Chapter:11 IT Professionals

Communication and Troubleshooting:
1. A technician’s good communication skills are an aid in the troubleshooting process. It takes time and experience to develop good communication skills and troubleshooting skills. To troubleshoot a computer, you need to learn the details of the problem from the customer. A good rule for all technicians to follow is that a new customer call means a fresh start. Never carry your frustration from one call to the next.
Determine the problem:
1. Relate: Use brief communication to create a one-to-one connection between you and your customer.
2. Understand: Determine the customer’s level of knowledge about the computer to know how to effectively communicate with the customer.
3. Know: Call your customer by name.
Hold and Transfers:
1. When dealing with customers, it is sometimes easier to explain what you should not do. The following list describes things that you should not do when communicating with a customer:
  1. Do not minimize a customer’s problems.
  2. Do not use jargon, abbreviations, acronyms, and slang.
  3. Do not use a negative attitude or tone of voice.
  4. Do not argue with customers or becoming defensive.
  5. Do not say culturally insensitive remarks.
  6. Do not be judgmental or insulting or call the customer names.
  7. Avoid distractions and do not interrupt when talking with customers.
  8. Do not take personal calls when talking with customers.
  9. Do not talk to co-workers about unrelated subjects when talking with the customer.
  10. Do not transfer a call without explaining the purpose of the transfer and getting customer consent.
  11. Avoid unnecessary holds and abrupt holds.
  12. Do not use negative remarks about other technicians to the customer.
Types of difficult customers:
1. Rude: A rude customer complains during the call and often makes negative comments about the product, the service, and the technician. This type of customer is sometimes abusive and uncooperative and gets aggravated very easily.
  1. What to do?
    1. Listen very carefully, as you do not want to ask the customer to repeat any information.
    2. Follow a step-by-step approach to determining and solving the problem.
    3. If the customer has a favorite technician, try to contact that technician to see if they can take the call.
    4. Apologize for the wait time and the inconvenience, even if there has been no wait time.
    5. Reiterate that you want to solve their problem as quickly as possible.
  2. What not to do:
    1. Ask the customer to do any obvious steps if there is any way you can determine the problem without them.
    2. Be rude to the customer, even if they are rude to you.
2. Knowledge: A knowledgeable customer wants to speak with a technician that is equally experienced in computers. This type of customer usually tries to control the call and does not want to speak with a level one technician
  1. What to do?
    1. If you are a level one technician, you might try to set up a conference call with a level two technician
    2. Give the customer the overall approach to what you are trying to verify.
  2. What not to do:
    1. Follow a step-by-step process with this customer.
    2. Ask to check the obvious, such as the power cord or the power switch.
3. Angry:An angry customer talks loudly and often tries to speak when the technician is talking. Angry customers are usually frustrated that they have a problem and upset that they have to call somebody to fix it.
  1. What to do?
    1. Let the customer tell their problem without interrupting, even if they are angry. This allows the customer to release some of their anger before you proceed.
    2. Sympathize with the customer's problem.
    3. Apologize for wait time or inconvenience.
  2. What not to do:
    1. If at all possible, try not to put this customer on hold or transfer the call.
    2. Spend call time talking about what caused the problem (rather, redirect the conversation to solving the problem).
4. Inexperience:An inexperienced customer has difficulty describing the problem. These customers are usually not able to follow directions correctly and not able to communicate the errors that they encounter.
  1. What not to do:
    1. Be condescending to your customer or belittle them.
    2. Do not use jargon words.
  2. What to do?
    1. Use a simple step-by-step process of instructions.
    2. Speak in plain terms.
5. Talkative: A talkative customer discusses everything except the problem. The customer often uses the call as an opportunity to socialize. It can be difficult to get a talkative customer to focus on the problem.
  1. What to do?
    1. Allow the customer to talk for one minute.
    2. Ask as many closed-ended questions as you need to once you have regained control of the call.
    3. Politely step in to refocus the customer. This is the exception to the rule of never interrupting a customer.
    4. Gather as much information about the problem as possible.
  2. What not to do:
    1. Encourage non-problem related conversation by asking social questions such as "How are you today?".
Proper Netiquette:
1. For email and text communications, there is a set of personal and business etiquette rules called Netiquette. In addition to email and text Netiquette, there are general rules that apply to all your online interactions with customers and co-workers. They are:
  1. Respect other people’s time.
  2. Share expert knowledge.
  3. Respect other people’s privacy.
  4. Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes.
2. Basic Netiquette:
  1. Use mixed case. UPPER CASE IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING.
  2. Begin each email, even within a thread, with an appropriate greeting.
  3. Be ethical.
  4. Be pleasant and polite.
  5. Never send chain letters via email.
  6. Do not send or reply to flames.
  7. Never mail or post anything you would not say to someone's face.
  8. Check grammar and spelling before you post.
Work stations ergonomics:
1. The ergonomics of your work area can help you do your job or make it more difficult. Because you spend a major portion of your day at your workstation, make sure that the desk layout works well.
