Technical Etiquette 101

So, writer's block has finally been broken.  Today, I want to talk about how oyu should and should not interact with technical support.

And I'm not talking about just the basics, like courtesy, politeness, etc.  I'm talking about professional respect.

This is important because there are a lot of things that clients do that actually mess up the process that can help them.

I am also going to discuss our obligations to you, our (potential) clients, as well.  

So, when you call in to Technical Support, regardless of the product that you have, you are going to go through the motions with us, and what I mean by that is, the person on the other end may or may not have a script, but they are generally going to be operating from a manual.

It doesn't mean that they're a monkey.  Being technically inclined is one thing, working with a specific product and applying those skills can often be another.  

To that end:

1)  Whatever they ask you to do, you really need to do it. Especially when it comes to wiring.  And I get it, sometimes that can almost be literally backbreaking.

Every time I have to get to my coax lines to troubleshoot my TV and internet services, I need to move a heavy wall unit (it weighs close to 300 lbs.), and then get down on the floor. 

My back may or may not flip me off and hit back, and my knees cry out like a dozen bowls of crisped rice cereal.

But, if I don't check those connections and the signal is messed up because they got loose when one of my cats was playing back there, my wife or I are the only ones that can immediately fix that, so you'll want to take that into consideration unless you're bedridden, wheelchair-bound, or on crutches.  

On that note, when something is described, stop and think about it, don't do it willy-nilly, which brings us to our next point:

2)  If you're not 100% sure, ask.  Don't unplug just anything.  Don't turn just anything off and on.  If you're having trouble differentiating between devices, ask what we mean.

That said, if we don't describe what it is, ask anyway.  If you're doing work over the phone with a representative, they really should be helping you visualise what it is that you're looking for.  I'll come to that near the end. 

So, if you're asked to unplug a power cord from a cable box/set top box (actual industry term for your cable/satellite box) and you're not sure what it is, remember, there are at least three wires connected to the back of that piece of equipment (two if it's for IPTV, connected with Wi-Fi).

If you're asked to change the Input on your TV and don't understand what that is, do not start hitting buttons.

3)  Be honest (also going to be an end point).  To put it bluntly, do not bullshit a representative to get out of doing work. 

This will cost you in the long run if it's determined that an on-site technician will be needed based on the misinformation given.  And, they will find out and expose that, and then, if the appointment was complimentary, you will be charged for it once that has been determined.  It's not complimentary, why are you bothering? 

You'll be paying an hourly rate for something you could have easily resolved on your own.

Also, we have our own little tricks for catching that.  I've had clients tell me that they're "network technicians", "IT trained", etc., when troubleshooting their internet.  I immediately codechange to IT Guy, and I generally find out whether or not they're the real deal within three exchanges.  Just don't.  It's tacky and it hurts you in the long run.  

Now, if you are the real deal, those tend to be fun exchanges, and I do encourage that, but don't push the support guy around.  

Also, if you have a disability, please let us know. Especially if you're the stoic type like me and think you can.  

Seriously, we need to factor that in to troubleshooting so that we're not asking you to do things you either can't do, or would be be unusually dangerous to do. 

I'm not going to ask someone in a wheelchair to move that huge wall unit, that's asinine.  I would ask them if there's someone else there that can, and if not, leave it at that.  But if you're on crutches or a walker, I may ask you not to if you volunteer for something like that; safety first, right?

4) And finally - stop diagnosing.  This is an enormous annoyance.  Immediately for us, later for you if we follow your direction.

As most people are not trained in the technical field of whatever they're calling in to support for, it's unfortunate, naive, and, frankly, arrogant that they need to guess and try to point fingers at things. 

It's great that you can press buttons on the remote control, keyboard, or whatnot, but if you can't even follow onscreen diagnosis instructions, what are you doing telling a tech to look at something that you can't even verify due to lack of tools, training or both?

Here's the the thing, diagnoses without verification can poison the well. I'm experienced enough that I will literally dismiss the notion (but kindly), but less experienced reps may not understand how to do this, and may accommodate because they just don't know better.

Everything about technical support needs to be "Trust but verify", so uneducated opinions are unwelcome by default.

5) Trust our process.  Seriously, our interactions with clients are usually timed.  We're generally not trying to waste your time, and there is a reason why we have you do certain things.  

There is actually a general flow for troubleshooting:  Source, device function and then output.  What that means in English is: 

Are all of the wires connected properly?  Do things turn on?  Are the devices responsive to their controllers or input tools (remote control, keyboard, mouse, whatever)?  Do you actually get something from that device (lights on the device itself, sound, picture, etc.).

