Managing a help desk means having the right helpdesk software as well as striving to improve best practices to solve customer issues. Whether you have your own help desk personnel or hire a help desk solution for your business, you want to increase customer satisfaction.

Polite Tone
Setting a positive tone for your interaction with customers should start with a polite acknowledgement of the issue. Starting a conversation with a customer with the right tone means letting them know their problem is important to you. When they believe that you’re taking their concerns seriously, they’ll be more likely to be satisfied after the call is complete.

Course of Action
Customers can be completely frustrated when help desk operators sound as if they are reading directly from a script. They should be transparent with customers to let them know what the next steps are in their issue. Explain exactly what you’ll be doing, and why you believe this will help the customer with his or her problem.

Previous Support Issues
The help desk should be investigating prior tickets to find out if the same issue keeps recurring. Customers become very angry when nothing gets fixed after the first time they call. If you can resolve the issue completely, they’re more likely to be satisfied with your customer service efforts.

Comprehensive Notes
While you might do your best to resolve a customer’s issue while they’re on the phone, there are times when they could have to call again. Write comprehensive notes detailing the steps you took towards resolution, so your colleagues can know exactly what to do next. This will lead to less frustration for the customer because they won’t have to explain the problem from scratch again.

Ask for Help
Sometimes, the help desk personnel will need help of their own to resolve an issue especially if it involves helpdesk software. Pride and ego shouldn’t get in the way of resolving a case for a client or customer. Ask a supervisor or knowledgeable colleague to help you resolve the problem. Quick resolution of the case is in everyone’s best interest. Never shove it aside because you don’t know how to deal with the problem.

When you keep the customer involved, let them know the next steps and what you’ll be doing to resolve the problem, they’re less likely to become angered over the process. At times, there can be problems beyond your control. Take ownership of the issue to show customers that you’re taking their concerns seriously.