Behind the Scenes on this Two Way Street
Sometimes, the service industry can have an unjust balance. Not every problem is visible to the end user, and the work behind the scenes is frequently more important and time consuming than the work in the foreground. This is the first issue. Consequently, people constantly blame IT for problems or believe they are unnecessary when they do not have any. The reality is that IT exists so that when you inevitably encounter a problem, it can be resolved easily and quickly. We're here monitoring your systems 24/7 to try to resolve issues quickly.
Here is where the disparity arises. The majority of the time, technical support responds to your inquiries in a timely manner. On the other hand, you also have responsibilities. More often than not, these requirements are not fulfilled. In fact, I have observed end users fulfill their agreed-upon responsibilities less than five percent of the time. Whereas IT typically fulfills its agreed upon obligations (also known as SLA-Service Level Agreements) 99 percent of the time, I'd like to say 100 percent, but we're human too-and this is based on my experience-your mileage may vary with generic support companies.
Support is not limited to the service side alone. To ensure smooth sailing, those of us providing support require assistance from the end users in following best practices and guidelines. Failure to do so may result in complications. I can recall countless hours spent attempting to assist with problems whose technical and daily aspects were intertwined. It's one of those situations in which tech support cannot effectively resolve the problem alone. It requires effort on the part of the user. The majority of the time, in these situations, the user does not respond back in a timely manner, and consequently blames support. This is not always the case, but it is a common occurrence.
Remember that we are here to assist you, but we require the same responsiveness from you that you expect from us. Make sure you are aware of your responsibilities, and don't get angry if we enforce an agreement you've broken. Remember, This street has two directions. Accountability can increase efficiency. Hope this gives some level of insight :)