Customer Service Commitment to Excellence

Plan for Good Service

• Commit to excellence regardless of circumstances or personalities
• Initial contact with a customer:
  • Answer phone calls by identifying yourself and your organization
  • Follow company policy to obtain the caller's name and number
  • Confirm authorization to help the customer and open the conversation for the caller to describe the problem
• Prepare for on-site visits by:
  • Reviewing information about the service call
  • Familiarizing yourself with the problem, urgency, and required computer, software, and hardware
  • Arriving with a complete set of equipment
• Greet the customer in a friendly manner, shake hands, and be cautious when working at a residence with a minor present
• Listen and ask questions to understand the customer's issue

Interview the Customer

• Take notes as you ask questions
• Have the customer reproduce the problem, noting each step taken and its results
• Use diplomacy and good manners when working with a user to solve a problem

Set and Meet Customer Expectations

• Create an expectation of certainty with customers
• Establish a timeline with the customer for project completion and keep them informed of progress
• Give the customer an opportunity to make decisions about repairs, with guidance from you

Work With a Customer On Site

• Avoid distractions and minimize personal calls on your cell phone
• Protect the customer's confidential materials and avoid taking over the mouse or keyboard without permission
• Ask permission to use the printer or other equipment

Documenting Changes

• Document everything related to changes
• Use change management software or manual documentation to manage all stages of change management

Working in Diverse Software Environments

• IT support technicians encounter a wide variety of hardware platforms, operating systems, and applications
• Operating systems have commonalities and diversities among them

Functions of an Operating System

• An operating system (OS) is software that controls a computer
• Four main functions of an OS:
  • Provide a user interface
  • Manage files
  • Manage hardware
  • Manage applications
• Every OS offers a command-driven interface and almost every OS offers one or more graphical user interfaces (GUI)

How an OS Manages Hardware

• The motherboard BIOS/UEFI provides three functions:
  • System BIOS/UEFI contains instructions for running hardware devices before an OS is started
  • Startup BIOS/UEFI starts the computer and finds a boot device that contains an OS
  • Setup BIOS/UEFI is used to change motherboard settings

How an OS Manages a Hard Drive

• Low-level formatting organizes the space in a long series of logical blocks using Logical Block Addressing (LBA)
• Partitioning systems:
  • MBR partitions keep a map of partitions in a partition table stored at the beginning of the hard drive called the MBR
  • GPT partitions use the newer Globally Unique Identifier Partition Table (GUID or GPT) system, which can support up to 128 partitions and is required for drives larger than 2.2 TB

This quiz assesses your understanding of the importance of maintaining a commitment to excellence in customer service, despite circumstances or personalities. It covers initial contact with customers and the skills required.