trained" co-workers to circumvent the system. By entering the ticket after the fact, you've at least documented the issue and your activities. However the ticket never enters the queue, and other users wait longer than is fair. It is time to turn over a new leaf. When friends ask for your help, tell them you're complimented they keep coming to you, however they need to initiate a ticket from now on. Tell them your supervisor has reminded you about this policy, and is expecting you to comply.

Q. Dear Help Desk Coach:

Some of our end users call back repeatedly for the same information. It's hard to have sympathy if they don't remember or don't write down the solution. I asked one guy why he called me back all the time for the same thing, and he just said "isn't that what you're there for?" I thought I'd be problem solving more in this job and not just reminding people what they should have learned the first time.

A. Dear Frustrated:

You didn't mention whether you work for an internal help desk or support external customers. If you work for an internal help desk, you could suggest to your manager that internal users would benefit from a training class on the basics. Or if your company has an internal website and could post FAQs, that will cut down on the calls. Even with the training option and published self-help, some people will always pick up the phone and call the help desk. When these customers call again, let them know you're happy to help. Politely ask if they have something to write with because you'd like them to have helpful information at hand for the future. If your company does provide some form of self-help, direct them toward that source. Remind them the self-help is always there, and can be more time efficient. Follow up with an email answer to their question, and if self-help is available, include the URL.

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