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IT/284 Week 1 Customer Support Principles Checkpoint: Customer Service Communication Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following: As a customer support technician, you have many tools that facilitate prominent communication between the employee and the customer. Include the components of the customer service as identified in your text. How would you facilitate personalized communication between the employee and the customer? Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. Checkpoint: Computer Support Dependencies Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following: Computer support plays a vital role in an organization’s operations. Identify how computer support interrelates with various departments such as HR, Finance, Marketing, and Operations. What effect does this support have on the functionality of these departments? Identify possible consequences an organization may endure if its computer support lacks development. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: words = A+ Assignment: Defining Computer Support Write a 700-word paper in response to the following: You are a support technician manager building a help desk team. Your primary operation is to provide customers with service for hardware and software issues from a variety of PC platforms. Explain the position of a help desk worker to your newly hired employees. Your paper must include the following: The different levels of customer service The role of a support technician Methods and tools required to support consumers Distinctions between internal and external users and their requirements Current trends in computer support Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

IT/284 Week 2 Communication Skills Checkpoint: Communication Techniques Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 829 words! Building rapport with customers is an inevitable component of computer support. Identify the different techniques used to acquire and uphold a customer’s trust. How might the different communication skills referred to in the texts facilitate rapport? Provide an example, during your current or past employment, of a time when you were required to use communication skills to build a customer’s trust. Were you successful? Explain your answer. Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. Word Count: 717 words = A+ DQ#1 -Body language conveys nonverbal cues to the recipient of any given communication. Explain the five nonverbal methods of communication identified within the text. How do nonverbal cues enable support technicians when resolving customer concerns? Specify. Word Count: 656 words = A+ DQ#2 - What are some trends that computer support has witnessed over the past 10 years? How does the cost benefit of operating a help desk affect the utility of service support? What computer support trends have you witnessed in your work experience? How has this helped productivity within your organization? Explain your answer.

IT/284 Week 3 Electronic Messaging Technologies Checkpoint: Using an ARS (Automatic Response System) Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 904 words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following: The use of an automated response system (ARS) enables problem identification by directing a customer to appropriate support services. Identify the advantages and disadvantages of using such a system. Include the perceptions of the employee and customer when forced to use an ARS. How does an ARS affect the quality of support services? What other technologies may be used to facilitate computer support? How are these other technologies important? Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment. Assignment: How to Communicate Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 895 words = A+ Consider the following scenario: Bill, a project manager from a financial firm, calls the computer support hotline and expresses his frustrations with the software he has just purchased from your company. He is a new customer and has little experience with how to use the software. Note that communication is a key component to professional customer service. Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper describing an approach, without solving the issue, that might be used to build a relationship with Bill. Your paper must define and address any messaging technologies that would be applicable, as well as the following: Nonverbal versus verbal communication Effective questioning strategies Rapport techniques Active listening skills Click the Assignment Files tab to submit your assignment.

IT/284 Week 4 Customer Support Principles Checkpoint: Defining the Customer Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 804 words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response defining the various external customers found in computer support. How are these customers different from one another? How are the expectations of computer support different among various external customers? Word Count: 361 words = A+ DQ#1 -Organizations may not always know the needs or expectations of their customers. What are considerations an organization must acknowledge when assessing these? How do these considerations relate to each other? Provide an example of a current or past work experience where your organization lost sight of the underlying needs and expectations of your customers. What would you have done differently to ensure that these needs and expectations were upheld? Word Count: 271 words = A+ DQ#2 -What is the difference between internal and external customers? How do their needs relate to one another? How does computer support differ for internal and external customers?

IT/284 Week 5 Customer Support Employees Checkpoint: Operational Differences Word Count: 472 words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response identifying how the tasks of an internal and a frontline computer support technician differ. How do these differences affect the level of employee satisfaction? What factors are involved when satisfying your employees? Explain your answer. Needs of the Customer and Customer Support Technicians Word Count: 731 words = A+ Write a 700-word paper responding to the following: Customers and customer support technicians are similar yet different in many ways. Assess the requirements of each and how they fulfill each other’s needs. Your paper must include aspects pertaining to the satisfaction and the perceived expectations of each party. In addition, describe measurable outcomes from both the technician and the customer when exceptional customer support is provided.

