Coming from a technical and business background, I like to believe I am mindful that not everyone is a technical person, and the use of computer systems don’t always come naturally. Often problems get raised which are the result of user error or lack of training/knowledge, but sometimes they are real issues that need to be fixed. But no matter how vague the problem description, or unlikely it seems, the first response must always be the user has an issue to be looked into and fixed. Never you are an idiot, and you are wasting my time.
Unfortunately not all IT support seems to work like this. Recently I have had to deal with the support teams of 2 of the external web hosts I have dealings with. 1 is amazing. Emails answered in minutes and not just with generic form letters. Readable feedback, and not afraid to admit the problem was on their end. A very professional outfit.
As for the other. On multiple occasions, slow responses, and generic check your settings answers. Fair enough then, recheck settings that haven’t changed. Inform support of this, and point out that I see other users as having similar problems in their support forums. Waiting, waiting….. Hours later recheck the support ticket, and see entries that action has been taken (and the ticket closed), but no explanation of what action, or if the problem is really fixed. God forbid any feedback.
So my rules on customer support for techs:
- Assume the customer really has a problem, until proven otherwise.
- Keep the user in the loop.
- ‘Action Taken’ is not feedback.
- The user closes support requests.
- Don’t assume the end user has a degree in Comp Science. Explain the situation in something resembling normal language.
- Ignoring the problem will not make it go away. The customer may.
- Don’t send satisfaction surveys when the issue is not really solved.