The number one biggest error many techs make when diagnosing problems for users, be it on the phone or on site, is going the complicated route. There is a reason why most ISPs have a script for their 1st tier techs to follow, to make sure that the basic errors have been corrected.
While I was an apprentice, I was called out to solve a print problem for a user. The user had a printer connected to her computer with a USB cable, and all the cables were connected. The printer in question didn’t have much in terms of diagnostic lights and such.
I head out to the user, and start troubleshooting. I try everything I can think of; print spooler, drivers, ports etc., and find myself no nearer to a solution half an hour later. Then I decide to check the back of the printer…
Sure enough, the power switch in the back had been toggled, probably by the cleaning staff.
The point of my story is that had I checked basic stuff first, that half hour hadn’t been wasted. The moral: Keep It Simple, Stupid
Category: Tech support
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KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid
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Five tips for giving better tech support
Having worked in tech support for close to five years, I find I still enjoy my work. Yes, at times, I feel like a target at a live fire exercise, but at the end of the day, I still find fulfillment in knowing that I am able to help my users. Here are five tips to giving better tech support:
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Don’t argue, just do it!
One of the tasks I am called upon to perform as part of my job as a desktop service tech is checking and troubleshooting VPN login. One fo the ways I do this is to log in as the user on my own machine. My employer uses RSA SecureID key fobs combined with a personal password for authentication.
As you may or may not know, RSA SecureID key fobs change the code they display every 60 seconds. Almost invariably, when I ask the user what the current code is, I am told to wait, as it is about to change. All well and good so far. Twenty seconds later, the code changes, and the user tells me what the new code is.
At the end of it all, I am left wondering, wouldn’t it be quicker to give me the code in the first place, instead of arguing? -
Identifying unknown devices – SIW
Part of my job is setting up new computers. Part of the routine is to make sure all hardware devices have been installed. Now, this can be easier said than done, when all the information I have to go on is that the device in question is called “USB Device”…
Now, a while ago, a colleague of mine showed me a piece of software that so impressed me that I immediately put it on my on-site troubleshooting kit. The software in question is called System Information for Windows, or SIW for short.
SIW is a powerful bit of software that can be found here. The application to solve the aformentioned problem is as follows:
I plugged in my USB drive, and started SIW. I then found the entry “Devices” under Hardware. There I found the errant device, and found it to be identified as “vid_0c24&pid000F” A quick Google later, I knew the culprit to be the onboard Bluetooth card.
Instead of spending a lot of time trying different drivers, the above approach allowed me to find a solution, and implement it, within the space of ten minutes. -
Spelling it out – using the NATO phonetic alphabet to our advantage
When instructing a user to type something, when reading a serial key or when spelling anything via a phone line, radio connection or similar, a problem arises at times; the person on the other end either does not understand what is being said, or understands what is being said as something different to what is actually being said.
This is easily remedied by replacing each letter with a word. The problem is, not all words are suited for this. Many attempts to standardize what words to substitute has been made, but the scheme I have found the best, most logical and easy to understand, is the NATO phonetic alphabet.
Since I adopted it, I have only seen three instances where it has failed me, all of which were due to the recipient having a preconceived notion of what I was about to say. It is clear, simple to learn, and easily understood. -
Why restarting your computer resolves many problems
As a Desktop Support Technician, one of my most common answer to a problem a user is having is “Reboot the computer, call me up if that doesn’t clear it for you.” The reason for this is as simple as it is self-evident. It usually does the trick. Why it works, now that’s another matter altogether…
There are several reasons that rebooting your computer, either a hard or soft reboot (the difference is whether you use the “restart” or “shut down” options) helps resolve software related problems. Off the top of my head, here’s a few:
A reboot: (more…) -
Improvise, Adapt, Overcome – Evolve
Improvise, adapt, overcome has for a long time been a mantra within armed forces around the world who, when faced with gruelling challenges and little or no epuipment, have improvised to face the challenge, adapted to the challenge and lastly overcome the challenge.
The same attitude is necessary in IT support. Support departments around the world will tell you that they are constantly under-staffed, over-worked, and lacking both training and equipment, be it software or hardware.
In my experience, the most successful support technicians are the ones who do the best with what they have. A can-do attitude, and a willingness to face any problem head on, rolling with the punches, and asking for more on the other side.
Here’s what these terms mean to me:
Improvise:
In terms of IT Service and Support, improvisation means working around a problem, finding a temporary fix. Practical example: A user calls in, and is unable to print. You set the user up with a different printer as a temporary fix, solving the more immediate problem.
Adapt:
Adapting to the problem means finding a permanent workaround, using what tools are available, as well as online resources, to work around the problem permanently, though not resolving it. Practical example: A user calls in, and tells you their anti-virus solution is not working. You install a different anti-virus solution.
Overcome:
Overcoming the problem means finding a permanent fix, resolving the problem. Practical example: A user reports being unable to create PDF documents. You install PDF-creating software.
The last part of the title of this article is also drawn from the military. A training exercise is not called an exercise, but an evolution. In terms of IT Service and Support, evolve means not only improvising a temporary fix, adapting to a problem and providing a permanent work-around or overcoming a problem, permanently fixing it, but at the end of it having learnt from the experience, and even documenting the solution for future reference.