GOOGLE IT SUPPORT PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

Course 1- Technical Support Fundamentals

Week 6: Troubleshooting

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TABLE OF CONTENT

Congratulations, you’ve made it to the last week of the course! In the final week, we’ll learn about the importance of troubleshooting and customer support. We’ll go through some real-world scenarios that you might encounter at a Help Desk or Desktop Support role. We’ll learn why empathizing with a user is super important when working in a tech role. Finally, we’ll learn why writing documentation is an important aspect of any IT role. By the end of this module, you will utilize soft skills and write documentation to communicate with others.

Learning Objectives

  • Be able to effectively troubleshoot an issue using the troubleshooting methods learned.
  • Be able to empathize with a user and utilize soft skills for an excellent customer service experience.
  • Understand why documentation is an important aspect of an IT role.

PRACTICE QUIZ: TROUBLESHOOTING BEST PRACTICES

1. Scenario: You’re working in an IT Support position and a user comes to you and says they can’t access their online bank account. Choose the best response.

  • Please restart your computer.
  • Let’s try to test this by logging in on my computer.
  • It might be the Internet. Make sure you’re connected to a network first.
  • Can you explain to me in detail what you mean by not being able to access your online bank account? What specific part doesn’t work? (CORRECT)

Great job! Remember, when tasked with a problem, don’t jump to conclusions. Ask questions first and gather more information. The issue be an incorrect login, a poor network connection, a server issue with the bank, or something else. Always ask questions first!

2. Which of these is system software? Check all that apply.

  • Wipe and format the machine from scratch.
  • Ask more questions.
  • Restart the computer. It could be a weird Internet issue.
  • Isolate the problem to either the computer or the network. (CORRECT)

Great job! Since you’ve already gathered information about the problem, it’s time to start figuring out what the issue is. There are two things that could be wrong: either the computer is having issues or it’s the network. You can rule one out by testing whether or not someone else is able to connect to the network.

3. Scenario: You’re working in an IT Support position and a user comes to you and says they can’t login to their computer. Choose the best response.

  • Ask the user, “when was the last time you were able to login? What has changed since then?” (CORRECT)
  • Restart the computer. It could be a weird login issue.
  • Check the network device they’re connected to.
  • Check if the user has their caps lock enabled.

Great job! Remember to ask questions in order to try to figure out what happened before the issue came up.

4. Scenario: You’re working with a computer that doesn’t run your newly installed software correctly. You’ve already asked the right questions, but you can’t seem to isolate the problem to anything specific. Which of the following responses is the next best step to take?

  • Wipe the computer and format it from scratch, which will take a few hours.
  • Restart the computer. It could be an issue of the software installation needing a reboot, restarting takes about 2 minutes. (CORRECT)
  • Run diagnostic tools, which will take about an hour.
  • Reinstall the software again, which will take about 15 minutes.

Great job! A reboot might be required for the software to be fully installed. In this case, a reboot is also the quickest troubleshooting step to take.

PRACTICE QUIZ: UNGRADED PLUGIN: CUSTOMER SERVICE

1.  Customer Service

You are taking on the role of an IT professional in four different scenarios. Use your best judgement to solve problems presented by users in this choose-your-own-path exercise.

Executive Talking Over You

A user calls in and states that they’re a director, and they need some software installed immediately. You explain that this hasn’t been checked for malicious software yet and could infect his computer. While you can perform this check for him, it will take a little time. The users cuts you off, raising his voice and demanding you do it!

Multiple Choice Options

What would you do?

  • A. Talk over the director, since he’ll hear you eventually.
  • B. Pause and stay silent about 10 seconds, after he’s done talking, and then respond.  (CORRECT)
  • C. Do what he asks, since he’s a director.

B. Pause and stay silent about 10 seconds, after he’s done talking, and then respond.

You pause and try again to assure the director that you understand his desire to expedite this request. You start to explain the need for security, but he talks over you again.

Multiple Choice Options

What do you do?

  • A. Pause a little longer. When you talk again, you immediately state that the process will take about 20 minutes, and that you can start on it immediately.  (CORRECT)
  • B. Try again to assure him that you understand the urgency of the situation, and quote the internal policy around installing software.

A. Pause a little longer. When you talk again, you immediately state that the process will take about 20 minutes, and that you can start on it immediately.

You got it! While it’s good to explain the “why” of a situation, if the user is in a big rush, get to the point. Let them know upfront what you can do to resolve the situation and get the process going.

2. Customer Chat

Name: Ali Ababwa

Customer number: 1434216

Issue: I can’t get my photos and files off my computer, HELP!

Machine: Windows 10

Chat log:

Tech: Hi Ali, how are you today? It looks like you’re having issues accessing your photos and data. Can you give me more details?

