How do I submit a helpdesk ticket to Kelser Corporation? How are IT helpdesk service tickets assigned? I have multiple technical issues—do I need to submit a separate request for each one? How are helpdesk requests prioritized? How long can I expect to wait to get my IT problem resolved?
We realize how frustrating it can be when your devices or IT systems fail and you don’t know why. In today’s tech-driven world, even a few minutes of downtime can seem like an eternity.
When using a managed IT service provider (MSP), understanding the provider’s process for submitting a service request during times like this can be critical in preventing issues like operational disruption and possible data loss.
Of course, every MSP will have its own policies and procedures for handling helpdesk service tickets. In this article, we’ll detail Kelser Corporation’s IT service ticketing process for our fully managed customers.
After reading this article, you’ll have a better understanding of our MSP helpdesk ticketing system and how we handle requests for technical support.
Our goal in writing articles like this is to provide both transparency and useful information to help businesses make informed decisions about IT solutions that best meet their needs.
Whether you choose to work with Kelser or some other provider, after reading this article you’ll have a better understanding of the helpdesk request submission and ticketing process when using managed IT.
How Kelser Handles Helpdesk Ticketing And Escalation
Managed IT service providers each follow their own system for handling and resolving helpdesk service requests. The goal is always to remediate clients' IT issues and limit downtime so they can get back to work as quickly as possible.
Having a clear, cohesive ticketing system is essential for MSPs to ensure that clients feel confident that their issues are being addressed in a timely manner, and to prevent issues from accidentally falling through the crack.
Related Article: 5 Common Mistakes When Using Managed IT Support—And How To Fix Them
Kelser's ticketing process:
Submitting A Helpdesk Service Request
- Clients can submit a service request to Kelser’s helpdesk in one of three ways: chat, phone, and email.
- Before starting to work on an issue, we’ll reach out to the end user or customer to make sure we understand the issue they’re having.
- Chat requests get an almost immediate response to confirm that we’ve received the request for technical assistance.
- Phone requests will usually get a response within 30 minutes. If we receive a service request via phone call, we’ll get a ticket created for the customer, and then it will be sent to our service desk team for resolution.
- Since email is the slowest of the three contact methods, it should only be used for less urgent problems or issues that don’t require immediate attention.
- After assessing the issue, we’ll estimate how long it will take to resolve the problem, and then create a ticket.
Prioritizing Service Requests
- Helpdesk service requests are usually handled on a first come, first served basis.
- An exception to this standard is when there’s an urgent issue that’s brought to our attention that requires immediate action.
- In this case, we’ll work with the client to escalate the issue accordingly.
Helpdesk Ticket Resolution Times
Some issues can be fixed within a couple of minutes, while more complex problems will require additional time to troubleshoot and resolve.
The complexity of a technical issue and the type of support it requires can affect the length of time it takes us to remediate a problem.
Other factors that can affect resolution times include:
- Improper submission procedure
- Requires onsite support
- Vendor assistance needed
- Multiple systems are affected
- Client availability
- Ticket support escalation
- Current MSP helpdesk support workload
- Change orders
- Other unexpected issues
Businesses should refer to the service level agreements (SLAs) detailed within their managed service provider agreement (MSPA).
Your contract will spell out your support level, as well as projected response and resolution times, keeping in mind that the factors stated above will often extend ticket resolution times.
Related Article: How Do Service Level Agreements (SLAs) Work In Managed IT Services?
Ticket Escalation Process
Our helpdesk handles all issues that can be fixed easily and/or relatively quickly. The specific team member assigned to handle the ticket usually depends on staff availability.
For more complicated problems, however, Kelser has a team of higher-level engineers to escalate an issue to, if needed.
The kinds of helpdesk issues that often require escalation are those that affect large numbers of employees within a clients’ organization, and those that are more complex in nature and involve multiple parts of your infrastructure.
For instance, several of your employees are having trouble connecting to your server, making them unable to work. They may be on deadline to finish a project or complete a proposal for a prospective customer, for instance.
If this issue came in as a helpdesk request, it would be diagnosed, and details would be gathered by a lower-level engineer on our helpdesk. The engineer would try to resolve the issue using standard corrective methods, such as rebooting the server.
After troubleshooting the problem for 20 to 30 minutes, if the problem persists, it would then be escalated to a higher level engineer.
The service tech who responded initially would pass along notes detailing the issue and the remediation steps that were taken up to that point.
Closing Out A Ticket
Once the issue is resolved, we close out the ticket in the system.
To close out a ticket, we document the date and time it was resolved, the total length of time needed to resolve the problem, and the remediation steps we followed.
The Bottom Line With Kelser’s Helpdesk Ticketing Process
If you're a small or medium-sized business looking for dependable, 24/7 technical support 365 days a year, along with comprehensive IT and security solutions—all at a predicable monthly cost, then managed IT services could be the answer.
While we know that managed IT services isn't right for every business, at Kelser, we have more than 40 years of experience providing advanced solutions to solve clients’ IT issues to help them gain a competitive edge.
As a local managed IT service provider in Glastonbury, Conn., serving Connecticut and Massachusetts, working with Kelser you instantly gain a team of IT professionals with broad IT knowledge and expertise who take a personal approach to helping solve your IT challenges.
Whether you're new to managed IT services, or you're searching for a new provider, we encourage you to research several providers before choosing an MSP. For tips on what to look for when evaluating providers, check out this article How To Pick The Right MSP: 8 Criteria To Evaluate Managed IT Providers.
If you’d like to learn more about working with Kelser, read this article, The Kelser Way: Our Approach To Managed IT Services. Find out about our discovery process here.
Read on to see why a growing number of businesses are turning to managed IT support.
Or, click the button below to find out if managed IT support is right for your business.
