7 Ways to Make Tech Support Calls Less Painful: Page 2

4) Make notes!

Not only do you need to make notes before you make that call, but you should have a pen in hand while you’re on that call.

Start off by noting the date and time of your call – very important if you need to make follow-up calls. Also, make a note of the names of any support agents you talk to. Get them to repeat their name if you missed it.

Then make notes of everything the tech support agent wants you to do. I find that doing this even when I’m actually carrying out the steps while on the phone is helpful. It allows me to focus my mind on the job and make sure that I’m clear on each thing I’m doing.

There’s another upside to making notes during your tech support call – if you have suffer a similar problem in the future, you’ll know how to fix it!

5) If at first you don’t succeed …

…Try, try again!

I’ve found that one way to make support calls less irritating and frustrating is to simply…put the phone down and try again.

Bad line? Hang up and try again! Can’t understand the support agent? Hang up and try again! Not getting along with the support agent? Hang up and … well, you get the drift.

Same goes if your problem’s not been fixed. Try again. If the support tech tries to get you to carry out the same procedure again, politely explain that that this has already been tried and didn’t work the last time you tried it. Don’t just blindly listen to the other person. Be proactive in getting your problem solved.

6) Escalate

If you really feel that you’re not getting anywhere with the tech support agent (or agents) that you’re talking to, you might consider having your call escalated to a supervisor or manager.

No, it doesn’t guarantee that your problem will be solved any quicker, but it’s a card worth keeping up your sleeve for those occasions when you feel you aren’t getting anywhere.

7) Don’t lose your temper

Telephone operators are trained in techniques to deal with awkward callers.

If you start getting emotional, don’t be surprised if you find yourself on hold for eternity, transferred back and forth between departments or black-holed totally.

So remain calm. If you feel yourself starting to lose it, better to hang up the phone, take a little while to calm down and try again later.

Remember, both you and the person on the other end of the phone want to get your problem solved as quickly as possible!