the right tool for the right job
I support medical records software, and usually the biggest hurdle on a support call is getting a straight answer from the end user on what is actually going on. Since the program requires a constant connection to the database, even a momentary glitch in network communications can shut it down. Most often, it's easiest for me to get connected and see what is going on first hand rather than relying on inaccurate/incomplete information from the user. Users tend to focus on the last error displayed when the program crashes - the memory dump, which is pretty much useless information. Most often, the actual error I need to see was written to the error logs, which the end users often can't find. The key questions we ask when a new issue is reported are is it reproducible, is it isolated to one workstation/user or is it a system-wide issue.
While there are certain issues that I have seen so often over the years that the solution is more or less automatic, every new release brings a new set of problems. When working with new techs, I often introduce them to some of my favorite troubleshooting tools - Process Monitor, Wireshark, etc - to isolate the problem. If the user (or their IT person) tried to install the program or an add-on without admin rights on the machine, it will be missing files, or a key DLL or OCX won't be registered, and ProcMon will show exactly what is going on with a minimum of fuss.