IT/284 Week 6 Local Support Technologies Checkpoint: Using Technology with a Voice Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 544 words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following: Local computer support provides an over-the-phone experience for customers in need of problem resolution. What are the disadvantages of not seeing the customer face-to-face? How does technology enrich customers’ phone experience? Explain your answer. Word Count: 386 words = A+ DQ#1 -Computer applications help minimize the communication barriers experienced over the phone throughout the support process. How do these computer applications maximize a support technician’s efficiency? Explain a current or past work experience where you used both phone and a computer application to facilitate a customer’s request. How did this affect your perception of the level of customer service received? Word Count: 724 words = A+ DQ#2 -On-site computer support has transitioned from a free service to one that is fee-based over the past years. Now that many companies charge to come to customers’ homes, how does this affect customers’ expectations on the quality of service? Aside from the monetary opportunities, why are companies branching into this industry? What implications must be considered when diversifying services using one brand? Explain your answer.

IT/284 Week 7 (Updated 2016) Remote Support Technologies Checkpoint: Phone Etiquette Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 998 words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response to the following: Effective telephone communication is an expected attribute in any computer support organization. Discuss best practices used in pregreeting, greeting, conversation, and closing that facilitate a successful call. In addition, identify the proper uses of phone functions and how they assist computer support specialists in resolving problems. Assignment: On- and Off-site Support Strategies Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 1,300 words = A+ Read the following troubleshooting scenarios: Scenario 1: Steve recently purchased a new computer from a local electronics outlet. Now, 3 months after buying his new computer, his monitor is frozen and will not restart without unplugging the machine. He tells you that all of his family photos have been saved on the hard drive and that it is imperative for you to retrieve them. Scenario 2: You are a service representative at a company that manufactures computers for financial applications. Katie, a branch manager for a bank, calls you and says that all of her point-of-sale terminals have quit working. Each terminal uses Windows XP and is connected to the bank’s network. Katie has no working knowledge of these terminals and cannot resume operations without them. Write, individually, a 350-word analysis for each scenario, describing how support would differ if performed on-site or off-site. The following components must also be addressed in each analysis: Required support software Required hardware Cost of support Required skills Steps for selecting and implementing technology

IT/284 Week 8 Problem-Solving Strategies Checkpoint: Dissecting the Problem Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 749 = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word essay in response to the following: Conflict resolution strategies help minimize the time required for problem solving computer support issues. Address the following: Define problem solving in a computer support environment. Identify the four-step conflict resolution process and how other problem-solving methods build on this strategy. Word Count: 859 words = A+ DQ#1 -The course texts offer problem resolution and recovery strategies used to diffuse disgruntled customers. What are these strategies? Why are these strategies dependent on the type of consumer in need of support? How are these tools affected when support is performed solely over the phone? How must the computer support specialist compensate when there is no face-to-face interaction with the customer? Explain your answer. Word Count: 284 words = A+ DQ#2 -Addressing consumer problems is an imperative component of professional customer support. List various behavioral and perceptual methods used to help minimize such inquiries from customers. How might these methods empower customers while satisfying their needs? Explain your answer.

IT/284 Week 9 Communication Barriers Capstone: Establishing Seamless Support Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 792 words = A+ Write a 200- to 300-word response describing strategies that would help minimize miscommunication between enterprise computer support and customers. According to the texts, which components of the problem-solving strategy have the greatest effect in a computer support atmosphere? How might the support specialist and customer both be satisfied if there has to be compromise from one side? Final Project: Working with Difficult Customers Assignment comes with Instructor Feedback = Perfect Score = A+ Word Count: 2,773 words = A+ Resource: Appendix A Construct a checklist of at least seven reasons why customers become difficult when communicating their technical problems. From your list, choose three of these common behaviors and address how you would resolve each using the following concepts: Consumer emotions Ownership strategies Self-control strategies Adaptation Mistaken customers Problem customers Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper identifying the significance of each of concept and the possible challenges that may arise during the resolution process. Week 9 PowerPoint - 13 Slides with full Speaker Notes = A+ Create a 10- to 15-slide Microsoft PowerPoint presentation reinforcing the key tactics needed to minimize consumer conflict when providing computer support services. Your presentation must be outlined as if you are a trainer trying to familiarize each newly hired support technician with his or her work. At the end of your presentation, your audience must have developed insight into the components of enterprise computer support.

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IT/284 Week 5