“I Feel Like My Job Matters”
A Day in the Life of an RDS Hospitality Help Desk Support Technician
One of the most highly valued services we offer is our Skilled Help Desk Support. Manned around the clock by over 30 trained technicians, the help desk is here to provide troubleshooting and support for your Point of Sale system. As much as we would prefer them to be completely infallible, software and hardware do sometimes encounter problems. If you have a maintenance contract with RDS, you can pick up the phone and speak with one of our skilled technicians like Chris (pictured here).
Trouble Tickets
When our clients call with a question, our phone technicians open a file in our system called a “trouble ticket.” We use this tool to document our interactions with customers to track the details of all calls and to keep customers informed of the status. To be sure each problem is handled efficiently, we evaluate and handle the calls based upon levels of severity. A site being unable to accept payment, or 50% of terminals on site being down would be examples of the highest severity level warranting the most immediate response. After opening a trouble ticket with detailed notes, the technician would end the phone call and would begin a series of problem-‐solving exercises. Calls that have the lowest level of critical need such as custom reports or changes in contact information for the files would still be resolved from 4 hours to the next business day.
Once an issue is resolved, we “close” the trouble ticket. There are many advantages to using this system. When the support desk receives multiple calls from a client, technicians are able to address any patterns that may need to be addressed through extra training, or that point to deeper investigation into system issues.
Typical Day for a Hospitality Support Desk Technician
Chris comes in at 9am. Light call traffic before 9:30 allows him to handle any non-‐emergency calls from the overnight shift. Call volume picks up and is at its heaviest between 9:30-‐1:30pm. He grabs a late lunch around 2pm at his desk during this slower pace. During the lighter afternoon call traffic, he moves on to address any open cases from the prior business day. Additionally, he helps other technicians requiring assistance on more difficult calls. He leaves the office at 6pm when the next shift takes over.
“I take pride in helping my customers by working to exceed the standards for call-‐back times.” He can relate to issues at restaurants since he worked in that industry for 10 years. “I know what it’s like,” he says. “This is their livelihood. Their businesses cannot function without their equipment. We need to quickly help them get their problems resolved. I feel like my job matters.”
Most Common Calls
The top three most frequently received calls in the hospitality call center are concerning forgotten passwords, Internet connectivity-‐related credit card processing problems and reporting issues. Roughly 85% of all calls are resolved within 30 minutes without being escalated to a higher priority. That’s good news for our clients.
RDS conducts regular training activities to keep our Help Support Desk technicians up to speed on all equipment, and the best ways to communicate solutions with our clients in locations all across the country.
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