Last week, I wrote about the added value that derives from writing longer answers when it comes to giving support. This week’s post is a corollary to that; writing more detailed tickets when sending them on through the tiers is also better support.
I like the Kepner-Tregoe red card for these situations. It provides a structure within which to provide information to other tiers. In case you’re not familiar with it; here’s what it looks like:
I appreciate that you might not always have the time to go through it all, but the more information you provide to your colleagues, the easier their job is. For tier 1 techs, step 1 ranks as shall, while step 2 and 3 ranks as may. In other words, you must provide an accurate description of the problem, and you should attempt to identify the possible causes, too. For tier 2 techs, both steps 1 and 2 rank as shall, while step 3 and 4 rank as may.
On top of this, I also add another item; why are you sending the ticket on? Sometimes you don’t have the required access, in which case you state not only that, but also where it stops. Other times you don’t know the customer or the software well enough, and so you note that, too. In other words, as a tech you should think about, and describe, what you hope to accomplish by sending the ticket on.
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