2: Help DeskWorking at a Small-to-Medium Business or ISP

Introduction

• Poor Help Desk= loss of customers

• Customer Satisfaction

• YOU represent the ISP– On phone– On site

Help Desk @ the ISP- GOALS

• Help with Internet connectivity & equipment problems– Optimize the network– Router / ISP equipment at premises– ISP services (web/email)

• Solves problems quickly– Customer retention

I Can’t Get No Satisfaction!

• Survey of over 2,000 tech users at US companies– Only 53% were satisfied or very satisfied– Loss of help desk credibility negatively affects

perception of IT

• Make it better with technical knowledge & customer service techniques– How many of you had bad service

anywhere???

Job Description

Levels of Support

• Level 1 – For immediate support handled by junior-level

help desk technicians.

• Level 2 – Handles calls that are escalated to more

experienced telephone support.

• Level 3 – For calls that cannot be resolved by phone

support and require a visit by an on-site technician.

In Reality- at ISPs & at Work

• Might have separate people

• Might have one, all-knowing person

• Might be contracted out– Third party handles level 1 & 2 support– Usually by phone

Level 1 Roles• Starts here

– Many employees– Most problems solved here– Entry-level

• Diagnose basic network connectivity issues• Diagnose & document symptoms of hardware,

software, system problems• Resolve & document any basic user issues• Help customers complete online order forms• Escalate any issues that can’t be resolved to the

next level

Level 2 Roles

• May be fewer employees

• More skills than Level 1

Level 3 Roles

• Often those who go on-site

• Written in SLA

• Would you want to be one?

Jobs & Salaries

• Found a Level 2, $30-$34,000

• Level 1/2, $17.31 - $20.19 /Hour

• Go to Monster.com, Philly.com, or Courierpostonline.com & search for “Help Desk” job.

Activity

Interacting with Customers

• As the 1st point of contact, how might you provide support other than by phone?– Email, chat, IM, web-based, on-site

• Keep FOCUS• Keep POSITIVE• Have EFFECTIVE ORAL & WRITTEN

communication• SPEED, EFFICIENCY,

PROFESSIONALISM

How Do They Do It?Incident Management

• 1st- Open a trouble ticket

• 2nd- Follow a problem-solving strategy– Using troubleshooting flowcharts– Addressing questions in a template format– Maintaining proper ticket escalation

procedures

• Let’s develop an opening/greeting now

Help Them!

It’s All About The Customer!

• Pleasant Greeting

• Maintain Professionalism

• Be Courteous

• Relieve Customer Stress

• Properly Respond to Abusive Customers

Activity 1

Activity 2

• Follow Directions

• Help Desk

Review

• I can’t get to www.ebay.com! What’s your 1st basic, simple question you ask?– Can you get to www.blah.com?

• Which Level(s) talk to customers over the phone usually?– 1 & 2

• Which Level(s) install equipment?– 3

• Which Level(s) usually use diagnostic tools & remote desktop to help customers?– 1 & 2

Downtime is Bad!

• Business-critical network

• Expense of repair

• Loss of business

• Reduced productivity

• A few hours of downtime can cost thousands!

Hourly Cost of Downtime

• Brokerage Firm $6,500,000 • Telephone sales $69,900 • Home Shopping $199,500 • Credit card sales $2,600,000 • Catalog sales $90,000 • Airlines $89,500

• Learn to troubleshoot properly…

OSI & Assembling a Car

• Many people at different stations• A complex job broken into simple tasks

– Weld the frame– Add the doors & windows– Add the electrical system– Add the engine– Add the tires– Paint it

• Each workers adds on to the car• If there’s a problem, you can isolate at which

station the problem occurred

Using the OSI Model

Use the OSI to Troubleshoot

Review

• At what layer are…– Hubs– Routers– Repeaters– Switches– NICs

Review of OSI Upper Layers- Email

Review of OSI Lower Layers- Email

Package the email for transport…Breaks message into small segments…Adds port #...Put into a packet with source/destination IP addresses…Encapsulates it into a frame with source/destination MAC addresses…Converted into 1’s & 0’s for transmission on medium

Activity

Basic Troubleshooting using OSI

1. Define the problem

2. Isolate the cause of the problem

3. Solve the problem– Identify and prioritize alternative solutions– Select one alternative as the solution– Implement & evaluate the solution– Doesn’t work?

• Undo change & try next possible solution

Basic Troubleshooting using OSI

• Remember the three troubleshooting processes?– Top-down– Bottom-up– Divide &

conquer

Layer 1 Problems• Device power off• Device power unplugged• Loose network cable connection• Incorrect cable type• Faulty network cable

• Communicate to customer what to do & look for

• How would you ask a customer to check the cables to see if they’re tight?…

• If all Layer 1 issues have been checked, travel up the Layer 2 of the OSI.

Layer 2 Problems

• NIC, drivers, switch configuration

• Might need on-site person to solve

• Replace NIC, download drivers, configure switch

Layer 3 Problems

• IP address within the assigned network• Correct subnet mask• Correct default gateway• DHCP or DNS

• ipconfig - Shows IP settings on the computer

• ping - Tests basic network connectivity• traceroute - Checks routing path

Layer 4 & 5-7 Problems

• Check the firewall– Is something blocked?

• Application Configuration– Config of email program– Packet sniffer– Telnet

Activity

Common Issues

• Email Issues– Can receive but not send– Can send but not receive– Cannot send or receive – Nobody can reply to messages

• Can send email but not receive. What could be the problem?

Common Issues

• Billing account issues

• Hardware failure

• Physical layer failure (cables)

• Application settings or it’s missing!

• Application plug-in missing

Packet Tracer

• 2.3.1.3

Go Fix It!

• Phone support’s not enough?– Go on-site– Review the trouble ticket– Bring the right tools

Get to there already!1. Provide proper ID to the customer.

2. Review the trouble ticket or work order with the customer to verify that the information is correct.

3. Tell them the current status of any problems or issues, as well as the actions you expect to take that day.

4. Obtain permission from the customer to begin the work.

Finish Up Already!

• Tell customer:– What the problem was– What solved it– Any follow-up procedures

• Document on the ticket

• Give copy to customer

• Any other upgrades/issues get communicated for another ticket

Review

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Review

• Which defines layer 4?– Routes data between networks– Converts data to bits for travel over cable– Uses TCP for reliable transport– Encrypts data– Adds an IP address to the packet

2: Help DeskWorking at a Small-to-Medium Business or ISP