Regional support – good support listens and responds in the customer’s language
Whether private individuals or companies: IT customers often do not have the ability or time to solve hardware and software problems on their own. This is where high-performance technical support can help, providing assistance with questions, problems and incidents.
Technical problems are annoying for all parties involved. Correct problem analysis (technical skills) and diplomatic communication (soft skills) are the basis for a good support process. Technically complex issues should not be further complicated by communication problems. Local support without language barrier is one of the most important element for later well rated support.
Not every company has its own IT support department, and not every private customer has the expertise to identify and eliminate IT malfunctions and sources of error. That is why IT support is part of the services the IT industry provides to its customers nowadays. IT companies, software manufacturers, whether on premise or in the cloud, offer this customer retention measure.
Three levels or more
Support can be divided, depending on the organization of the service points and the type of request, into usually up to three levels:
First level support for immediate resolution of the issue or its referral.
Second level support for complex problems – often with a consultation to the development department
Third level support for special solutions in difficult cases
Long-term support is also possible. It can be placed by software companies with the product or offered by system houses within the scope of a maintenance contract.
Support ticket systems for clear identification and traceability
Users who contact a helpdesk and describe a problem are assigned a support ticket. This applies to both mail inquiries and calls to the IT support telephone hotline. A support ticket is a number that clearly identifies the caller and the problem. This is necessary both for forwarding to other support departments and for inquiries from the customer, who would like to inquire about the status of processing.
Different support variants
Support at the customer’s site can take different forms. A classic method is to guide the customer through the problem-solving process on the phone. However, remote access can also be used to access the relevant hardware remotely and place a solution directly on the customer’s system.
Different forms of maintenance contracts
Maintenance contracts or “service level agreements” can be structured in different ways. Service contracts can be related to a product, or to the entire IT of a company.
For companies, support serves to concentrate on their own core competencies and financial savings on personnel costs as well as to ensure the smooth running of operating processes. Software vendors often build their marketing around the support available to customers after they purchase their products.
The quality of support discussed on social media and vendor forums is increasingly influencing end users’ purchasing decisions.
Please ask BridgeToEurope technical experts about offered local support solutions – billing models based on demand or workload (per ticket) are available as well.