Why This Chapter Matters

The purpose of this chapter is to teach you the logical processes involved in resolving a service call. Resolving a call involves gathering information, determining a solution or course of action, attempting and finding solutions or escalating the call, and informing the end user of your findings.

In the first section, you learn what questions to ask and what specific things to make note of, such as whether the user has made any recent changes to the operating system or applications. Following that, you learn what steps are involved in determining a solution—starting with locating information, then listing and trying possible solutions, and finally either solving the problem or escalating it. With the problem solved (or out of your hands), you then need to document the call and communicate with the end user about the problem and its solutions.

Understanding these concepts is fundamental to becoming a good desktop support technician (DST), and using problem-solving and personal skills such as these is required on a daily basis.

Before You Begin

This chapter discusses the techniques that are involved with resolving service calls. Before you begin, make sure that you are familiar with the ideas described in Chapter 1, “Introduction to Desktop Support.”