Having a Tech Relationship

Tech support is just about always available 24/7/365 from all reputable hardware and software vendors. But a relationship with a tech provider can help you find solutions to problems that involve more than one app or one device.

Help desk personnel are trained only to work on the systems of the company that hired or contracted for them. A tech provider who knows your system can “connect the dots” to solve your problem.

That point was hammered home recently. One of our clients’ IP phone line was down all day. It was a provider issue, something over which we had no control. But it didn’t stop the client from sending us a message at 10 p.m. one night to complain about a totally wasted day.

The service provider, he told us, had sent out a technician, who reset the router. When it didn’t work, the technician suggested there might be a short in the router. The technician agreed to be at our client’s office at 7 a.m. the next morning to look at the router.

I responded to the client, asking him if he was still at the office. He responded that he was, so I told him to call me. I walked him through some testing procedures, and we determined there was no short. What happened was that when the technician restarted the router, it went back to the factory default setting instead of the IP address that had been assigned to our client.

We established a three-way phone call with the provider’s help desk, and in a matter of minutes, we were able to put the right IP address into the router and get the phone system operational.  Our client went home and got a good night’s sleep, knowing the problem would not be waiting for him the next morning.

The solution didn’t happen by accident. We do all of our networks the same way, whether it’s in one office or networks covering multiple offices. We know how everything is supposed to be set up, and we know the right questions to ask a help desk.

Software problems can be more vexing for the average computer user. Everyone has the ability to call Microsoft, for example, if there’s a problem with email. Usually, the help desk can give you a quick, effective solution. But sometimes, they may not be able to give you all the advice you need, and you may not be able to do everything exactly as you’re instructed.

One issue that immediately comes to mind is Power Shell. Without going into detail, making a mistake when working with a Power Shell issue can wipe out your email if you don’t know what you’re doing. For us, it’s a piece of cake because we know computers and software and are trained to know why something is not working correctly.

We also have a personal connection to our clients and a desire and incentive to provide great service. If the help desk agent can’t help you solve a problem that goes beyond the scope of his company, he still has a job. If we, as a tech service and support company, can’t connect your set of dots, no matter who made the hardware or wrote the software, we lose a client.

We’re always available and always happy to speak with our clients when tech issues arise. So, when a problem strikes your IT system, give us a call – 973-433-6676 – or drop us an email with a few words about your problem in the subject line. We’ll get back to as soon as we possibly can because your call is important to us.

This article was published in Technology Update, the monthly newsletter from Sterling Rose LLC.