It's the witching hour and the night is cold.
Something feels eerie—it seems calm, but you’re not sold.
You turn your computer on and to your despair,
Through the garishness of the screen
It was sitting there.
That service desk ticket.
The one you thought was finally resolved
But it’s back, and with a vengeance
Ready to wreak havoc on all involved.
This is just the beginning of your nightmare
And the scariest part, you haven’t even read.
Here are five service desk tickets
That are sure to bring you dread.
Terror no. 1: Blue screen of death
The name is terrifying enough. The blue screen of death (BSOD) could happen for any number of reasons, and that’s exactly why many IT pros aren’t thrilled to tackle the issue.
“It could be a hardware or software issue,” SolarWinds Helpdesk Analyst Donald Norman said. “I’ve had devices stuck on the blue screen for hours before discovering if it’s a software application or something with the device itself.”
One of the most useful pieces of advice? Reboot it. Include this in a BSOD section on your
self-service portal to reassure users and save you time spent telling people to restart their computers.
Terror no. 2: Password resets
These are the tickets you just can’t seem to break away from. No matter how many places you put self-help instructions or how many times
AI has suggested knowledge articles to employees, it seems like a ticket with the subject line “I can’t log in” is haunting you.
“They’re largely scary not because they’re difficult but because they take a lot of time away from the techs who need to address it,” said Sr. Solutions Engineer Jason Yeary.
Persistence is the key to solving this problem. Keep referring to articles in the knowledge base that give employees instructions for handling
password resets. You may even benefit by giving different scenarios for them, like if they forget their passwords, come back to work from a leave of absence to an expired password, or thought they knew their password, but were kicked off after multiple unsuccessful tries. The more scenarios employees can relate to, the less likely they’ll contact you for assistance.
Be proactive by setting up automated messages for when an employee’s password will expire. These messages can remind them daily that they have a certain amount of days to change their password before they’re locked out of the device or software application.
Terror no. 3: Problem root causes
You might think you’ve gotten to the bottom of a problem, but it’s really frightening (and frustrating) when those same problems pop up later.
“The service keeps going out, you ‘fix’ it so people are able to return to normal, but then a few months later it occurs again,” said Yeary. “Until you get to the root, it's just a risk sitting there.”
So how do you overcome the looming problem? Apply
problem management at each stage of the
ITIL life cycle. From continual service improvement, to service transition, to service design, and all the way back to service strategy—this proactive strategy allows for a more comprehensive and holistic approach to problem management.
Terror no. 4: Dead devices
The fear of the blue screen of death has nothing on a completely dead device—especially if the device died before a document was saved, or if it happened in the middle of an important project. Although it’s panic-worthy, it could be your warning to take precaution before a device kicks the bucket.
Backing up devices in the cloud is a sure way to keep employees’ documents and other work needs alive even if the device itself is dead. And if the device never comes back to life, your elevated
IT asset management strategy can tell you if there are other devices available to replace it.
Terror no. 5: Poor internet connection
We all know that without an internet connection, it’s tough to connect to the world outside of you—and we also know that autophobia (fear of isolation) and FOMO (fear of missing out) are real. Poor internet connection is especially dreadful because it could be deeper than turning the router off and back on. Instead, employees or IT pros may have to request outside assistance from satellite or internet service providers (ISPs)...which could take valuable time.
If employees are
working remotely and their internet isn’t reliable, create a knowledge article with ISP phone numbers and questions relating to their connectivity. This solution promotes employee engagement with the service portal
and provides them with quick resources.
You may have solved these tickets
With terror in your heart and a brave face.
But you aren’t done, there’s more for you to brace.
Your next challenge? Making sure those tickets don’t become repetitive
This could keep you awake—and have you begging for a sedative.
