If you work in Product Support, most days are pressure packed. It seems like everyone in the world needs help and your product stinks. To make things worse, everyone demands support right now, not tomorrow. It simply can’t wait until later. Must help right now!
So, to address the problem you think about the last time you ran into a similar issue and try to come up with a quick solution. Depending on your level of experience, this may be easy to do. But if you can’t come up with an answer based on what you already know. You will need resources to refer to.
There may be someone in your group who you can ask. That’s IF you can find a person with a quick answer that will work. However, everyone else is usually just as busy as you are and may not be able to get back with answers quickly. Then, you can try to recall where you have heard of this situation before.
This has happened to me a lot. I often can remember the subject from a training class or manual but simply need more details before giving advice.
This is where well-structured documentation becomes invaluable. If you remember the subject or issue, it should be simple to look it up. If you have access to a good document set and a search tool, the solution may be minutes away.
I also find that this works a lot better if I’ve been through a good training course. As a bonus, if the instructor has oriented the class information toward a product manual, I only need to recall where to find the details, not the actual details.
Product Support works a lot better when you receive good training and access to meticulously organized documents before each product release. Insist on it and prevent unnecessary errors when helping customers!
Your hectic day will go a lot better with access to the right resources and preparation. Don’t let your products be a mystery.
