In short, users, customers, and callers should try to
stay calm when talking to the tech support person on the phone or online
because shouting or scolding him will never solve any computerproblem.
Also, not everyone is good at explaining technical
computer problems, but the job of technical support persons is to listen
intently and carefully to the caller or user. On the user’s part, it helps if
the problem can be properly explained, so some advice may be helpful on this
part.
Computer complaints, frustration and feelings of
helplessness are pretty standard for people who spend their work virtually
sitting in front of a computer for the whole day, 5 days a week. So, too, is
the temptation to chew out the tech support professional at the other of the
phone when you’re staring at a blue screen and you have a deadline coming up.
But before you bite off the head of the help desk
analyst, consider that your actions might have consequences later.
People tend to be more emotive over the phone or in an
e-mail than they would ever be in person. Especially on the phone, we say
things that we would never say face-to- face. In the workplace, the customer is
always right but sometimes, a customer can get out of hand and needs to be put
in their place. Customers need to be careful because a comment you might call
snide or just a way to blow off steam might be construed by a help desk
attendant and the HR department as a rather serious workplace offense called
bullying.
The customer might simply describe their behavior as
being annoyed, dissatisfied or snippy. But the technical support person on the
other end of the phone might perceive those comments as belligerent or
bullying. If someone feels they are being bullied or intimidated or
disrespected, they have a right to complain.
Tech support help desk analysts also complain that there
are times when they have customers with high positions or jobs who demand
things, demand them immediately, and demand them rudely. In those cases, the
tech support can go to the supervisor and simply say: “This guy is really out
of line.” Usually, that takes care of the problem, although it may involve a
long drawn out out-of- court discussion between the customer and the HR
department, and in some cases, even lawyers become involved.
People should realize that tech support call centers
sometimes get backed up and need to prioritize the most critical problems
first. So if every caller who can’t get her solitaire to work thinks it’s the
end of the world, there is now a certain sense of entitlement. People think
they’re paying for a service and can walk all over the people providing that
service.
