Help Desk Reviews

Security for help desk users and owners should always be a top priority.  So, with that said – what security tips and tricks should you keep in mind when running a help desk or using a help desk.  I will share with you a few suggestions for each.

Here are some good help desk security tips for users and owners.

Help Desk Users

• Do not give out information you should keep private, such as credit card, social security details or passwords.
• Clear your browser history and cache regularly if you share the computer you are on with multiple people or you use a public computer.

Help Desk Owners

• Make sure you keep your scripts up to date, unless you are using an online hosted help desk solution like TremenDesk – which in that case updating isn’t needed.
• Make sure you offer alternatives to the help desk, such as phone support, if clients don’t feel comfortable giving some information over the phone.

You can never be too safe these days when it comes to online security, so my last tip for both types of help desk users (both the owners of them and the users of them) would be to use common sense.

Wouldn’t you like to know how to run a more effective help desk environment?  In the book, Running an Effective Help Desk, Barbara Czegel will guide you through the steps you need to take to get this done.

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You can say goodbye to mailto links and mail forms once you get a solid help desk solution like TremenDesk in place.

This hosted trouble ticket system is by far superior than the rest.  One thing that a help desk can help you accomplish is removing unnecessary contact forms and e-mail links from all over your page.  With a help desk in place, you can send anybody who needs to contact you over to there.

For those who don’t want to give up on the “way things were” you can also map e-mail addresses to specific queues inside of the help desk interface, so then you get the best mix from both worlds.

TremenDesk also servers as a solution for lost for forgotten about e-mails.  Have you ever happened to be writing an e-mail reply to a customer inquiry and when you have hit “send”, another member of your team has already dealt with the problem?  In TremenDesk it doesn’t happen.  Your conversations are saved in ticket form via your own personalized help desk.

By far TremenDesk is the trouble ticket solution.

Quick responses make our lives easier, because they can sum up a general thought or idea on a topic all at once.  Of course though, as with any good thing, you have to remember to use it in moderation.

When to use a Quick Response

• For general fact gathering to help the customer
• To pass along generic notices or updates

When not to use a Quick Response

• When a customer or client is mad or upset
• When you need to give a more personalized response
• For specific troubleshooting steps unique to that person

Better knowledge of when to or when not to use a quick response on your own help desk setup is a good thing to keep in mind.  Some customers, if they pick up on the fact, become very annoyed with it.  So as a general rule of thumb – make sure you use it only for general topics or requests.

What makes TremenDesk better than your average help desk software?  Well, it offers you the software, the hardware and ever other –ware you could want together as a bundled package.

Not only do you get access to one of the best help desk suites out there in the market today, you also get it hosted and updated for you for free.

• So let us list off the benefits you get with TremenDesk:
• Script? Yes, you get TremenDesk – so that is a BIG check mark!
• Hosting?  Yes, hosting is provided by Lunarpages, one of the best in the business!
• Updates? Yes, the TremenDesk admins will update the script for you to roll out security fixes or new features

So, now can you see why TremenDesk is better than any other help desk software solution out there today?

Help Desk software should be open enough for creative new ways to be thought up, and can be put to the test.  I have seen many help desk systems that are too exact in nature, and that does not help when it comes to finding a solution that fits a wide variety of topics.

You need a help desk to provide you general features, such as:

• A Manual Way to Submit Tickets (via a web site)
• An Automatic Way to Submit Tickets (like via email)

Other features you might want to consider are:

An easy interface to customize the “input” data a customer can give.  You need ways to change the questions asked of the customer when putting in a help desk question, such as name, location, what the problem is, and other account specific details

A way for tech support members to communicate between themselves about a ticket.  Being able to type up and share private notes about a situation is a good way to help troubleshoot before you go back to the customer with a definite answer.

All in all, you have to remember to keep a help desk simple enough, so it fits a wider group of people better.

When it comes to looking for the perfect help desk, you first have to ask yourself – what type of solutions are you looking for?  We are all looking for that leading support platform.  Something that is powerful, flexible and adaptable for our own organizations.

Better Help Desk Features

As far as features go, you want to go with ticketed support that has e-mail management included.  Advanced statistical reporting is important too, because you want to be able to monitor your customer and staff relations.  The ability to publish rich self help resources is something that can not be overlooked in the features department either.  When push comes to shove, teamwork is the keyword to remember.  Any help desk you choose should have a focus of working as a team, rather than pitting one department against another.

Integration also plays an important part of any help desk solution.  How easy is it to make the help desk fit your web site layout, and make the transition from your site to the help desk as flawless as possible?  You might also look at synchronizing task, appointments and contacts.  Sharing login information with third-party databases would be a feature handy to have too.

As you can see, I can come up with plenty of solutions when it comes to help desk management, what I would like to know is what are you looking for in a help desk?