Be sure to focus on helping to solve the problem – don’t worry about being “right”
This morning when I arrived at the office I had a few things that were top of list and needed to be checked out right away. We were having difficulty with a web application used to handle checks received.
On Friday, the user of the system spoke with a bank support representative about the issue and was treated quite rudely. I know that I have been a bit less than nice in the past when providing support, but have learned from my experiences and adjusted accordingly.
Why do I mention this? Because there are two things that are important here:
1. You can attract more flies with honey than vinegar
2. A poor attitude impedes the solution to the problem
Both of these are seemingly common sense thoughts that most, including myself at one time, would brush off as understood and no brainers. This is where I have found that I was wrong.
Sure there are easy fixes in the technical realm, and rebooting is often a solution that is a no brainer, but assuming a solution will just work and going away, or giving the impression that you (or your staff) know more than those using the computer (or about following instructions) is just a bad plan.
Usually when i ask a user to reboot, I have a secret hope that the issue will go away, but actually the reboot gives me a chance to do a quick search for information or get a soda on my way to work with the client (for those instances when I am in the office working with co-workers).
Assuming that all systems are configured equally is not a good plan either. An example, while on the phone with the bank support rep, my co-worker was told to access user accounts in the Windows XP control panel. It was the fourth icon from the left.
At full screen with the control panel in classic view and sorted by alpha, the fourth item from the left is actually Automatic updates. Perhaps a better approach might be to ask the person you are helping what is on their screen or if they see xyz icon and suggest where they might look for it.
Until I did technical support on the phone for a while, I was in two camps, I was sure I knew how to fix the issue in many cases, but also unsure of how to confidently and politely convey this to the people I was helping.
Doing onsite support and being able to get my hands on the machine killed my ability to do off the cuff phone support, but it helps keep my mind fresh because I have to look for things to get the problem solved.
I have learned that it is more about helping those who ask and doing the right thing in many cases than being right or best or any of that.
Please work to instill this in yourself and your staff. You and your IT department will be better for it.
