Technology allows businesses of any size and industry to automate and increase efficiencies. And as much as we love – and rely on – technology at Collabrance, one area we deliberately choose not to “automate” is our live-answer service desk.
Why?
It’s something that has occasionally come up for debate over the years, but the discussion always boils down to one thing: When an end customer calls our service desk, we want to do what we can do resolve their IT issues quickly, with an appropriate solution to alleviate their pain and problem. Our service desk technicians answer the phone promptly, and during high-volume periods our goal is to keep wait times under five minutes. We know IT issues are often urgent, and we want to be responsive to the customer’s needs.
Our live-answer service desk is one way we provide great service to our customers. Read on for six things you can focus on to ensure your MSP delivers a consistently exceptional support experience, too.
1. Minimal wait times and fast response during IT emergencies
Collabrance service desk technicians are trained to answer calls promptly to ensure customers get their issues resolved quickly. To help us carry out an expedient response, we have a clear escalation protocol to handle more complex issues when they arise, so customers aren’t left wondering what’s next.
Every caller to our service desk has the opportunity to complete a satisfaction survey after their call. The feedback we receive speaks for itself:
“Honestly, I have worked with other providers and none of them come close to your speed of resolution and ease of getting support/resolution. Awesome level of support!!”
“Thank you for the speedy service”
“Immediate response to my phone call and quick resolution.“
“Loved the immediate pickup and connection to an actual technician.”
“You all have always been timely and awesome. It is soooo great having y’all as the IT Dept. Thank you all!”
2. Friendly, personable technicians
At Collabrance, we hire for attitude AND aptitude. We want our technicians to be able to interact easily with customers and provide a remarkable service experience. When a customer calls in, they may already by frustrated with an IT problem; we want to do what we can to eliminate that frustration and turn their day around by providing “service with a smile”.
Based on direct customer feedback, it seems we typically succeed:
“I normally don’t do surveys but the technician was so helpful and so pleasant on the phone I wanted you to know about it. He got right into my computer and went to work. He kept me engaged to assist him and quickly solved the problem.”
“Perfectly satisfied! Thank you for always being accommodating and friendly!”
“Great Job! Tech was friendly, informative and thorough. Thanks for the help!”
“Thanks, extended work family. You guys are the best.”
3. Proactive communication
Our NOC Services server and workstation support includes 24/7 remote monitoring – and proactive alerting.
In one recent instance, a concerned customer wanted to check on the security status of a few of their company devices. We assigned dedicated technical resources to work with the customer, pulling effected devices into our system, gathering the necessary information, and resolving any issues. It was an in-depth effort that took more time than your average day-to-day technical issue, but by staying in touch with the customer and providing regular updates, we were able to put the customer’s mind at ease.
From the customer:
“This was a little difficult and your techs kept us informed and worked through it. Thank you for the excellent work and service.”
4. Perseverance in problem solving
Because we are a team comprised of many skilled and talented people, we are able to work together to approach complicated issues from different angles. Our open office environment – and lively, round-the-clock chatter via Microsoft Teams – enables team members to communicate easily with each other and share knowledge to arrive at an effective solution for customers, quickly.
Here is what customers had to say about some thorny issues:
“I have been having problems with my shared drive for over a week and fixes have only worked for a short amount of time. I am hopeful that a hard look into the problem can fix it for good. Regardless, I am always happy to talk to the people who work there. They are always super friendly and helpful even if the problem can’t be solved.“
“The help desk did a number of things to resolve the issue to no avail. As it turned out, the issue was not on our end but with Microsoft. Once that was figured out it was just a matter of waiting for MS to get their act together. Once they did I was up and running. I really appreciate the help desk sticking with it long after I would have given up.”
5. Willingness to educate managed IT customers
The Collabrance service desk is no stranger to complex technical issues, but a substantial number of the support requests we receive are for everyday issues with simple fixes – for example, password issues, Outlook assistance, network connectivity and the like. By remotely accessing a customer’s workstation, we can walk them through a simple fix, demonstrated step-by-step, answering any questions along the way. Instead of an impersonal fix with no explanation, we take the opportunity to educate the customer and give them confidence that if it happens again, they may be able to save time by resolving the issue on their own.
This extra step pays off:
“Thank you – your tech was VERY helpful and instructive.”
“Keep doing what you are doing – I appreciate learning something when I call, and the time taken to respectfully explain the things that, I am sure, are common knowledge to them.“
6. Effective managed IT solutions
It sounds obvious – exceptional service doesn’t mean much if there’s not an effective solution that comes with it. But to stand out in today’s competitive managed services landscape, solutions and processes are not a matter of “set it and forget it”; rather, the best solutions are constantly evaluated, tested, and improved.
At Collabrance, we’re naturally curious about the work we do. Our technicians are always looking for ways to ease pain points and overcome inefficiencies for our customers. Finding a new way to automate an existing process brings about a thrilling sense of satisfaction! The customer feedback below was in response to a policy one of our technicians put in place to automatically install needed programs and applications for new users at the customer’s site. That automation not only saves time, but also lessens the chance for error in an otherwise manual process:
“Your tech has gone above and beyond, putting some common policies in place for our new users (connectivity to printers, mapping drives, desktop shortcuts). Major kudos to her for doing this! Thank you.”
Conclusion
Creating a great customer service experience doesn’t have to come at the cost of sacrificing your margins and revenue goals. In fact, service should be the driver of your business goals. Collabrance, for example, measures our average customer satisfaction score as part of our team incentives and goals, helping each individual keep customer focus top of mind.
Customer satisfaction is a critical tool for growing your business. By finding continuous ways to keep improving your service experience, you’ll remain indispensable to the customer, and will have ongoing opportunities to recognize your employees.
