Help Desk Training Episode 2 - Ask End-Users the RIGHT Questions

Do you know what the right questions to ask the end-users are when you are on the help desk?

In this video I go over 3 of the questions that are very important to getting issues resolved and things flowing from a help desk perspective by asking the end users some questions that will help you!

The equipment used in this video is as follows(Affiliate links below)

------------

Thank you for visiting my YouTube channel.

[sethplaisance]

I've really grown to resent the "What changed?" question because that's what my users ask me. If I knew that, I would have fixed the issue before you called me. Not to mention, when I've asked my users "What changed?" they get mad and usually respond "I don't know! I don't work in IT! You do! What don't you know how to do your job?" I typically stay away from that one honestly.

However, the "When does this happen?" although worded very broadly in this example, is probably the best one you can ask. Some times, even just repeating the quest after they say "All the time!" will get them talking and they'll say something like "Every time I open my mail client!" or "When I do *insert action here*". You really have pull that information out of them, especially if you can't get to them in person. Some people will say they're not computer or tech savvy, but they understand systems and they understand enough to know that when they click on something, it doesn't happen because "magic".

My favorite ones are the users that don't quite understand, but want to know more. Not the ones that ask a question by telling me how they think it works, but the ones that ask "How does this happen?" "Why?" because in the end, they're prompting me. They're getting me to think through these processes and sometimes that's helpful when you have 40 to 50 something tickets open and everything is starting to merge into one giant issue.

[osamakacem]

last week i landed a help desk interview, passed my first one, and heading to the second phase of the process, i am nervous, that's what brought me here. i appreciate your help and the amount of experience and info you're sharing. Ultra helpful!

[Letmein]

I gotta say, this series is a godsend! I've been trying to get into the IT field for a long time and finally get in. Now I'm realizing how hilariously inexperienced I am when paired with my co-workers. I have a phrase, "I don't know what I don't know until I learn it." Which is true with asking the right questions! I had no idea what questions to ask, and didn't know what answers to look for. Thank you for these videos! Keep it up!

[Donesyboy]

This video gave me more training than my company ever did. Considering we cover 46+ hospitals that's a real head scratcher... Thanks!

[ZombieRommel]

"Can you walk me through everything you're clicking before this happens?"

"When did you first notice this? When was the last time it worked properly? Is this happening to other people or just you?"

[ashtreylil]

What changed? : nothing, it just stopped working. It has to be a glitch i didnt do anything.

How do you want your work flow to be? : I just want it work so I can do my job. I can't do anything without this being fixed.

When is it happening? : " it's happening all the time" I just came into work and it was like this.

I really love helping people out but it's tough when they won't give you the information to help them. Rephrasing a question you asked previously and got a dud response is successful more often than I expected it to be.

[youtubesadhominem]

"please reset my password"
"What is your end goal here?!"

[kevmugi]

Another great question would be " Please kindly tell me what is the exact message error do you see, where is it written (Box, page, notification) and/or if just another thing happens (like slowing down/ other remarquable effects)" helped me a lot during my troubleshoot according to issue's nature

[stevenlockey]

Always good to have a refresher on these types of questions. Over my 14 year career in I.T (telecommunications) we get complacent. Getting back to basics always helps. Great new video series keep up with your creative juices.

[annieliao]

Thanks for your video.
I need to support English speaker, but I can't speak English well. You help me a lot.
Note:
Thanks for calling the help desk. This is (your name).How can I help you?
1. What changed?
All right, so I understand You're having an issue what changed recently that would cause you to have that issue?
Any change on your computer?
Any difference changes within the application.
Any update was run recently?
Or any changed that you can think of, that can help me address this issue further. it would greatly help.
2. When is this happening?
When you receive this error at what time? Can you give me an exact time when this is happening?
What point is this happening?
Open application? or doing something specific ?
Can you tell me what step you taking when this issue happen?

[epidemicvenom]

I dig the new intro/outro keep up the good work man! You inspired me to get off my ass and actually get my associates in Computer science/IT

[sunnymango]

Wow! Thanks for this insight. I’ve been doing this with customers and employees as a free lancer and I didn’t even realize it applies everywhere.

[mgkaung]

I appreciate for your videos. My favorite question to ask the client is "What is your end goal?" . Yesterday was my first day of handling the calls on my own. I have to keep asking the client a lot. they couldn't get something done because they are not in the right track.

[JonathanSteadman]

Thats awesome. I want my first ICT job to be help desk. :)

[ohlala]

Man, you are so cool! I am gonna start my first Help Desk position soon, and you make the stuff look so easy for us. Thanks for the tutorial!

[ClaymanGInfo]

I needed a refresher. Thank you for this video.!

[Pzhycocore]

man thanks a lot for the tips, i'm in my first help desk job and i'm pretty nervous because english is not my native language so, sometimes it's pretty hard for us to get the exact questions that should be made, this video helps me a lot man !

[luciusmcinnisjr]

wish there were more these vids, I'm new to the IT field and looking for more real world examples like these to help out. Thanks for the tips man.

[aldusric]

Thanks for this great video. Already waiting for the next one about this training. Keep it up!!

[marionklug]

Awesome videos!!  Keep them coming please.