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Support can be a pain in the neck, this week we give you some tips to ease the process.

News and Follow-ups – 02:18

• Mail Bag – Brian Barthold – Learning Mercurial

Geek Tool – 05:30

• Omron Pedometer – Measure how much you walk (or bounce).

Webapps – 09:10

• Variably SFW - Is a URL safe for work? This app let’s you preview it so you can see if it’s suitable.
• Online Driver’s License Search - Find any Driver’s license in the US.

Topic – 13:45

• Online (Email/Webapp/IM)
  • Check your Reply Time
    • Emailing too quickly can make it an IM
    • Waiting too long to email can create upset users
  • Consider using a support tracker
  • Keep a list of questions so you can scan through them and find commonly asked questions.
  • Add common questions to the documentation
  • Have documentation explaining how to ask a question/provide enough details to get an answer
  • Give users a way to comment or leave feedback about the documentation they are currently viewing
  • Try to think of ways of eliminating the problem from ever happening again as opposed to fixing the current problem at hand
• Phone
  • Single support or freelance consider using Google voice
  • Screen sharing can be a godsend (LogMeIn Express)
  • The keyboard wont work
    • “Instead,” Chen suggests, “say ‘Okay, sometimes the connection gets a little dusty and the connection gets weak. Could you unplug the connector, blow into it to get the dust out, then plug it back in?’
• Tools
  • Osticket – http://osticket.com