While most companies now have some type of help desk support software that enables reps to resolve incidents remotely, many IT departments still operate the same way they have for years: The least-skilled reps plug away at their desks handling the pedestrian incidents that represent the majority of the traffic while the most highly-skilled technicians, instead of using the remote control software, are on-site handling more complex issues, one customer at a time, and are minimally available as company resources.

At first glance this might seem to be a workable model, but the majority of customers are deprived of the high quality customer experience derived from having highly-skilled techs solve their problems quickly and efficiently while the company’s best, and most highly-paid, resources are tied up traveling to customers who are being denied the advantages of the speedy, efficient incident resolution remote control software has to offer.

This support model may not crash your customer satisfaction ratings at a rudimentary level – i.e. the rep fixed my problem – but it’s not going to inspire the loyalty that ensures renewal. Nor will the majority of customers be on the reference list for the sales team.

Is there a better way to do things? According to Joel Bomgar, there may well be.

Check out Joel’s Strategic Focus session at this year’s HDI conference. On Tuesday, March 11, 2008, 10 to 11 a.m., Joel will teach you how to fully utilize remote control software, how to change your company’s thinking about on-site vs. remote incident resolution, and how to move incident resolution to remote to decrease costs and improve the customer experience. For more info, see the HDI Conference website.