In any business, support is the most important link to the customer. With good support, you can build a base of satisfied and loyal customers who will come back to you again and again. This comprehensive sourcebook provides techniques and tools that show you how you can offer quality technical support more effectively and efficiently while lowering costs and improving customer service.

Microsoft Sourcebook for the Help Desk is a compilation of the best help desk practices used by Microsoft Product Support Services, winner of many industry awards, including the Software Support Professionals Association's STAR Award for Sustained Performance for the highest-quality support in the software industry. If you're a support technician or a manager, you can now take advantage of what Microsoft knows about running a support organization and can benefit from its years of experience providing quality support.

Plus, the companion CD - fully updated and with expanded contents - is packed with a wealth of indespensible tools including:

• Templates

• Checklists

• Sample reports

• Job descriptions

• Scheduling forms

• Microsoft TechNet Sampler

With Microsoft Sourcebook for the Help Desk, you can maximize the productivity of your support organization, lower support costs, and improve you competitive advantage.  It's an essential reference for anyone in the support business.

Table of Contents Chapter 1 - Scope of the Help Desk Responsibilities of the Help Desk Keys to a successful Help Desk Needs assessment New support models Chapter 2 - Building the Help Desk The Help Desk service model The Help Desk structure Setting up the physical environment Selecting support software Forming vendor relationships Contingency planning for the Help Desk Promoting the Help Desk Positioning your services Chapter 3 - Blueprints for Staffing Forecasting staffing needs The Hire Plan Scheduling personnel Chapter 4 - Performing the Help Desk duties The incident management process Problem-solving Research technologies Proactive support Chapter 5 - The Help Desk Employee Staffing the help desk Fostering employee commitment Team Building Training help desk employees

Chapter 6 - Evaluating the help desk Collecting and storing data Customer satisfaction data Cost recovery Measuring emplioyee satisfaction Reporting Chapter 7 - Large Organization Considerations Needs assessment for outsourcing Optimization Tools and techniques for evaluating large help desks Incident management models Finding and creating solutions Chapter 8 - External Help Desks External customer help desks Expert support planning Proactive support Cost recovery and fee-based support Chapter 9 - Problem Resolution With the Internet and Intranets Internets and Intranets The internet is communication Electronic Incident Management Self-Help on the Internet and Intranets Chapter 10 - Looking Ahead: The Help Desk of Tomorrow Past and present The challenges of support services Chapter 11: Help Desk Resources Directory Chapter 12: Microsoft Resources Chapter 13: Help Desk Software Guide