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Listening skills apply in all walks of life
When you're expecting sympathy and help it can be a shock to be reminded that you are the end user and not the expert.
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Time is running out to get the Windows 7 Release Candidate
It has been a real boon for support pros that Microsoft has given us a chance to try out the next version of Windows before it is released to market. Now that a firm launch date has been announced, yo...
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Customer vs. support: How can we end the blame game?
Derek Schauland looks for a path beyond the often adversarial relationship between customers and suppport pros. How do you stop the blame game?
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Finding balance between supporting the technically savvy vs. the technically challenged
Some people embrace new methods and updated technology, while others cling to the old familiar ways. How do you find balance between supporting those two extremes?
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New software vulnerability: Feature bloat in Adobe apps sacrifices security
Support teams are the boots on the ground when it comes to making sure that computers stay up-to-date and secure. Our job often gets more difficult when software companies rush to put more bells and w...
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Are you a technology early adopter or a wait-and-see?
Our industry seems to divide into two camps: those who adopt every new thing immediately and those who are happy to wait until others have discovered or found fixes for the inevitable raft of problems...
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Windows 7 Desktop Support certification will require a third-party exam
Microsoft's certification team has announced that in order to earn the new Enterprise Desktop Support Technician credential for Windows 7, candidates will also need to pass an exam from the Help Desk ...
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Microsoft responds to Google's operating system
Last week, Google announced plans to release its own operating system, one that will presumably compete with Microsoft. This week, Microsoft responds with a challenge of its own.
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Get off on the right foot with support calls: How to begin
If you bark at the users, they may bark back at you. If you want them to mew like pussy cats you have to give them a saucer of milk.
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Add a new trick to your favorite tool: Magnetize it!
My new job has me doing a lot more in-house repairs than I have ever done before. As a result, I have been fleshing out my toolbox. This week I recommend to you my latest discovery. I think you will f...
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Will you support Google's operating system? Take the poll
"Google to Challenge Microsoft With Operating System" read a recent Bloomberg News headline. But will you support it?
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Jeff's top ten favorite help desk calls
Jeff's been reminiscing this week. He got to thinking about all those lovely, silly calls he has taken over the years and how they made him feel. Do you keep your own list of favorite calls?
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How does your company refresh its hardware? Take the poll.
A new report claims that your company will save money by holding to short PC refresh cycles. Coming at a time where many organizations are trying to make their machines last longer, I started to wonde...
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What's your pet peeve user-support issue?
Is there an issue that keeps coming up, regardless of what you try to do to stop it? Share it with the TR members.
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What's in your work survival kit?
Being a field engineer can have unforeseen drawbacks, not least of which is surviving England's fickle climate. Some of my coping mechanisms are more effective than others.
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Hijacked Address Book: How did it happen and what to do?
Most of us have seen those spoof e-mails, when a personal e-mail address has been commandeered for the purpose of sending spam, but in this case, to everyone in your address book.
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Are you training your users on security issues? Take the poll.
Current technologies require users to think about security in ways they have not had to before. Research shows that a lack of security training for non-IT personnel causes the most serious problems. I...
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There is a right way to resolve help desk call tickets
Jeff Dray writes that people who resolve and close help desk tickets have a duty to close them in such a way that the information they offer is useful and allows fault and trend analysis.
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April 15: Tax day for the IRS and tax programs -- How does it affect you?
April 15th is the day of reckoning for many tax payers in the United States, and tax preparation programs have a huge impact. Do they affect you? What do you think of them?
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App Update helps keep your Mac software current
Mac OS has a built-in utility to make sure any installed Apple software is patched. App Update can help you take care of the third-party programs on your machine.
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Been testing Windows 7? Help evaluate a new desktop support certification exam
Microsoft has put out the call for IT pros that have experience with the Windows 7 beta operating system. Here is your chance to get a free certification, and maybe change how the industry recognizes ...
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Creating a process for fault resolution
How do you ensure that your help desk people ask the right questions without giving them a script to read out which will make them sound like robots?
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Which Web-based remote support tool do you use? Take the poll
Which Web-based remote support tool is the best solution for both the support professional and customer alike? Take the poll and join-in on the discussion.
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The right way to format Windows disks using a Mac
A quirk in the Apple Disk Utility allowed me to create a FAT32 volume that would not mount in Windows. Avoiding the same problem is easy once you have an understanding of how Apple's formatting tool w...
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Promise the Earth and regret it later
Setting realistic customer expectations is more important than putting their fears to rest, only to disappoint them later.
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Who owns corporate e-mail? Is there a right to privacy?
Does a user have a right to privacy when it comes to corporate e-mail? Or is e-mail corporate property, subject to the whims of the company? Here's one story, what's yours? And take the poll.
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Put an audio recorder in your kit
I have written before that support pros should have access to a digital camera as one of their tools. After all, as the adage says, a picture is worth a thousand words. Sometimes though, a picture fal...
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Shirt box training is alive and well and is living in England
Some things never change; in fact, some practices are so ingrained that they can be regarded as traditions. Shirt box training is not to be included in this category. Help your users work with their t...
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What's the best laptop computer on the market? Here's my choice
When it comes to laptop computers, the products available run the gamut from adequate and inexpensive, to powerful and rather pricey. Ask yourself what it's going to be used for, and specify according...
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Keep the bottom line in mind when providing support
It is more important than ever to make sure that the IT department is in line with the core business goals. The help desk can play its part by being smart about triage.