Monthly Archives: July 2017

Habits That An IT Help Desk Department Should Avoid

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Frustrated by the attitude your receiving from your help desk?

Can you think of a time when you did not appreciate the kind of customer service you received? Unfortunately, many of us remember the bad customer service we receive from the good customer service. Terrible customer service moments will remain in customers minds, and they will share those stories with anyone who will listen.

There are various bad habits that IT help desk professionals should certainly avoid if they want to provide outstanding customer service on a consistent basis.

Avoiding Some Help Desk Tickets

Generally, an IT help desk department will use tickets to successfully manage the interactions they have with their customers. Some IT help desk agents will ignore the difficult tickets in favor of the easier tickets. If a help desk agent only wants to take the easier tickets, the help desk agents will never know what it is like to be challenged. When IT help desk agents are challenged, they will have to dig a little deeper, which will allow them to obtain more knowledge. Every customer should have their questions answered in a timely manner.

Formal Tone Of Speech

One of the biggest mistakes many IT help desk agents make is not connecting with customers on a personal level. It can be easy for help desk agents to read directly from a script or send an automated email to the customer. When IT help desk agents put in the extra work to build relationships with customers and give them a better customer service experience, the more the IT help desk agent will get out of the interaction.

It is certainly important for IT help desk agents to be polite, but being too formal may make your customers feel isolated. When someone contacts a company’s IT help desk department, they are usually feeling agitated and upset that they could not figure out the problem on their own. When a help desk agent responds in a friendly tone, the customer may be able to relax a little more.

The Attitude

We all know what it is like to have a bad day, right? However, it is important that IT help desk agents have the ability to keep their emotions in check. It is important to remain calm at all times, even though it may be difficult at times. There should be no arguing with customers, being defensive, or being dismissive when a customer asks a question.

IT help desk agents have the ability to create great experiences that will lead to a loyal customer base. IT help desk agents should be able to separate the business at hand from their personal feelings. The knowledge, experience, expertise, patience, etc. should all outweigh the personal feelings of an IT help desk agent.

Failing To Fully Respond To Questions

Many IT help desk agents are in such a hurry to respond to as many tickets as they can that they will simply respond with a yes or no answer. When customers only receive a yes or no answer to a question, this will only lead to more questions. When customers are constantly asking the same question because they did not get a better response the first time, this will mean the help desk agents will have more work to do.

In order for an IT help desk agent to be effective, the agent should try to respond with a detailed answer the first time the customer asks the questions. Customers have high expectations, and when they have a problem, they expect the IT help desk agent who responds to their ticket to have the knowledge and expertise to help them. How can an effective IT help desk department change your business operations? Contact us today and learn more about the SystemsNet team.

Microsoft Announces the New Surface Pro

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Microsoft Product Releases

Microsoft combines stunning creativity with powerful productivity in the new Surface Pro, announced on May 23rd, 2017. The Surface Pro’s top-down redesign includes an extremely long 13.5 hour battery life; lightning-fast Intel Core 7th generation processor; support for the new Surface Pen with its amazing inking capabilities; and a great deal more. Yet despite the long list of improvements, the new Surface Pro weighs only 1.69 pounds and costs only $799 USD.

Faster performance

The new Surface Pro, which runs on an Intel Core 7th generation processor, delivers speeds that are 2.5 times faster than the Surface Pro 3. Despite its remarkable performance, the Surface Pro’s fanless design keeps it nice and quiet.

Longer battery life

The new Surface Pro’s battery has an extremely long life of 13.5 hours, lasting 50% longer than its predecessor.

Streamlined design

With softer edges, an ultra-thin 8.5mm profile, and a weight of only 1.69 pounds, the new Surface Pro is elegant and streamlined. Furthermore, users can not only customize the color of their new Surface Pro, but also the Surface Arc mouse and the new Surface Pen. There are three rich colors available: cobalt blue, burgundy and platinum.

Improved keyboard and display

The new Surface Pro’s type cover features 1.3mm of key travel for quicker, more accurate typing than its predecessors. A soft, elegant, yet strong, covering envelops the keyboard for maximum comfort and aesthetic appeal. Thanks to a new hinge with a 165-degree range, users can now take advantage of Studio Mode, which provides the ideal position for drawing or writing with the Surface Pen. The new Surface Pro also has a high-resolution 12.3 inch PixelSense Display (supporting the new Surface Pen) and a full-glass trackpad that includes multi-touch, five-finger precision.

The new Surface Pen

Thanks to its PixelSense Accelerator, the new Surface Pen is not only faster than its predecessors, but features twice the accuracy and responsiveness. With 4,096 levels of sensitivity to pressure, both writing and drawing are vastly improved with the new Surface Pen. The device also features support for tilt functionality, which detects the angle that the user holds the pen against the screen’s surface. The result is enhanced shading with an improved, natural quality.

Windows 10, Microsoft Office 365 and Microsoft Whiteboard will unlock still more possibilities for inking with the new Surface Pen in 2017.

Surface Dial capabilities

You can now access many of the creative experiences from Surface Studio by using Surface Dial with the new Surface Pro. Simply place Surface Dial on the screen to access app-specific shortcuts and tools.

A new path to productivity

Microsoft is bringing the creative power of the new Surface Pro and the Surface Pen into the domain of productivity. In June, 2017, Microsoft 365 subscribers will begin to see new inking functionality, including a gallery of drawing devices that follow you throughout your activities in Word, Powerpoint and Excel. Office users will soon find themselves inking comments in their documents with the Surface Pro and Surface Pen. Later in 2017, Microsoft will release Whiteboard, unlocking still more features for ink-enabled Windows 10 devices. Subscribers of Office 365 will have exclusive access to many features.

Launch date

Microsoft plans to release the new Surface Pro on June 15th, 2017 in twenty-four markets. Pre-ordering is already available in select markets and stores. Microsoft plans to release the new Surface Pen in the coming weeks.

With the new Surface Pro, Microsoft offers both a creative studio and a powerful laptop in a single, 1.69 pound package. The top-down resign includes a faster processor; an extraordinary 13.5 hour battery life; an ultra-thin 8.55mm profile; a redesigned keyboard for faster typing; and support for the new Surface Pen’s industry-leading inking capabilities. As Microsoft rolls out Whiteboard later this year, owners of the new Surface Pro will find themselves unlocking even more remarkable features to enhance both their creativity and productivity in 2017.

Contact us to learn more about Microsoft’s new Surface Pro.