How would you like to contact technical support?

[StuartC]

I was just thinking (this isn't serious or official) about how we contact tech support. This is because I obviously work in tech support, plus I'm having a bit of a mare with ea tech support for Fifa 08. I wondered how you would prefer to contact technical support.

couldn't think of any other forum to put this in :s

[webman]

I'd say online support (forum) or chat if available. The ability to discuss the problem in real-time with a support agent is really helpful in most circumstances, without breaking your neck holding the phone on your shoulder or typing one-handed whilst trying to comprehend a foreigner's attempt at English.

[maniac]

I prefer using the good old phone, together with some form of remote desktop so the support personnel can see what you're seeing.

For non-urgent support, on-line forms/forums or e-mail is good as long as some sort of response is sent saying 'yes we have your call, here is your call reference'

Mike.

[localzuk]

I like the phone, as it means I get a response there and then - including the name of the person I spoke to and usually a case/call number. This can then be used later when they lost the call (note, not if).

[FN-GM]

Phone but only if the call centre is in the UK I can't stand getting to call canters in India

[Ric_]

I prefer telephone support but ONLY when you don't have to jump through hoops! Online chat can be handy too (because you can do something else at the same time )

[webman]

Ok... which comedian voted for Pigeon?

[FN-GM]

[localzuk]

Actually, thinking about it, I'd prefer to spend a few days finding a support person, stopping them on their lunch break and telling them my problem there and then. And if that fails, I'll leave a post it note stuck to their monitor.

[PEO]

The head once had ago at me for not answering the phone.while i was on my lunch break. Told him I was not working and If he would like to try again at 13:10 i may be available to answer his call. Untill then... dilligaf

[Oops_my_bad]

Beware of avian flu if using the pigeon method

[dhicks]

Email - you can take your time explaining a complex problem properly, which can then be read by several people as it bounces around inside the organisation you're dealing with as they try and find someone who knows how to fix the problem. You also get a proper call-tracking number. This, of course, assumes that the people on the other end can read okay. I'm not being sarcastic here - too many people seem to skip over bits of an email and reply with the first answer they think of.

--
David Hicks

[mark]

Voted for chat.

Phoning usually means getting passed eventually to someone who knows what they're talking about, chat has been a good experience - succinct advice.

Forums and email are good but slow.

[mrcrazy04]

I find phoning to be quite helpful. Unless it's BT.
I'm glad they're not my ISP any more - took about 2 hours of jumping through faults to get an engineer out - it was faulty wiring.
I've also had non Tech Support encounters with BT. It's enough to make you choose Virgin (if they do your area!)

[enjay]

There's pros and cons in all of them, with no clear "best system":

PHONE allows you to discuss a problem, and for the support person to quickly ask more questions, but it doesn't leave a record of what was said, plus calling me back probably won't happen as I move around too much. All of this becomes irrelevant if the call centre is somewhere foreign where accents and language barriers all to often play a part.

EMAIL/WEB FORMS retain a history, especially useful if the call gets escalated or transferred to someone else, but can be a slow way to get a response. Many support providers say they will make an initial response within 4 hours, but offer no promises as to how quickly they will respond to your reply. There should always be a way of picking up the phone and speaking to someone should email no longer be appropriate for whatever reason.

CHAT would allow for the history to be retained or for solutions to be tried at a convenient time later in the day (we can't restart servers at 10am, for example!).

If I had to pick just one, I'd go for chat, but my honest answer is "all of the above, at different times depending on situation".