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Computer Support Help Desk Now Fielding 3,000 Queries per Month - Please Don't Hang Up

The Computing Infrastructure Support (CIS) Department's Help Desk is now handling about 3,000 queries per month, counting phone calls, Web form requests, emails and personal contacts. With a four-person staff and staggered shifts to maintain a 10-hour service day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., it's not easy for the Help Desk to get to each call as quickly as the caller would like. For the calendar year through August, the Help Desk averaged 2,224 calls per month. Unfortunately, about 20 percent of the callers hung up before their calls could be answered.

"Many of you have commented on how important it is to actually talk to someone when you need help," said Charlie Verboom, manager of desktop support. "We understand this and are doing our best to answer as many calls as possible and we do talk with about two-thirds of the callers. We encourage anyone who has a problem not to just hang up, but to leave a voice mail. That way we can get back to you, usually within an hour."

The average call takes about five minutes to complete, Verboom said, and more than half of the problems can be resolved over the phone. The Help Desk's goal is to solve 60 percent of those problems over the phone and they reached that goal in August.

To help meet user demand, the Help Desk staff is being supplemented by employees from the Mac/PC Support Group who pitch in during high-traffic periods or when a Help Desk staffer is on vacation or out sick. The current Help Desk staff consists of Henry Couden, Nat Stoddard, Terry Patterson and Jim Stucker. Dave Busby and Bill Nabhani of the Mac/PC Support Group have also helped on several occasions.

Employees who need computer assistance can call the Help Desk at 486-4357 (H-E-L-P), send an email to trouble@lbl.gov, or preferably submit a Web request.