When do we need it?
There are three main types of situations in which you should contact technical supporters:
Installation and Configuration
Firstly, support is needed when installing and configuring the product. Issues that occur during this first stage of product use should always be considered of critical importance. An incorrect setting inherited from the default configuration, can lead to subsequent errors that could easily be overcome by dropping an email asking for technical assistance.
You are probably not under time pressure when installing programs, but the quantity of research that has to be done without benefiting from specialized help might be a little bit too much.
Functionality issues
The second situation is represented by functionality issues that might occur. When a program does not start or your computer freezes and crashes, you need assistance fast. Few people, in such cases, would rely on hours of online research, when the troubleshooting method is a simple routine for technical support representatives. They usually know all type of errors, incompatibilities or other incidents that might occur. In this case, an email stating the product version, the encountered error and some more details about your system are usually enough.
Unexpected events
In such cases, quite rare, tech support is the only department able to help you. As the situation is relatively new, forums and friends will never have the information you need. Moreover, the faster you contact them, the faster they can have testers and developers working on a solution. You would probably look for a technical support program that works around the clock and has an average response time that suites your needs.
What to choose from?
The most common support channels are email, chat or phone based. To choose from these, you should take into account the response time. If it is a minor issue that you do not want solved right away due to lack of time or other reasons, you can choose to send an email and check the instructions sent as a reply at a later time.
If you need the issue solved faster, the right choice is to call the support number or contact them through a chat window. If solving your incident requires further logs, files or tools being transferred, then you will probably continue the troubleshooting via email.
Stay local or go global?
Most companies that sell their products all over the world offer two types of support: assistance provided by the company’s headquarters and support provided locally, through partners or local offices.
Contacting the local support office has its benefits, as it can be faster, cheaper (if you pay for the phone call you make, for example) and is usually provided in the local language. However, if the product is in a different language or the user is foreign, they might turn into disadvantages as translation mistakes can occur. Moreover, support lines might not be available round the clock locally, as they are usually limited to office hours. Another impediment may be the support level: local offices usually offer basic support and their personnel are not as experienced as the headquarters’ technical staff.
The main support office, established at the company’s headquarters, offers the largest number of experts. These representatives also provide the fastest solution, as they are in direct contact with the testing and developing teams. Companies usually provide headquarters support services 24/7 on all channels they offer (mail, phone, etc). However, limited language coverage can be an impediment.
What to ask of a techie?
Usually, customers cannot choose their supporter (unless their support package includes a dedicated expert or group of experts). However, all supporters in direct contact with the company’s customers should have some very important skills. First of all, the technical part should never be a blur for them. But apart from being experienced in dealing with the technical aspect of the issue, they also need soft skills related to being a customer support professional: they should be able to empathize with the customer, they should be fast, but accurate and they should be patient and adapt their speech in order to be easily understood.
Is there something I should do?
Most of the times, the customer’s attitude can speed up the solution. It is important to be focused on solving the issue and to be open to providing what is asked of you. Here are a few tips to get what you want faster:
- Provide all product logs and or/operating system logs if required. Most users are reluctant when it comes to providing reports and data about their system and installed application. However, such data are always used only for testing/troubleshooting purposes and are never made public
- Be precise about the issue: when it occurred, how many times, were there other applications running;
- Be in front of the computer in question or close to it. If you receive an instant solution, you should be able to test it. If it is not the right one, you can then get and test a second one just as fast.
At AXIGEN, we aim to offer the best possible technical assistance to all our users. Therefore the AXIGEN Technical Support Program is offered for all AXIGEN products not only after purchase, but also while trialing and testing the product. We offer several support programs, designed for each type of customer. For more information on the support program, please read this article available on our site.