Customer support is an array of customer-related services to help customers in making correct and cost effective use of their product. It generally includes help in planning, installation, support, training, troubleshooting, proper maintenance, upgrading, disposal, and disposal of an outdated or obsolete product. These services are also extended to provide information on products and services offered by competitors. For e.g., a company providing Microsoft support services will also provide information on other products of Microsoft that are similar to or complementary to Microsoft products. This helps to make better use of available Microsoft support services and helps reduce the time required for obtaining necessary services.
Support process starts with basic requirements analysis. Based on this analysis, the next step is to identify the kind of problem that the customers are facing and the possible solutions to those problems. The customer support teams analyze the problems, suggest the possible solutions, conduct training for staff members, test and monitor the solutions, and finally offer an opinion to the customers on the effectiveness of the solutions. All these steps are meant to make the process of getting a solution to a problem simpler for customers.
Training sessions are also conducted to train the customer support staff of Microsoft to be able to serve customers with the best possible level of expertise. This involves both technical and non-technical training and involves both classroom sessions as well as informal workshops conducted by the support service rep and his/her teams. Training is usually done through manuals and videos which impart tips and tricks to help employees work smoothly and to deal with customers effectively. Manuals and videos can be downloaded from the website of Microsoft and can be used for training purposes.
Training sessions sometimes fail to solve the problem of understanding the problem, as some of the customers are not able to communicate well or are unable to handle difficult situations. In such cases, it is better to conduct group discussions where each of the team members can speak their mind openly without fearing that they will be disagreed with by others. It is also better to encourage people to share their experiences instead of ignoring them. An important part of customer support training is learning how to properly handle different types of customers, how to deal with different problems, how to create an understanding between the sales and technical teams and how to provide excellent customer support.
Call Resolution. Microsoft provides customer support by means of call resolution where an independent party calls the customer support representative of Microsoft to resolve a problem with the software and the system that are being used by the customer. The representatives of Microsoft call resolution are trained to deal with difficult situations and can be spontaneous, on the spot, or can take the customer directly to their main customer center for resolution.
Helpdesk. The helpdesk can sometimes be very difficult for new customers to deal with. The helpdesk helps customers by handling various customer support questions and by answering various questions that may arise. Therefore good customer support agents must have the capability of handling a helpdesk and be able to keep a calm demeanor even in heated situations.
Customer Support Representatives. Many customer support representatives work on their own. However the more successful ones are part of an integrated support team. A team helps increase the overall effectiveness of the customer support representatives by allowing the support team to focus on more important matters than just dealing with customers.
Great Customer Support. One of the greatest reasons to employ customer support representatives is because they are the ones who are going to help you improve your customer experience. A support team that is only able to handle some issues and not all of them is obviously not as effective as one that is capable of handling everything that comes up. Effective customer support teams know how to deal with any issue quickly and effectively. They also know how to resolve any problem quickly and effectively, which is exactly what it is supposed to do.
