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Helpdesk

By nt259 ·
A VP called you as a Helpdesk Staff that he has an urgent problem that he needs you to fix it ASAP.
But you are busy attending to another problem.
The VP is very demanding and he don't care whether you are busy or not. He want his problem be fixed ASAP.

What would you do to fix such problem?

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That depends

by CharlieSpencer In reply to Helpdesk

How long will his problem take vs. the problem your already working on?

How urgent is the original problem?

Is he your division's VP or another division?

Ask your Help Desk Supervisor to prioritize the jobs. That's what he gets paid for.

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If you want to work in the help desk the rest of your life

by JRod86 In reply to That depends

ask your supervisor to prioritize. I work with two of the VP's of my company and they do have a slightly higher priority, but in that situation, Palmetto is partly correct. If the VP can't function with his computer, it needs to be fixed now. If the problem you are currently working on is more severe, and the VP can't get to the internet, I would stay with the current problem.

As far as letting someone else make the decision for you, that is the wrong move in the long run as your manager will see you as unable to make critical decisions and will probably look you over for the next promotion (assuming this is a manager that is worth anything). Too often we let others make our decisions because we are afraid of the consequences, but that is the slow road to advancement.

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Depends on the manager

by CharlieSpencer In reply to If you want to work in th ...

Our help desk manager doesn't want the technicians getting tangled up in V.P. "emergencies" when they could be solving problems. If the tech feels the priority should be on the original job, the manager wants them to explain the situation to him so he can give the V.P. an explanation. It's not a question of an inability to set priorities, it's one of not having enough firepower to enforce them.

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Let him complain!

by stuart In reply to If you want to work in th ...

I used to work for a Parliament (country unspecified to protect those still working there) where certain elected Members and officials of said Parliament always regarded their problem as being more important than anyone elses.

We often worked out of hours with no supervision, so couldn't pass the buck.

You have to learn how to say no, as long as you are confident that you have made the correct decision, can justify it, and are willing to stand by it.

Complaints were commonplace, but as long as the decision was justified, the Head of Department would stand by you.

Hence the importance of proper call logging!

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Double Edge swords!!!

by dmiller In reply to Let him complain!

I work on a help desk(HATE IT ), rule/procedures are created and pass on vertically/horizontally. It never ceases to amaze me how upper management is perfectly willing to circumvent policy to satisfy thier ego and crave for power...everyday joes are always caught in the crossfire. Do your job, make the best decision you can with the information you have and let the chips fall where they may...go home and leave at work.

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Let's see

by jdmercha In reply to Helpdesk

If my first problem was truely urgent, I wouldn't have answered the VP's phone call.

Otherwise I'd have to knnow a lot more about the specific problems and situations.

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Just Do It.....

by raju.rawat@burrenegypt. In reply to Let's see

In this Help desk society..where competiton for guys like us are on hig alert... you should better keep him contented and ofcourse he will remember you and will always recommended you to others as well.. I have been in this deep **** before..

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know the VIP

by kimy In reply to Helpdesk

ofcors, it is a must that "VIP comes first". no matter how busy you are with anything, atleast let that person feel that u will prioritize his issue. then later on, if u think that what ur currently doin is abt to finish, then finish it asap then attend to the VIPs issue. it is not so hard to pay attention to their issues.

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Take it from me...

by billad In reply to Helpdesk

Folks, I have been in this industry for more years than I care to remember, and this has been a problem since there were computers to be fixed. I started on the Help Desk (back when computers were coal powered!), moved to HD Manager, Department Manager, Director, and am currently a PM for Hewlett Packard, working some of their larger corporate accounts. Take it from me: the VIPs come first, have always come first, and will always come first.

We always try to view things in the "perfect world", but in my experience, there is no such thing. A VP is a VP, and will eventually get what he/she wants, whether it is from you or someone else. If you say "no" to him/her, I can guarantee it will be the topic of discussion in the next Executive meeting, with the CIO being blind sided about the issue. One way or the other, the VP's problem will be addressed, and if it comes from the CIO, the priority will be even higher.

Saying "no" to a VP is called a "CLM" (Career Limiting Move).

Complain to your boss, your co-workers, mutter to yourself, or go to the loading dock and scream obsenities into the air, but do yourself and your department a favor and take the call.

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Go to the VP's call

by sujit1215 In reply to Take it from me...

I would and have gone for the VP's call as billad mentioned it get's raised in meetings if he is not attended on time.And take it from me,the problem of the VP should be solved in 2 mins as most of the time its a dumb issue like cable unplugged or "Caps lock on" and the great "VP" cant log in .

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