Helpdesk work requires far more than just knowing how to sort out a user's computer problems. If you think you have what it takes to succeed as a remote support specialist, see how you stack up against the 10 tenets that I list here. They are designed to help you understand exactly what it takes to enjoy a long career in this specialism.
1. Patience
If you've done any remote support, you'll know that users can really tax your patience. I have actually had users seize control of the mouse from me while I am trying to solve their problem — just so they could compose an email.
Many users seem to think their problem is the only one you have to deal with and prevent you from working efficiently. Some of them struggle with the terminology needed to communicate their problem to you. It is essential to have patience in reserve when dealing with these types of people. Not only will your patience help them, it will keep your blood pressure down.
Photo credit: programwitch/Flickr
Talkback
Jack wrote: "If you've done any remote support, you'll know that users can really tax your patience"
Hmmm. Try becoming a cable broadband customer of Virgin Media and attempting to USE remote support. You'll lose far more than your patience trying to get sensible responses from people in a remote land, accessed over a poor phone connection, with no discernible technical knowledge, apparently following randomly selected scripts, and unable to believe your evidence that there is a serious fault on the 'supply' side that needs to be reported. I long for the good old days when a phone call to what was then Blueyonder took me to a well educated expert who could cope with symptoms reported by a linux user.