Solving the help desk dilemma

When Mark Ellis’ office recently switched to a new computer server, the tech guys tried to reconfigure his laptop to access the new system.

They almost succeeded.

“The software was only set up to work when the computer was actually logged on to the server,” remembers the healthcare manager based in San Antonio, Texas. “It forced me to draft e-mails in Word while on the plane and then cut and paste them into e-mails when I got to the hotel to log in. Needless to say, this bug got fixed as soon as I got back to the office.”

Ellis was one of the lucky ones. He persuaded the help desk to fix the troubled PC quickly so that he could get back to work. But others – particularly those travelers who rely on in-house technology help – often must take a number and wait. And wait. And wait.

There’s no more depressing a case-in-point than my own. Before I became a columnist, I worked for a large travel magazine as an editor. Our help desk, which my colleagues often half-jokingly referred to as the “I Can’t Help You Desk,” invariably lived up to its nickname, at least as far as I was concerned.

When disaster struck on the road, the technicians frequently ignored my calls. They also were conspicuously absent when I had a deadline to meet or any other immediate problem. I soon developed a theory that the more urgent the call, the less responsive the help desk became.

In other words, the geeks were pocket-protector wearing sadists.

Before I left that job, I learned that the lack of response was partially due to a chronically understaffed department and partially due to my lack of political connections. If I’d only taken the boys from the IT department out for a few more beers, I might have gotten the help I needed.

Now there’s a way around all that. A number of companies such as FirstRing, IBM Global Services and Pink Elephant can sometimes handle help desk functions at a fraction of the cost of a fully staffed internal call center.

But business travelers may also take matters into their own hands when they feel the “I Can’t Help You” department is leaving them high and dry. New services such as PCSupport.com let individual users to sign up for help from its Web site. The service’s first level is free, with charges ranging from about $10 to $80 for backup and online data restoration services. Assistance is available online or from a real person by phone.

I’ll take a closer look at PCSupport.com in a future column. But for now, the question a lot of travelers must be asking is: Should I rely on my company’s IT department for technical assistance on the road or become a lone ranger?

The numbers would argue for an “all of the above” solution. Use the so-called “help” desk, but keep your options open. That’s because within the first year of owning a laptop, about one-third of all users will experience a serious malfunction. Add to that the findings of a recent Iomega-sponsored poll that found less than half of all data created by end-users is backed up on a corporate network, and you’ve got a every reason to take every precaution.

If it were up to me, I’d skip the help desk entirely and try to fix a buggy computer myself. The technicians I’ve worked with – when they finally called me back – were often more clueless than I was. Trial and error frequently saved the day.

I’m not alone. An internal survey conducted by Pink Elephant found that most employees rate their internal call centers as only “fair.” It also concludes that workers usually have no formal means of providing feedback to their supervisors when the “help” desk doesn’t.

But then there’s corporate politics. I’ll probably never forget the trouble I got into when, in a moment of desperation, I started fooling around with the system registry files on my PC. One technician angrily confronted me at my desk when I returned from a trip and chided me for, “interfering with his job.” If only he’d called me back when I needed him.

I certainly don’t want to get any of my readers in trouble. A hasty decision to “fixit” yourself may not only affect your ability to get tech help in the office, but more importantly, out of the office. Yet I think there is also something dangerously wrong with preventing a company’s employees from acquiring the skills needed to re-establish a dial-up connection with a network or to repair a damaged system file.

One of our help desk supervisors once told me that repair know-how was parceled out on a “need to know” basis. I had to wonder what part of his brain was short-circuiting.

Somewhere between keeping a company’s employees completely dependent on an unreliable IT department and an “Every Man for Himself” team of travelers, there’s got to be some middle ground. But where?

I’m interested in how you’ve overcome the “help” desk dilemma. Whom do you rely on for technical support while you’re on the road? Do you like your company’s IT department? Do you not like it? If you work on a help desk, I’d like to hear your side of the story.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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