When your technology isn’t working, you want a fix right now. Whether it’s an inability to connect to your network or to open an important presentation file, you’re quickly frustrated by the need to file an IT support request. You can’t wait! We get it, so allow us to share some tips to help you get faster business tech support.
Whether you’re working with an internal tech help desk or are supported by your managed services provider, you probably start out by filling out a support ticket. You might be able to call in directly or email, but your tech gurus are still going to need certain information from you to get started.
The more you can put on the help ticket, the more efficiently we can help solve your issues. The following highlights some of the critical info we need from you.
Extent of Issue
Outline the impact of the tech issue. Is that printer crisis you’re writing about happening only on the personal printer of one individual who doesn’t print often? Or is the entire floor using that printer and looking to print year-end reports today?
It helps to know who is affected, those individuals’ roles, and the scope of the problem. This can help IT to weigh your needs against those of others in the company for urgency.
Urgency
If one person is reporting a security breach and another is reporting a buzzing noise from their desktop, the response may be triaged. The IT support desk is going to weigh criticality:
- What will be the impact of downtime while waiting for a fix?
- Are company customers affected by the issue?
- Is the entire company unable to work?
Detailed Description
The better you can describe what is happening, the more likely you are to enjoy timely and efficient support. Always provide, if possible:
- the location of the affected technology;
- the name of the affected workstation;
- the name of the engineer who recently helped (if this has happened before);
- when the error occurred;
- what you expected to happen;
- what, if anything, you did in an attempt to fix the problem.
There are a few common troubleshooting steps you may want to try before submitting an tech help request. These include:
- asking around to see if anyone else is affected;
- searching online to see if someone else has encountered and shared a resolution to the issue;
- quitting and restarting the application;
- rebooting your device.
Error Messages
If there is an error message associated with your issue, please share it with the IT team. Taking a screenshot of the message on your computer and sending it to us can help your tech experts more efficiently figure out what’s up. The best thing would be, where possible, to take a screencast of the process causing the problem.
Contact Information
Share the quickest way for the service desk to reach you. If you’re going to be in a meeting all day, maybe share a number where you can be texted with questions. If you’re traveling, provide your cell phone number instead of letting a tech support callback languish on your office voicemail.
IT Support You Can Count On
Please don’t let your sense of urgency detract from the need for this essential information. You may be frustrated and stressed, but you can help us help you by taking the time to give us all the information needed to troubleshoot effectively.
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