IT Support V Management

I've been in the business many years now and I'm amazed at how little attention is given to a customers needs beyond keeping the tech running. Support has not kept up with the pace of technology and how it affects users. It's no longer a client-server fits all world. It's also a vendor serving customer serving third-party and each one needing to talk to each other.....so bring in more tech.

I compare today support relationships to a doctor who use to make house calls, gets to know their patients and watches them grow. Now you do your best research and hope they don't kill you without even knowing your name. I make this comparison because technology is the heart of most businesses, choose the wrong tech and you may find yourself dead or broke and when you call to ask what happened they've already forgotten your name.

Management is the fine art of understanding the industry a business is in and that companies place in it, then balancing the budget they have to work with against what you feel they need. This can't be accomplished with a rotating work force that many large firms gobble up, pay little, and spit out.

A large problem is a support firm that also sells. Imagine your doctor not going with the best solution for you because he doesn't make a dime of the parts he puts in you. Make sure your consultants have no stake in the tech they install. They should only make money from the hours you pay them.

Support firms are filled with managers, middle managers, presidents and vice presidents all making a living off the nameless techs that come visit you and try to do whats best for you within the guidelines of what best for the company that pays them...and while you think it's you, it's not.

In short, find a manager, make your first question "How would you protect me from you?" Your manager has all the passwords and all the names of those companies you never even knew did things for you (domain registrars, web hosts, routers and printer servers and so on and so on). If he's good he won't need to hold these things hostage, I've seen them do it.

I've ran my consulting this way for my entire career, it's made me loyal partners and close friends.

But more importantly it's made businesses successful, including mine.

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Is Phone Support Really That Useful?

You used to order a pizza over the phone. Now you can, and indeed do, order pizza online. And it's not because we like Italian cuisine that we're talking about, but every business if leveraging the online space to build a products and services delivery model. E-commerce portals target online advertising in order to capture market space and get their product off the shelf. This does not mean the good old fashioned supermarket is out of business yet, but that buying off an online store doesn't mean you have to take the car out and bring back stuff in paper bags.

So the question, why is online technical support still holding onto the idea of toll free help line support? PC troubleshooting can be a complex and multi-layered task that requires technicians with specific skills resolving each of the issues at hand. The platforms that are used by companies like HCL Touch in providing technical assistance online allow remote access to the user's computer as long as the user is connected to the internet. Microsoft Windows XP and later versions come programmed to allow multi-port access for troubleshooting tasks.

Phone support is an essential part of the troubleshooting conversation not only because it allows the technician to get a better understanding of the issues, but also for the customer to understand the level and quality of service that is going to be provided. Certifications are a significant indication of capability and companies like Apple Inc. and Microsoft Corporation issue standards for technical assistance. Once your tech support call is in queue, your issue is identified and transferred to the expert.

Oftentimes, the user is unable to access the computer at either because they got blocked out of their system or the computer crashed. Internet and Email issues are most often due to a malfunctioning connection, and it becomes impossible for the user to call for tech support online. What they can do call the helpline number and get step by step instructions on how to enable networking on the computer. Once the remote access has been generated, the technician can resolve other issues remotely.

The best part about online support is that I can call them anytime and get my issues resolved around the clock. This is especially useful for people like me who work out of their home offices and have to send out emails at 2 in the night. This service does come at a subscription cost, but I have to say that it is far better than taking my computer down to the store or have a technician come over to look at it. It's good to have a trusted technology partner who knows his thing. The best part about a tech support company like HCL is that it has been an OEM for the past 3 decades and they really know how to get around technical hitches.

Cathy Stones brings her experience in working with trusted technicians to troubleshoot computer slowdown and PC tune up. Cathy draws on an extensive resource for PC optimization and tune up. Get online computer support today!

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