STFU && RTFM

In my last post, I wrote about one of my recent support tickets. What annoys me about that ticket is that I could have solved it a lot sooner, if only the tech that had logged the call had taken down more information that “Video replay doesn’t work”.
 
When logging a support ticket, especially when you are going to pass it on to another tech, it is important to log as much information as possible. I’m not telling you to write the Great American Novel, but if you properly log what the problem is, when it occurred, and what has been done to resolve the problem, you solve two potential problems:
 

• First off, you avoid having to perform the same troubleshooting process more than once
• Secondly, when the user complains of insufficient help, and some of them invariably do, you can prove otherwise

 
Another practical upshot is that by documenting your process, you will be able to retrace your steps, and ultimately create a procedure for solving the problem.

A while back, I wrote about giving better support to users. This time, I’m turning the tables; here are five tips to get better support:
 

1. Curb your anger and annoyance
   • While I’ll concede that giving the person on the other end of the line a piece of your mind, keep in mind that their job is not to be your personal punching bag.
2. Be patient
   • Support techs will often need time to research a solution. Give them that time.
3. Be honest
   • Did you fiddle with it? Say so. Do not lie to a tech, it will only make the time to solve the problem longer. Much longer.
4. Describe what happened, and when
   • Instead of saying “It don’t work”, say “I’m not receiving emails. This started when…”
5. Don’t claim skills you don’t have
   • This ties in with no. 3. If you say that you know everything about computers, but in fact barely know how to send an email or use search engines, you will not get better support. If you lie about your skillset, you will be given solutions that you are not capable of implementing. If, instead, you tell the truth about your skillset, the tech will be able to explain the solution in more detail, getting you closer to solving your problem.

Improvise, adapt, overcome has for a long time been a mantra within armed forces around the world who, when faced with gruelling challenges and little or no epuipment, have improvised to face the challenge, adapted to the challenge and lastly overcome the challenge.
 
The same attitude is necessary in IT support. Support departments around the world will tell you that they are constantly under-staffed, over-worked, and lacking both training and equipment, be it software or hardware.
 
In my experience, the most successful support technicians are the ones who do the best with what they have. A can-do attitude, and a willingness to face any problem head on, rolling with the punches, and asking for more on the other side.
 
Here’s what these terms mean to me:
 
Improvise:
In terms of IT Service and Support, improvisation means working around a problem, finding a temporary fix. Practical example: A user calls in, and is unable to print. You set the user up with a different printer as a temporary fix, solving the more immediate problem.
 
Adapt:
Adapting to the problem means finding a permanent workaround, using what tools are available, as well as online resources, to work around the problem permanently, though not resolving it. Practical example: A user calls in, and tells you their anti-virus solution is not working. You install a different anti-virus solution.
 
Overcome:
Overcoming the problem means finding a permanent fix, resolving the problem. Practical example: A user reports being unable to create PDF documents. You install PDF-creating software.
 
The last part of the title of this article is also drawn from the military. A training exercise is not called an exercise, but an evolution. In terms of IT Service and Support, evolve means not only improvising a temporary fix, adapting to a problem and providing a permanent work-around or overcoming a problem, permanently fixing it, but at the end of it having learnt from the experience, and even documenting the solution for future reference.

I’ve been using Firefox for a few years now, and love it dearly. After the update to version 2.0.0.13, I have experienced the following problems with it:
 

• On one machine, it crashes *constantly*
• I am unable to add extensions (this happens for *all* of my extensions, and I have tested all of them in the same version on another machine)

 
I have tried the troubleshooting tips found in Mozilla’s Knowledgebase, and have not resolved the problems.
 
Am I the only one having these problems?
 
I’ve posted the problems to the Firefox Support Forum, and will post solutions when I find them.