IT Service and Support/Introduction

This lesson introduces IT Service Management by looking at customer service in general, and IT service management in particular. Activities include.

Objectives and Skills
Objectives and skills for IT Service Management certification are covered in detail later in the course. This lesson helps you:
 * Understand customer service and IT service management terminology.

Readings

 * 1)  Technical support
 * 2)  Service desk (ITSM)
 * 3)  Help desk
 * 4)  Virtual help desk
 * 5)  Customer service
 * 6)  Customer service training

Activities

 * 1) Use the  Discuss page to post comments and questions regarding this lesson.
 * 2) Review the  lesson summary,  key terms,  review questions and  flashcards below.

Key Terms

 * break-fix
 * A type of technical support where customers pay for support as incidents occur.


 * call center
 * A centralized office used for the purpose of receiving or transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone.


 * champion
 * Someone who fights on another's behalf.


 * contact center
 * A central point of any organization from which all customer contacts are managed, including telephone, email, online chat, fax, and instant message.


 * customer
 * The recipient of a good, service, product, or idea, obtained from a seller, vendor, or supplier for monetary or other valuable consideration.


 * expeditor
 * Someone who facilitates a process.


 * expert
 * A person with extensive knowledge or ability based on research, experience, or occupation in a particular area of study.


 * help desk
 * A resource intended to provide the customer or end user with information and support related to a company's or institution's products and services.


 * incident
 * A disruption or potential disruption in service availability or quality.


 * interpersonal skills
 * The skills a person uses to communicate and interact with others, including persuasion, active listening, delegation, and leadership.


 * knowledge base
 * An information repository that provides a means for information to be collected, organized, shared, searched and utilized.


 * leader
 * Someone who organizes a group of people to achieve a common goal.


 * problem
 * The underlying cause of one or more incidents.


 * service desk
 * Provides a single point of contact to meet the communication needs of both Users and IT employees for incidents and service requests.


 * single point of contact (SPOC)
 * A point of contact (POC) or single point of contact (SPOC) is a person or a department serving as the coordinator or focal point of information concerning an activity or program.


 * service request
 * A routine request for services.


 * technical support
 * A range of services by which organizations provide assistance to users of technology products and services.


 * user
 * A person who interacts with a system, to enable its operation, or to utilize its function.


 * vendor
 * A supplier of goods or services.