  1. Have to make sure while working:
    1. Adjust your computer screen to a comfortable angle so that you do not have to tilt your head up or down to see it.
    2. Try to minimize external distractions, such as noise.
    3. Adjust your chair to a height that is comfortable.
Service Level Agreement (SLA)
1. An SLA is a contract that defines expectations between an organization and the service vendor to provide an agreed-on level of support. An SLA is typically a legal agreement that contains the responsibilities and liabilities of all parties involved.Some of the contents of an SLA usually include the following:
  1. Response time guarantees (often based on type of call and level of service agreement)
  2. Equipment and software that is supported
  3. Where service is provided
  4. Preventive maintenance
  5. Part availability (equivalent parts)
  6. Time of service availability.
  7. Cost and penalties.
  8. Diagnostics.
Business Policies
1. Customers call rules
  1. Maximum time on call.
  2. Number of calls per day.
  3. What you can and cannot promise to the customer.
  4. Maximum call time in queue.
  5. Passing calls on to other technicians.
  6. When to follow the SLA and when to escalate to management.
2. Call Center Employee Rules
  1. Arrive at your workstation on time and early enough to become prepared, usually about 15 to 20 minutes before the first call.
  2. Do not exceed the allowed number and length of breaks.
  3. Do not take a break or go to lunch if there is a call on the board.
  4. Do not take a break or go to lunch at the same time as other technicians.
  5. Do not leave an ongoing call to take a break, go to lunch, or take some personal time.
  6. Make sure that another technician is available if you have to leave.
  7. If no other technician is available, check with the customer to see if you can call back later.
  8. Contact the customer if you are going to be late for an appointment.
  9. Do not show favoritism to certain customers.
  10. Do not take another technician’s calls without permission.
  11. Do not talk negatively about the capabilities of another technician.
3. Customer Satisfaction
  1. Give the customer proper documentation on all services provided.
  2. Follow up with the customer at a later date to verify satisfaction.
  3. Communicate service expectations to the customer as early as possible.
  4. Offer different repair or replacement options to the customer, if applicable.
  5. Communicate the repair status with the customer, including explanations for any delays.
  6. Set and meet a reasonable timeline for the call or appointment and communicate this to the customer.
Ethics and Legal consideration
1. When you are working with customers and their equipment, there are some general ethical customs and legal rules that you should observe.You should always have respect for your customers, as well as for their property. The property includes:
  1. Hard copies of files, information, or data left on a desk
  2. Phone lists
  3. Records or data on the computer
  4. Emails
  5. Divulging customer information to anyone else is not only unethical, but might be illegal. Legal details of customer information are usually covered under the Service Level Agreement (SLA). Service-Level Agreement (SLA) is a part of a service contract where a service is formally defined.
Legal Process Procedure
1. Some actions that considered as illigal:
  1. It is not permissible to access a customer’s or co-worker’s accounts, private files, or email messages without permission.
  2. It is not permissible to share sensitive customer information.
  3. It is not permissible to make any changes to system software or hardware configurations without customer permission.
  4. It is not permissible to knowingly use a customer’s company resources for illegal activities.
Documenting and Chain of Custody
1. The documentation required by a system administrator and a computer forensics expert is extremely detailed.If you discover illegal activity on a computer or network on which you are working, at a minimum, document the following:
  1. Initial reason for accessing the computer or network.
  2. Time and date.
  3. Peripherals that are connected to the computer
  4. All network connections.
  5. Physical area where the computer is located.
  6. Illegal material that you have found.
  7. Illegal activity that you have witnessed.
  8. Which procedures you have executed on the computer or network
2. Chain of custody means to to prove how this evidence was collected, where it has been physically stored, and who has had access to it between the time of collection and its entry into the court proceedings.
Cyber Law
1. Cyber law is a term to describe the international, regional, country, and state laws that affect computer security professionals. Cyber laws explain the circumstances under which data (evidence) can be collected from computers, data storage devices, networks, and wireless communications.
  1. Three primary element:
    1. Wiretap Act
    2. Pen/Trap and Trace Statute
    3. Stored Electronic Communication Act
A Call Center
1. A call center might exist within a company and offer service to the employees of that company as well as to the customers of that company’s products.Call centers tend to have a large number of cubicles.
  1. Research product information:The software may provide technicians with information regarding the products supported, including features, limitations, new versions, configuration constraints, known bugs, product availability, links to online help files, and other information.
  2. Record contact information: The software may store, edit, and recall customer names, email addresses, phone numbers, location, websites, fax numbers, and other information in a database.:
  3. Use diagnostic utilities:The software may have several diagnostic utilities, including remote diagnostic software, in which the technician can take over a customer's computer while sitting at a desk in the call center.
  4. Research a knowledge base:The software may contain a knowledge database that is pre-programmed with common problems and their solutions. This database may grow as technicians add their own records of problems and solutions.
  5. Collect customer feedback:The software may contain a knowledge database that is pre-programmed with common problems and their solutions. This database may grow as technicians add their own records of problems and solutions.
  6. Lock and track incidents:The software may manage call queues, set call priorities, assign calls, and escalate calls.
Level 1 and 2 technicians
1. Level 1 technicians responsibility is to gather pertinent information from the customer. The technician has to accurately enter all information into the ticket or work order.
2. The level two technician’s responsibilities are generally the same from one call center to the next.The level two technician is usually more knowledgeable than the level one technician about technology. Level two technicians can also use remote access software to connect to the customer’s computer to update drivers and software, access the operating system, check the BIOS, and gather other diagnostic information to solve the problem.

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