1.3.4 Question End Users

When requesting support from a help desk, users often provide vague and sometimes misleading information. For example, users often report problems such as “The network is down.”, “I cannot access my email.”, or “My computer is slow.” In most cases, additional information is required to fully understand the problem.

When entering the trouble ticket, the help desk technician must discover the “who”, “what”, and “when” of the problem.

The following recommendations should be employed when communicating with a user:

Always be considerate and empathize with users while letting them know you will help them solve their problem. Users reporting a problem may be under stress and anxious to resolve the problem as quickly as possible. Never talk down, belittle, insult, or accuse the user of causing the problem.

Speak at a technical level they can understand. Avoid using complex terminology or industry jargon.

Always listen or read carefully what the user is saying. Taking notes can be helpful when documenting a complex problem.

Good interpersonal skills are an asset to the helpdesk technician. It is important to develop this skill set to better serve and communicate with users and peers. For example, a technician should address a user by their preferred name, attempt to relate to the user, and work to clarify exactly what it is that they are requesting.

Know, Relate, and Understand

The table summarizes three general guidelines that help to develop the know, relate, and understand skill set.

Rule	Suggestion	Example
Know	Call the user by his or her name. You can ask if there is any name that they prefer that you use.	If a user tells you her name is Mrs. Johnson, ask if that is what she prefers to be called by you. She may say yes, or she may give you her first name. In any case, only use the preferred name with your customer.
Relate	Attempt to create a one-to-one connection with the user.	Try to find something you may have in common. If you hear a pet in the background, briefly ask them about it. If you have had to call customer support for your own computer, mention that you understand how frustrating this can be and that you will do everything you can to help them. Do not lose control of the call.
Understand	Determine the user’s level of technical knowledge. This will help you best communicate with them.	A customer who is very new to computers will not be likely to know all the jargon that you use every day, so you should use the most common words you can think of to describe aspects of their computer. A more experienced customer probably knows some of the same jargon that you use.

When interviewing the user, guide the conversation and use effective questioning techniques to quickly ascertain the problem. Two common methods to do so, include using:

Open-ended questions – These types of questions allow users to explain the details of the problem in their own words and are useful to obtain general information.

Closed-ended questions – These are simple yes, no, or single word answers that can be used to discover important facts about the network problem.

Open-Ended End User Questions

The table provides some questioning guidelines and sample open-ended end user questions.

Guidelines	Examples of Open-Ended End User Questions
Ask pertinent questions.	What does not work? What exactly is the problem? What are you trying to accomplish?
Determine the scope of the problem.	Who does this issue affect? Is it just you or others? What device is this happening on?
Determine when the problem occurred / occurs.	When exactly does the problem occur? When was the problem first noticed? Were there any error message(s) displayed?
Determine if the problem is constant or intermittent.	Can you reproduce the problem? Can you send me a screenshot or video of the problem?
Determine if anything has changed.	What has changed since the last time that it worked?
Use questions to eliminate or discover possible problems.	What works? What does not work?

When done interviewing the user, repeat your understanding of the problem to the user to ensure that you both agree on what is being reported.