Supporting a company or a single user in Westchester has one thing in common: computer networks are not only made of appliances such as firewalls and servers but they are made of people who are in need to know and require support for their activity to keep moving. After several years helping people and businesses get the most out of the technology they have paid for, I can tell you that for me computers are a tool not only to educate users but also to establish relationships. I have highlighted below what for me makes sense while providing support as IT consultant and the way I would approach the users having issues even before diving into technical matters.

1-KEEP CALM AND BE PATIENT

Users are usually showing up at the help desk or make phone calls agitated or angry. It’s necessary for the computer technician to stay calm and keep feelings cold. Remaining cold will help diagnose the issue and absorb the anger of the customer.

2- THINK HOW TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM BROADLY FIRST

By saying that the approach to a technical issue should be more broad will help to have a larger picture about the problem and then can bring to exclude some other solutions that may not be appropriate. For example, if a customer complains that he/she cannot print, that does not mean that the printer is broken, but it can be the computer not having a driver or having a virus etc etc.

3- NEVER BLAME THE USER FOR THE COMPUTER ISSUE

I saw colleagues of mine answering to the user with a tone such as, “I told you, you should have done such as such”. That tone is arrogant from a person who speaks from a pulpit and makes the user feel bad. It support should only be supportive and guide user to learn how to solve minor pc issues by himself, instead.

4- ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR MISTAKES

There is nothing more direct and honest than saying to your boss or to the user that you are sorry and that was IT mistake. That will generate a sense of relief in the user and will make you appear more humble in front of your boss. If a technical mistake is attributable to the tech, a mea culpa will erase all the bad feelings about it.

5- SPEND TIME EDUCATING THE USERS

Users call because they are having problems and if the tech support in charge is patient, he can educate users not to click on dubious attachments and to be more careful while running or downloading programs. Educating a user is big part of a successful IT company that operates not only in Westchester county New York, but also nationwide.

6- SHARE AND LEARN WHAT IS SHARED WITH YOU

Unless IT is a solo shop, being part of a successful team is what matters. Sharing intelligence and information is the way to go. If you leave your team mate with a knowledge gap because you know more than he does, that for me is not what is called working as a team player.

7- DON’T MAKE USER WAIT IF YOU CAN HELP NOW

It’s very frustrating for someone who is looking for help to see that help is not on the way and that the solution is not coming soon. Efficiency and a decent speed will add professionality to an IT service that tries to compete with others in the same market.

8- DOCUMENT AS MUCH AS YOU CAN

Working with computers and servers means dealing with networking and virtualization issues. Very often software conflicts can deal a blow to the productivity. IT is also a lot of writing and storing the right documentation that can lead the next technician to solve the problem much faster.

9- GO IN PERSON AND AVOID REMOTE SESSIONS IF YOU CAN

If a client is very close and he/she is not too tech savvy, I recommend paying him/her a visit rather than calling or sending instructions via emails. Human touch is always better than a cold remote session that may be fast in solving the issue but can still leave user with unanswered questions.

10-FOLLOW UP WITH THE USER

it’s always important to follow up with a user because, as I said above, what matters is a relationship and not a cold approach.