What's Broken about IT Support

I recently re-discovered Seth Godin's now famous "this is broken" talk from the 2006 Gel conference, and it got me thinking about what's "broken" about the IT support industry.

Courtesy

To work in IT support, you have to love helping people. I know from having met and interviewed countless IT professionals that too many fall into IT support simply because they love working with technology, and view people as an occupational hazard, which is a formula for terrible customer service.

Responsiveness

It's not enough to simply return a phone call (though some don't even do that part well), it's about truly listening first, and then responding to the greater business needs of your clients and selflessly delivering technology solutions that make their lives better.

Adaptability

Too many IT service providers over-invested in technology somewhere around the year 2000- their staff became complacent in servicing the technology, rather than servicing the people. When your idea of adapting to change is learning how to use Windows 8, while at the same time ignoring several paradigm shifts that are happening in technology, you're in trouble.

Professionalism

Professionalism has nothing to do with dressing a certain way, using certain terminology, or having a very serious-looking business card. Professionalism will be determined by your actions and results, not by the claims you make beforehand. It comes down to two questions: What promises did you make? Did you deliver on what you promised? Under-promising and over-delivering will make you a professional. The reverse will make you a buffoon.

At Help with a Smile, our goal is to "fix" what's broken about our industry. What's broken about your industry? Tell us on twitter!