We love to hate help desk
- Publication Type:
- Thesis
- Issue Date:
- 2000
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Customer satisfaction with the Information Technology Help Desk is the focus of this study. Technology in the workplace has increased exponentially. Therefore customers are more reliant on the Help Desk then ever before. This has raised the importance of the role that Help Desk plays in the functioning of an organisation.
The fundamental aim of this study is to answer the questions below;
1. Is dissatisfaction truly present for individual problems, or is it a generalisation or "urban myth"?
2. Which of the five hypotheses are the most significant in causing dissatisfaction amongst customers? The five hypotheses focus on the areas of Communication, Solutions, Service, Knowledge (up-to-date), and Morale.
A computer-based survey was used to query the customers. The survey questions linked back to the hypotheses. The customer was given the opportunity to make an optional comment to discover any sensitive issues that the survey did not address.
The average "overall satisfaction" rating for the survey suggested the general population is more satisfied then dissatisfied with the services of the Help Desk. From the study I was able to conclude that dissatisfaction is present for individual problems, but the dissatisfied customer only accounts for 8% of the surveyed population.
Having proven that customer dissatisfaction is present the next step was to determine the nature of the problem to provide useful information to reduce customer dissatisfaction. Investigating the surveys on the basis of problem category did this.
The results indicated that customer dissatisfaction was most prevalent in calls concerning changes made to PCs and server interruptions. Therefore the Help Desk needs to re-evaluate the processes for handling problems of this nature. In contrast customers were most satisfied with assistance for problems relating to desktop software and hardware. Therefore dissatisfaction is not an "urban myth".
Of all the five hypotheses, Help Desk morale stood out as producing more satisfaction than any of the other hypotheses including "overall satisfaction". Help Desk morale proved to be significantly different in nature when compared to the four other hypotheses. Therefore the moral of the Help Desk team is a fundamental ingredient for brewing a successful service. Get this wrong and all aspects of the team and the service will decline.
The most important influence on "overall satisfaction" was "satisfaction with keeping up with technological change", and the least important factor was "satisfaction with ability to predict problems through good communication". This would indicate an up-to-date Help Desk is more likely to have satisfied customers.
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