Hello all,
Today’s post is all about how I have been taking the time to get comfortable with the duties in my new job. I want to share some experiences after being about a month into the role, and especially highlight some of the special situations I’ve experienced throughout talking to about three or four hundred different customers now.
Types of Customers
Every customer is different. Some are more patient. Some are more frustrated. All of them have a common need though; that is wanting to get help. In my circumstance, working within the education system, these parents care a lot about their children. This time of year is the busiest my workplace will ever be, and thus, that means some parents have waited on hold for hours, very excited to get their problems finally answered by the time they go live on the phone. It is upsetting when the help desk isn’t able to fully address their concern though, and for that, we usually have to escalate concerns to the right department. This has resulted in my personal development in handling these challenging situations where things aren’t as easy going, or when answers aren’t as easy to sit with on their end. It also makes these circumstances all the more rewarding when we can follow a ticket and see a happy resolution days later.
Standing Firm
Our service desk is only capable of doing so much, and we have policies that make it difficult to allow exceptions that some of the parents ask for. We have stringent verification procedures as means to protect the confidentiality of critical information for parents and students. If parents hand the phone back and forth, or if a parent is not listed on a file for a student, it makes it incredibly difficult to assist them. We do try our best though regardless to make sure that these parents get the help they need.
Drawing Connections and First Impressions
I’ve noticed that there have been plenty of commonalities among these customers, where some have a more pedantic approach in how they describe their situations, some more calm, some more relaxed. It’s all about my tone in the first ten seconds of an engagement with a customer which disengages or inflames a conversation, and I’ve learned to be wise in how I establish a first impression to best direct the nature of the call from there. I’ve found it incredibly insightful to pull from these conversations, the good, and the bad, to ultimately form a picture of how I can interact with people on a daily basis. I still cherish the moments where I find the incredibly memorable phone calls and can brighten someone’s day.
Lessons Learned
As the days go by, I am becoming more confident in my role as a Help Desk Support Specialist. I really enjoy taking the phone calls, even the angry customers, because I know that they just simply want help. I’ve learned to maintain my calm demeanor despite the circumstances that can tend to escalate, and I’ve found success in how I am able to manage my tone in difficult circumstances.