Cutomer service in the IT field

Customer service in the IT field.



This is one of the most missed skills that I see in our industry. Traditionally we were a culture of nerds and brains. Times have changed for a lot of us in this profession and from now on if we hope to be successful, we need to pick up this valuable skill of CUSTOMER SERVICE. I have been on several interviews and have been told by every hiring manager that they would hire a decent skill wise likable person over a 50 pound know it all Brain everyday. The goals of this blog is towards IT workers who are customer facing. I’m going to go over a few key points on the basics and we will build on these as time goes on. I’ll start with talking to others on the phone.


1. A phone call from a customer (notice I’m not using END USER) is not a disruption of your daily duties. If they weren’t calling you wouldn’t have a job. How you deal with people here is key. Feel genuinely concerned about their issue. Even if you don’t have time to address you can open up a ticket if you have a ticketing system or tell them a time you can schedule it on your calendar. Tell them there problem is important and we will jump right on it. Do not give out times to get their problem fixed unless it’s a scheduled time to meet up. If they ask what causing the problem tell them you are investigating. Keep them informed through IM’s emails or simple courtesy call. The phone call is not about solving the problem or showing off how smart you are, Its to get the customer to feel warm about the service you are providing and them not being afraid to call in or open a ticket. This was focused more towards help desk and NOC types, but lets talk about the advanced workers of this field who are some of the worse offenders

2. When you are calling out trying to find information please introduce yourself who you work for, and why you are calling. Give the customer time to digest that all. Don’t assume the person on the other end has any clue about the IT world. Ask them who can you talk to that would know the information your asking or requesting. Now their lot of times you would be faced with another IT guy/gal on the other end of the phone. This is where a lot of conflict can start. Be the nicest person you can be and address them with respect. This goes a long way. There was a time that I was taking over routers from one network to ours. Those people were scared that they would be loosing their jobs. You should expect to be met with hostility in these types of situations. Let them know you are just here to do a job and that they should talk to management if they have a problem with what’s going on. Sometimes you talk to these people on the phone and other times its our 3rd topic on site.






3. When you work on a customer’s site, there are all types of situations that you can deal with and encounters you have to be able to overcome. Hopefully your employer screened you well prior too you going on site, or they are just setting you up for failure. Some basic quick rules. 1. Be on time. Be on time. Be on time. If you have a set time that you are suppose to be at work be their 15 min prior too. If you walk in at 8:00 and you are suppose to start at 8:00 you are late. Make an effort to be there 15 min prior.

- Personal appearance. You don’t have to be Mr GQ, but you have to present yourself as neat and clean. For those on a budget Old Navy and Tjmaxx are good places to start. Make sure you have a haircut and a decent shave no matter what type of hairstyle, even if it’s a Mohawk, braids, dreads, or an Afro. Clip your nails and brush your teeth. These may seem so simple, but I see this everyday and its gross.

- Clean your work area. Make sure there is no old food or napkins laying around. Keep them tucked away and if you don’t’ have storage bring one in. Keep clutter on your desk to a minimum. People don’t go to the guy with the messy desk.



All and all these are just some of the basic things that will give you an edge from the other guys you work with. Being a person people won’t be afraid of or scared to call will take you further than the brain nobody wants to speak too. I can follow these up with detail later on if there’s interest.