Starting Tech Support

Hey guys, I'm starting a new job at my universities tech support help line on Monday, and I can imagine many of you knowledgeable fellows have some experience in this field.

So I was wondering if there were any pointers you guys (or gals) would give a newbie - what to bring, what to look out for, what to do, what not to do.

Why is this in this forum? It's a popular forum with many extremely intelligent patrons, and I'd appreciate your input!

Relation to Gaming software and graphics cards: I'll probably have to deal with hardware problems (graphics cards) but I want more general information. Thanks guys!

 

for cards: latest drivers help from laptopvideo2go.com
No OCing, itll burn they're card
IGPs suck for gaming
the nvidia 8 series and ati 2 series are the only ones that use DX10
relative info: dont annihilate they're computer

 

Working in notebook computer support, I can sympathize with your trepidation.

Notebook related: If you know you will be supporting a specific model, make sure you have the user's manual for that model, and get your hands on a service manual if at all possible.

General support related: Google is your best friend. 90% of the calls you take will become routine, but you WILL run into issues you've never heard of before, and Google WILL give you the answer you need to look like a supergenius

Let's see...as far as what NOT to do:
-Don't have *** while you're doing tech support. It's generally hard for both of you to be quiet
-Don't eat anything loud while doing tech support
-Don't forget where the volume button is so you can turn down the volume in a hurry if you're in the middle of a raid when a call comes in

 

First thing I learned: CONFIDENCE. You need to be confident in yourself - know that you know the answer (even if you don't). You'll learn something new everyday, and after a while, you'll be able to do all the consumer level troubleshooting. Most of the stuff here - gaming, newer drivers, heavy hardware installation - you'll never face. Most of it's going to be virii or something corrupted, inability to connect to the internet, or some program not working. If you can't find a solution, you can always recommend a clean install or a restore. As you learn more and more, you'll rely less and less on those extensive options.

 

i don't think ur university's tech support line will have any major issues to deal with. u'll probably have to deal with internet connection and stuff like that. i'm a college student as well and most of the time it's the connection that makes me want to call the tech support

 

Don't laugh, as much as you'd like to, when someone asks where the "any" key is at, why their printer is broken when they feed their CD in it, if their mousepad is compatible with their pc, or someone thinks the CD/DVD drive is a cupholder....

sigh... I don't miss those days.

 

95% of problems you will come across can be resolved with a simple answer of "please reboot your machine".

 

Find a localish data rescue service and know the price. I guarantee a good portion of your calls will be regarding data loss. There's nothing quite as entertaining as telling a struggling student how much it would cost to save the term paper they were too lazy to backup.

While it's not really the same thing, look up BOfH. It's just the thing you need to save your sanity after a long day of interacting with morons.

 

I'll probably be doing both at the same time.. I'm trying so hard to stay away from WoW. My friends from my hometown all started playing again, and they're all scattered across the country now.. I've already been in and out twice. . though I never got to 70, and I did purchase TBC.. ah no! I won't do it!

I need some pudding or something to eat for tech support.. that's not very noisy.. it's just kinda slobbery... hrm