That's just the basic, but the flow is literally the wall connections to the screen, and for good reason - these are all of the physical potential points of failure.

So, with that out there, there are also certain things that we owe clients as well, and these are obviously beyond common courtesy.

1)  We need to pay attention, not just listen.  That's a given, but it's also because we need you to help us visualise as much as you need us to do the same.  But we also need to pay attention to the background, as well. 

I've found home phone issues that a client didn't understand while troubleshooting a TV issue because I heard artefacts on the call (static, pops, audio drops), and asked a couple questions about it.

2)  Honesty.  Top to bottom.  A general rule that I live by is never, ever bullshit a client. 

A large reason for this is because your bullshit becomes the next rep's burden when the client calls back (and they will) because you did everything you could to not do your job.

Now, this is a little different than not understanding the situation and giving an expectation of what is supposed to happen; that's newbie stuff, and it will happen. 

Should not happen with experienced reps unless we're working with new technology and learning as we go (which is often the case). 

That said, if you don't know something, do not make up an answer.  These answers can proliferate, especially if the solution is junk; clients do know what Facebook and Twitter are.

So, if we don't know, we need to admit that and then ask for time to research an answer. 

3)  Continuous learning - We need to walk the walk that we talk.  This is a combination of experience (for confidence) and education (for background and understanding).  And we need to demonstrate this to our clientele, because they have a right to ask why we're doing something, or having them do something, which is fair.

A great example is IPTV.  Despite the name, a lot clients do not understand that the TV service requires the internet to work.  So, they call in with a TV issue, I start investigating the internet service first (because that's the service point of origin), and they ask why.

Now, you can bluntly say "well, it's IPTV, so I gotta check the internet".  Ooooor, you can say, "you're right, it's TV service, but it needs the internet to come into you; if there's a problem with your internet, your TV will be affected, too," and that clicks. 

That's talking the talk and walking the walk.

Another great example is observing equipment behaviour.  If you know how devices behave and they're doing something aberrant (out of the ordinary not only for normal working behaviour, but also out of the ordinary for failure), that can point us to solution or an escalation direction.

I would also factor client follow-up into this category.  If you need to do something that's expected to be done, and things work fine, but they're having intermittent problems, set up follow-up to see how that actually worked.  If it failed, that failure will guide us to next steps.

4)  Respect a client's time. Clients don't reach out to tech support for giggles.  We know this.  I can count on one hand how many clients have (twice in eleven years).  Don't deviate from process unless you have the experience to know better. 

Ask clarifying questions, but don't repeat yourself unless the call quality is junk or you cannot hear the client, and in either case, make sure the client is aware; we all hate repeating ourselves for no reason.

If you're on a dedicated technical support team (some companies dangerously combine this with non-technical sales), focus on the problem, not the products.

Only educate them about ancillary products relevant to any needs that they've expressed, after a solution has been confirmed.

Don't bullishly proceed through the interaction, either.  Never mind just common courtesies, ensure that the client is aware of why you're doing things, especially if they're trying to diagnose the problem.

Also, if clients are diagnosing the problem, we need to shut it down.  This is for both their benefit and ours.  

When a client comes to me saying "my box is bad", I tell them "it may seem that way, but we need to do these checks, because if it's an issue with signal, changing the box won't fix that."  Which is 99.999999% correct. 

This is why, if we detect a signal issue and the wires are connected correctly, we're going to book a technician instead of just directing you to swap it (but the offer's on the table, I just won't recommend it).  

And, when dealing with anything proprietary, never, ever deviate from troubleshooting procedure unless you know enough to do so.  

I cannot tell you the number of times I've seen colleagues reboot a cable box because a client has breakup on the screen, and this is a huge no-no.  If there's a signal issue, this will not fix it. 

If it's a hardware, it could brick the equipment and thus turn something emotionally inconvenient into something emotionally catastrophic.  And that's just residential service.  You brick commercial gear due to negligence, it just gets worse from there.

Know stuff before you do stuff, because it's the client that pays for it first if you're wrong, first financially because the services are billed in advance, with time waiting for an equipment replacement, and anxiety because now they can't use what aspects were working. 

And if the interaction ended, with more time because they're reaching back to us for the correct solution.

I think this a is a pretty fair exchange (but then again, I did create it, so, you know...), but at the end of the day, it's not just on the client to not be an asshat - we owe them that, too. 

Troubleshooting is a partnership, not a squaring off of others.

Now, for any readers, if you have any suggestions to add, please do - and respectfully so.  I probably missed something, I'm only human.  For now...