User: I’m awful ;( I have a presentation in an hour and all of my photos and files are gone! Please transfer them to a new machine ASAP.

Tech: I’m so sorry to hear that! I will do everything I can to help you. When did this happen? What are you trying to do to retrieve them?

User: My computer fell in the pool at my hotel, and now it won’t turn on.

Multiple Choice Options

What would you do?

  • A. Empathize with the user, and kindly let him know that there’s nothing you can do to help him.
  • B. Show concern, then ask if he has backups to the cloud setup. (CORRECT)
  • C. Laugh, and let him know that there’s nothing you can do at this point. His computer is toast.

B. Show concern, then ask if he has backups to the cloud setup.

Tech: Oh my, that isn’t good! Have you saved your files to another medium, like a hard drive or a USB drive? Or perhaps you used a program that saves things to the cloud?

User: Ugh, no. If I had done these things, do you think I’d be so upset! Can you or can you not retrieve my files?

Tech: I understand that you’re upset. I’m looking at all of your options to see what we can do to fix this. The computer is dead if it went into the pool, so we need to see what our other options are.

User: This is ridiculous! Why do I pay for tech support if you can’t support me?

Multiple Choice Options

What would you do?

  • A. Hang up the phone. He’s being rude, and you don’t need to deal with that.
  • B. Ask Ali if he emailed the presentation to any of his co-workers, and remind him that you’re here to help. (CORRECT)

You Chose:

B. Ask Ali if he emailed the presentation to any of his co-workers, and remind him that you’re here to help.

Excellent! While it’s easy to give up on someone when they’re getting upset, it’s important to remember that they may be under a tremendous amount of stress. By coming up with alternatives, you can let them know that you’re on their side and that you’re not going to give up. This doesn’t mean that you should take verbal abuse. Make sure you’re clear with your manager about what you will and won’t accept from a user.

Name: Yuki Saitō

Customer number: 674213

Issue: I need more bandwidth

Chat log:

Mia: Hi Yuki, how are you today? I see that you are concerned about needing more bandwidth. I’d be happy to help.

Yuki: Thanks, I really need it!

Multiple Choice Options

What do you do next?

  • A. Give the user what they want! Increase their bandwidth and move on to the next call.
  • B. Ask why they feel they need the bandwidth.
  • C. Tell the user that you have no control over their bandwidth, and politely close the chat.
  • D. Ask them what they mean by “bandwidth.” (CORRECT)

D. Ask them what they mean by “bandwidth.”

You nailed it! People sometimes confuse technical terms. Make sure that you’re using the same vocabulary as the user by clarifying what they mean or probing to understand what they’re trying to accomplish.

Mia: Can I ask what you mean by “bandwidth?”

Yuki: I mean that everytime I try to use my computer after lunch, it’s incredibly slow. I think I’m using all the bandwidth in the morning.

Multiple Choice Options

What do you do next?

  • A. Tell the user that they’re crazy, and that bandwidth has nothing to do with their issue.
  • B. Ask more questions about what programs they’re using. (CORRECT)
  • C. Suggest the user reboot his machine when this happens.
  • D. Ask if this happens for the rest of the day, or just a period of the day?

You Chose:

B. Ask more questions about what programs they’re using.

Great job! Both B and D answer options are correct. However, D shows that you were paying attention to the little clues that people leave. The user mentions this always happens after lunch. Pinpointing the exact time of day and program used will help you better diagnose the issue.

From the user:

My machine is saying I have to reboot, but this is silly. I have a ton of processes running, I don’t want to have to reload everything. This is a waste of time. I’ve included a screenshot of the message. Please advise.

-Aditya

From the tech:

Hi Aditya,

(1) Thanks for contacting support.

(2) Please restart the computer, there are no other options in this case.

(3) Regards,

-Amelia

Multiple Choice Options

1) What could Amelia have done better in the intro of this email?

  • A. Her response is fine.
  • B. Thanks for contacting support. I see that you’re concerned about rebooting your machine. (CORRECT)
  • C. Skip the intro; it’s a waste of time.
  • D. I see that you’re concerned about rebooting your machine.

You Chose:

B. Thanks for contacting support. I see that you’re concerned about rebooting your machine.

Woohoo! Acknowledge the information that the user has provided. This also allows you to clarify the problem and ensure that you’re on the same page with the user.

Multiple Choice Options

2) What could Amelia have done better in the probing of this email?

  • A. I looked into the screenshot you provided, and it appears that the reboot is due to a new program you installed. In order for the program to run, a reboot has to be done.
  • B. Keep the current response.
  • C. Based on the screenshot you provided, it looks like you received the reboot prompt because a new program was installed. In order for the program to start working, you’ll need to reboot your machine. Is it possible to save your commands beforehand, so that you can get to them again? (CORRECT)
  • D. When installing programs, you need to reboot your machine.

