We all have had to face a tech problem in the past that required us to seek tech support. The problem can range all over the place, it could be a problem with your printer, computer or who knows maybe even your cell phone. When it’s time to try and find tech support, in order to get the support you want, here are a few tips on things to do when submitting requests for tech support, or even just doing a quick web search for it.
Be More Specific
This is the main one. If someone came to me and said “my computer isn’t working, how do I fix it?” I could not help them. This request is too generic. It has no detail what so ever. I can already start asking questions like, what is it showing you? When did this happen? What were you doing at the time? These are just a couple things I might ask the person asking for my tech support. You got to actually tell me what’s not working. After I get the answers to these questions I would still have to ask more such as, what OS does it run? How long have you had it? What OEM made the computer? Of course, if you are using something else than a computer trying to get tech support adjust the questions you will need to answer in your request to suit that piece of technology. Another good thing to include here would be the specs. of the computer. Tech support will want to know things like what the CPU of the computer is and how much RAM you have. These are all important in case maybe someone else has had the same issue with that same RAM company or something like that. If someone had the same issue, it will be much quicker for tech support to troubleshoot it.
Include Model Numbers In Your Tech Support Request
This can help tech support a lot if they can get the model number of the computer, printer, etc. you are trying to get tech support for. In fact, if you include this they may not even need to ask for the specifications of the computer. They will be able to research your model number and find all that and more about the computer. This is also something super useful to use when searching Google or other search engines for tech support. You can get help or advice from people who know your technology exactly and maybe have encountered this issue in the past and learned how to troubleshoot it.
Don’t Be Afraid to Write a Little
If you are posting your request on a Q&A site or support forum for example don’t be afraid to write a good paragraph or two on what exactly is up with this certain piece of technology you need support for. If the site has some good people they will read it and will be able to provide much better support to you because they actually know at least what is happening.
Include Screenshots or Video
If it is possible, try including screenshots or pictures with your requests. If the error has a sequence, maybe even try getting a video up on YouTube so people can see what is happening. A visual can always help people know so they don’t have to make their own visual in their head. If you have to, don’t be afraid to use a camera and just take a picture of the screen if you can’t get a screenshot. The quality obviously won’t be as good if you go down this path, but at least you have a visual for those trying to aid you with tech support.
Overall the main idea here is detail, detail and you guessed it, more detail! If you can get this idea down you will be on your way to submitting better tech support requests that will get you the answers you need faster. After all, everyone wants the problem fixed, now! I truly believe that following these tips can get you closer to that. Though, one more thing, if you can get on phone support, do it! That is a very good thing! Phone support allows you to explain, using the power of your voice, in real-time. So, if that is an option, use it! Do you have some tips? Leave them as a comment!