hhh, the help desk. Commoditized, under-recognized, often underappreciated ... until there's a crisis. Then it's your first responder and your best hope, that is, if you and your staff have prepared properly.

Treasure those transactions

After two decades' experience operating a help desk, I have found that the core premise - the one that's easiest for merchants to forget - is that credit card receipts are cash equivalents.

Transactions in terminals, PCs or electronic cash registers are cash and need the same level of protection. So impress upon merchants the importance of keeping manuals and quick reference guides (QRGs) close at hand. Insist that new employees receive full training. And emphasize the need to re-train all personnel when procedures are added or changed.

Managers and storeowners also need to understand their contracts and operating procedures, which cover various kinds of mail orders, phone orders, chargebacks and more. Complete operating rules are found within contracts or in accompanying manuals.

Operating instructions and QRGs are specific to each POS terminal and the applications it runs. They're written for front-line people who need to know how to handle all types of transactions. Ignorance of the rules is no excuse for failure, so don't let merchants throw away manuals. Contracts and operating manuals aren't great reading, yet they spell out legal responsibilities. Help desks are a rich source of hands-on operational information, but they can't give advice when the issue involves a contract's fine points.

Be prepared

We monitor the number of calls per customer on various subjects and regularly recommend training when someone needs it. Although we're neither contracted nor compensated to do it, we frequently train merchants, for the simple reason that in place of training, merchant level salespeople (MLSs) sometimes say, "Just call CardWare." Thanks for the compliment; just remember that the experience, expertise and knowledge of our customer care personnel have value, so expect to compensate us eventually.

Technology is evolving in our industry, and it's a challenge to keep up. MLSs often don't know systems well enough to train merchants; only a tiny percent have operational expertise across the multiple applications in today's terminals. With increased terminal sophistication comes increased complexity, plus a greater need for training and knowledge for MLSs and merchants alike.

When merchants call CardWare's help desk, they're always asked who they are. The best identifier is a Merchant ID (MID), which is specific to each merchant. Since literally hundreds of businesses have the same name, identifying callers without MIDs is a guessing game, consuming 20% of a call, on average.

Knowing who a merchant is gives us a wealth of information: their equipment, their applications and settings, who is responsible for what. Plus, with an MID we can automatically access the appropriate knowledge bases. Emphasize in training that merchants should have MIDs ready BEFORE calling a help desk.

Manners matter

If help desk personnel had one wish of MLSs or merchants (and they do) it's this: Understand that you're the one who called for assistance. Please don't argue or jump ahead because you think you know what you're doing.

We know callers are frustrated. No one ever calls a help desk because they're delighted a transaction has gone well. Work with us. We'll be happy to repeat if we get ahead, but please follow the process. It's time-proven and highly evolved to save everyone time and trouble. Also, certain problems can only be rectified using specific, step-by-step sequences; otherwise everyone starts over.

If you add arrogance to impatience, problem solving becomes even more difficult. The same goes for yelling and inappropriate language.

Help desk personnel have a thankless job, with abundant stress, because they're continuously dealing with angry people. Get a reputation for being a bad boy caller and your results may not be as positive as you would like. Remember the Golden Rule. Use it to its best advantage and we'll all save time.

As the term suggests, we're here to ... help. We're a knowledge tree. We'll ask the right questions to resolve an issue, and the responses help us fully comprehend the situation, so correct solutions can be rendered on the first call.

Did you know?

No single help desk is responsible for everything; some issues are outside the scope of certain help desks. Just as a transaction is a process comprised of components, different help desks are often responsible for a specific set of components. Any help desk, once it clarifies the issue, will gladly refer you to the appropriate help desk if the issue is outside of its area of expertise.

The main reason for help desk calls is human error. There are times a processor is down and equipment fails, but processor and hardware issues comprise 1% and 2%, respectively, of calls. The remaining 97% are user related. This is why training, QRGs and manuals are critically important in reducing help desk calls and increasing customer satisfaction.

A problem often turns out to be something very straightforward. Transactions not progressing? (Do you have a dial tone?) One caller claimed the terminal display kept reading "out of balance" despite the fact that he "had a book under one corner, and a matchbook under the other." (I'm not sure there was a good answer to that.) Another person who had two businesses in one location switched processing between companies by switching imprinter plates within the terminal. Yes, he opened the terminal, took the plate for one business out, put the plate for the other business in and closed the terminal. It was a wonder he didn't short out the terminal, or himself.

It's also critical that merchants understand that terminals are computers and need an environment that's cool and free of dust, spilled coffee or soda.

Find the right help desk for you

If you're searching for a new help desk, keep in mind that the tools and personality traits of a customer service person on the issuing side are vastly different than on the acquiring side, where problems are inevitably more complex and involve higher dollar amounts. Specialization yields better results at less overall expense.

Ask for a help desk's ratio of Passed All Tests (PAT), which is the percentage of units swapped out for which there was no problem found. Inquire about the swap-out ratio compared to the supported base. A reasonable PAT ratio teamed with a low swap-out ratio is a help desk with the tools to accurately diagnose and solve problems in a timely manner. Monitor these ratios at least annually.

Of course, always interview references. Ask for two, including a former customer that quit them, or that they quit. Was this a service problem or a difference in opinion? You, as a buyer of help desk services, need a sense of a company's experience level based on call quality and call volume.

Get beyond the "industry standards" to see how real calls are handled. Spend a day monitoring the calls of a help desk you're evaluating. If they're credible, they won't object. No one would buy a $250,000 house without a thorough walk-through, yet companies buy help desk services at that level with sometimes only superficial examinations.

Incidentally, if you call your help desk and hear (after just a minute or two) "Try this and call us back," this is red flag. It suggests, in the strongest terms, that your help desk is mostly helping itself, by bumping up its call volume.

Over time, you and the merchants you serve will waste a great deal of time on repeat calls while listening to bad music. Find an ethical, knowledgeable help desk that solves problems in a reasonable time.

A helpful philosophy

Our philosophy at CardWare is: Deliver a level of service you'd want yourself. Understand that for that level, there's a price. And it's not the price of the "try this and call me back" crowd.

The complexity of help desk calls has evolved with terminal capacity and sophistication. Single-application terminals are old hat. Today's help desk calls demand more time, more expertise and greater knowledge, and this is reflected in the price matrix.

Help desks are commonly outsourced professional services; they come with all levels of expertise. Getting the best value takes some up-front homework, and ongoing communication, but the reward is substantial savings in time, and hard dollars.

Biff Matthews is President of Thirteen Inc, the parent company of CardWare International, Heath, Ohio. He is one of 12 founding members of the Electronic Transactions Association, serving on its board, advisory board and committees. Call him at 740-522-2150 or e-mail him at biff@13-inc.com