Support and Help
Rapid globalization and expansion of technology are quickly making geography irrelevant; eliminating time constraints for customer support and help functions in organizations. Moreover, as more people telecommute from home and work from remote locations, internal information technology (IT) administrators must spend more time troubleshooting and fixing employees' problems.
Customer Support
In today's interconnected world, product support and help services are delivered via multiple channels.
This increased demand for technical services requires IT support organizations to be more agile in diagnosing and resolving product issues. Today, most major telecommunications, IT and electronic companies run virtual support and help desks to provide user assistance around the world. As a result, these organizations are able to optimize their overall IT support process and gain competitive advantages when it comes to delivering quick and efficient technical support.
The Role of Product Support and Help Services
Users of mobile phones, televisions, computers, software products, and other electronic or mechanical goods will occasionally need product support services. This service is usually offered in the form of a help desk that acts as an information and assistance resource. Product support professionals attempt to help users solve specific problems with a product—rather than providing training, customization, or other support services.
Most companies offer either free customer support or charge for premium customer support and help services. Companies, especially larger organizations, offer internal technical support and help desk services to their staff for computer-related problems.
Types of Product Support and Help Services
The Internet serves as a primary source for freely available product support. Virtual help desks, which allow organizations to virtually deploy IT technicians on demand to support users can efficiently manage and allocate organizational resources. Product support personnel can access any computer to provide support despite the end users' or technicians' location.
Some companies develop extranet sites, or customer websites that allow users to log calls and report incidents. Virtual help desks access these systems through support sessions where they can diagnose and fix computer issues quickly. This eliminates in-person customer service calls and ineffective phone-only tech support sessions, making the help desk more efficient.
However, many organizations still offer support services via email and toll-free numbers. Some companies also offer live support at physical stores and locations. Nevertheless, the Internet has allowed for a new form of product support to develop. Some online communities, which are moderated by product users, have emerged to give support where manufacturer support is lacking. These experienced users may provide advice and assistance with problems, or offer work-arounds to fellow users unable to find solutions on their own or through the vendor.