Somehow…
Somehow, when you call an IT helpdesk, the guy answering the phone tends to treat you like a complete moron. For some reason, when they sit their asses down in the morning, and login to their phones, their brain gets shutdown. Not sure why. They suddenly lose all skills to listen to what you’re saying and even if they do, they seem to lose any ability to actually interpret anything you say.
So here’s some free tips. Tips from a guy who has run helpdesks before. Observe and maybe you might learn something.
1) When you pick up the phone, it has two ends. One you should talk into, and one you should hold close to your ear. Make sure not to mix them up.
2) When you hear someone talk at the other end, chances are, that’s a client. Clients have the great habbit of paying your salary. Wow. Cool, innit? You may want to treat them kindly.
3) Eventhough a phone is full-duplex, you may want to shut up when the person at the other end is talking. Makes it a lot easier to listen to what they have to say. If they wanted someone to rattle without listening, they probably would have turned on a radio.
4) Try and make a reasonable guess to what the IQ is of the person you’re talking to. Add 20. Having that in mind, ask your first question. So don’t ask them about their phone-connection if they just told you they have a problem pinging your SMTP server. They probably checked that phone connection themselves.
5) Before you start cursing at them for being the 30th person today asking you the same damn question, consider that this might be the time for you to put up that question in a FAQ at your internet site. Coz they might actually not have been talking to the other 29 persons that asked that question.