You Chose:

C. Based on the screenshot you provided, it looks like you received the reboot prompt because a new program was installed. In order for the program to start working, you’ll need to reboot your machine. Is it possible to save your commands beforehand, so that you can get to them again?

Nice work. You’re letting the user know that you’ve looked at the information they provided, explained why the reboot is needed, and suggested a possible workaround to their concern.

Multiple Choice Options

3) What could Amelia have done better in the closing of this email?

  • A. It was a pleasure working with you. Regards,
  • B. Keep the current closing.
  • C. Please let me know if there is anything further that I can help you with. Regards,
  • D. If this doesn’t work, or you have any questions, please let me know. Regards, (CORRECT)

You Chose:

D. If this doesn’t work, or you have any questions, please let me know. Regards,

Well done! This lets the user know the next steps and opens the door for further dialogue.

PRACTICE QUIZ: CUSTOMER SERVICE

1. You’re doing desktop support and the company policy is that you can only help with company equipment. A user walks in:

Tech: Hi there, how can I help you?

User: My computer is really slow and I can barely use it. Can you help me figure out what’s wrong?

Tech: It looks like this is a personal computer. Are you talking about your work computer?

User: Uh, no, this is the one that I need help with. I figured you’re good with computers and you could help. My daughter needs it for a school assignment that’s due tomorrow, but it’s too slow for her to get anything done.

What would you do?

  • Tell him you can’t help him and suggest that he go to a local tech store for help.
  • Politely tell him that it’s against the company policy, and you can’t help him.
  • Explain why you can’t troubleshoot the issue, per the company policy. But give him some tips on what common issues could be slowing down his computer, and how he might go about fixing them.  (CORRECT)
  • Forget about that pesky policy and help him! His poor daughter needs to finish her assignment!

You got it! This response sets expectations and then gives some helpful suggestions. Here, you’re showing the user that you care about their issue, even if you can’t help them.

2. Situation: You work for a company that requires a visual verification when resetting passwords. The verification doesn’t have to be done through your company account. However, you must see the person “live” (not through a picture), so that you can match them to their photo before resetting their account.

Scenario: Phone call

Anastasia: Thanks for calling. My name is Anastasia. How can I help you?

Ling: Hi, Anastasia. This is Ling. I need to reset my account password.

Anastasia: Hi, Ling. I’d be happy to help you with that, but first I need to verify your identity. Can you do a video call with me through Skype?

Ling: I can’t get into my work account. That’s why I’m calling.

What would you do in this situation? Check all that apply.

  • Ask the user if they have a personal account to use for Skype. (CORRECT)
  • Kindly tell them that they will have to wait until the next day to meet with someone live.
  • Offer to set up a video call through Skype, Facetime, or Hangouts. (CORRECT)
  • Suggest that the user does a video call with you through their phone. (CORRECT)

Great job! You’re all about thinking outside the box to figure out what else the user can do to set up that call. You could potentially suggest that they go to an internet cafe or local library with wifi, too.

3. A user needs their password reset. The IT Support Specialist is pulling up the necessary information while the user starts asking a bunch of questions: Why does the password have to have a capital and a symbol? Why can’t I write it down? Why does it change so often? Isn’t this a waste of time? 

How would you respond to the user?

  • Kindly ask the user to stop asking questions, since you’re trying to solve their problem.
  • Stop what you’re doing and explain to the user that passwords should have numbers and symbols for security purposes, and that this is more important than productivity.
  • Let the user know that you’re working on their issue and will be sure to answer all of their questions once you’re done.  (CORRECT)
  • Ignore the user and keep working on resetting the password so that you don’t lose your place.

Great job! You’re acknowledging the user’s questions, but setting a clear agenda of what you want to accomplish. This allows them to understand what they should anticipate and helps you keep control of the conversation. 

4. A user walks in to get IT support. The IT Support Specialist is a female. The user is male. There’s also a male IT Support Specialist in the room. The user explains to the IT Support Specialist that his co-worker is on leave and he needs to access her files. The female technician attempts to explain the policy, which doesn’t allow for this, given security issues. The male user demands to speak with the male IT Support Specialist to reach a solution.

If you were the male technician in this situation, what would you do?

  • Tell the user that there is no difference in knowledge and understanding between you and your co-worker.  (CORRECT)
  • After the user has left, see how the female tech is doing and give her tips on how to deal with similar situations in the future.
  • Step in and answer the user’s question.
  • Ignore it.

Great job! You are not going as far as confronting the user, which can be really difficult. Rather, you’re reinforcing and supporting her work as a fellow IT Support Specialist. It’s not always the person being undermined who is responsible for “sticking up for herself.”

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