Do you know how your Service Desk is doing?

The Service Desk has more influence over the enterprise's perception of IT than any other part of the organization. Make sure it's working the way you want it to work.

Today, some advice that was prompted by personal experiences:

I know two data points don't make a trend. I also know the plural of anecdote isn't data.

On the other side is Goldfinger's dictum: Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is enemy action.

The question is, who is the enemy?

I've been dealing with tech support from several industry vendors (no, I'm not going to name them, at least, not today). What they have in common is a dogged persistence in ignoring the question I asked in preference for an answer that's (1) easy to give; and (2) assumes complete idiocy on the part of the user (that would be me).

Without a doubt I'm just as capable of being an idiot as the next person. That's okay. But when my inquiry starts with, "Here's what I did: a, then b, then c just as your instructions say," and the answer I get is "What you should do is a, then b, then c, just as our instructions say," well, I have a hard time remaining calm and professional.

Likewise, when I say, "According to the specs, your product does x [URL provided] but I can't seem to make it work," and the answer is, "Our product doesn't do this -- you have to buy the premium version," when the specs clearly state the pro version I bought is supposed to do it ... well, you see the problem.

Which leads to my advice: If you're responsible for the IT Service Desk ... and you're responsible if you're the Service Desk Manager, if the Service Desk Manager reports to you, or anywhere in the chain up to and including the CIO, budget some time to listen to phone calls and review e-mail threads.

Yes, that's right. If you're the CIO of a 1,000 person IT organization, spend time every week listening to calls to the Service Desk and reading Service Desk support e-mails. The reason: The Service Desk, more than any other department reporting to you, drives the entire enterprise's perception of IT.

End-users at all levels of the company contact the Service Desk when they are already frustrated with something about the information technology you provide. An excellent Service Desk turns these situations around and converts the callers into your advocates.

The sort of Service Desk I've been experiencing recently will do the exact opposite.

Once you've listened and read for a few weeks, if you don't like what you're reading and hearing, don't under any circumstances chew anyone out for it, no matter how bad it is. Instead, start to ask questions. Start with the manager, but don't stop there -- talk with the best Service Desk analysts, and some who aren't so excellent. Point out the gap between what they're doing and what you think they should be doing, and ask what the barriers are.

Chances are good there's something in how things are put together ... the most likely culprit are service metrics; staffing and training are two other possibilities; so are written procedures.

Whatever the problem, find the root cause and fix it quickly.

Your reputation depends on it.

- Bob