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Between 2002 and 2005, I worked for a software company that provided telephone technical support for a subscription-based software product that helped small businesses keep track of their finances. In this product, it was necessary for our customers to print out invoices, bills, and receipts for their customers. I was asked to train my fellow technical support co-workers on how to troubleshoot printing issues these customers experienced. This PowerPoint presentation was originally made in 2004,but I inserted the audio portion in August 2013, as a demonstration.

Revised: 1/1/2014

TECH TRAINING

BASIC TOUBLESHOOTING FOR

PRINTING IN [Software Product]

Agenda

• Introduction• Basic Troubleshooting• [Software Product] Chat Guidelines• Walk the customer through the fix• Troubleshooting Tips• How would you handle……• [Software Product] Knowledgebase articles• Adobe® Knowledgebase articles• Microsoft® Knowledgebase articles• Question and Answer• Conclusion

Introduction

What’s In It For Me:

• This training will provide information and guidance on handling specific printing cases to make them easier to solve.

• You will have a better understanding of how to immediately identify printing issues specifically related to [Software Product].

• Most [Software Product] Online printing problems are usually specific to Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, and it’s integration with [Software Product].

Basic Troubleshooting

STEP 1: ASK DIRECTED QUESTIONS• What were you trying to print?• Did it ever work before?• If so, when did it last work? • Have you been able to print anything in other applications? (to

rule out non-[Software Product] issues)• Have you restarted your computer?• What were you doing on your computer right before it became

unable to print? (Be as specific as possible)• If you are still unclear as to what customer was trying to print, ask

the customer to walk you through step by step what they did to get the error.

Basic Troubleshooting (CONTINUED)

• Make sure that the problem is ongoing and can be replicated.

• Are there any relevant questions you can think of to ask the customer?

• These questions will determine the direction your troubleshooting will go.

Basic Troubleshooting (CONTINUED)

• STEP 2: ISOLATE THE PROBLEM: Determine the cause of the problem

• Now that you have the answers to your basic questions, begin troubleshooting.

*NOTE: Not asking enough of the right questions at the beginning of the call will lengthen your call at the end if you miss something important.

• Exit from all other applications. Look for the fix in the Knowledge Base.Re-create the behavior that generates the error, if necessary.Ask in Chat, following the [Software Product] chat guidelines.

Basic Troubleshooting (CONTINUED)

[Software Product] Chat Guidelines:

• Try to find the answer before asking in chat.• Duplicate what the customer is seeing or asking on

your own machine.• If you do not understand the customer’s question (for

E-mail response), call the customer and get clarification.

• When requesting the conductor to look at a case, please copy and paste the question in chat.

Step 3: Walk The Customer Through The Fix

• Now that you have asked the right questions, know exactly what the problem is, have the pertinent information available to you, walk the customer through the fix. This is where your customer service training will come into play.

• Always remember to say “please” and “thank you”, and smile. This will make the fix go faster, believe it or not. Let the customer know you are on his/her side.

• Assure the customer that you know what you are doing, and always tell customer what you are about to do before you do it, and why you are doing it.

• If you have to uninstall or download something (Adobe® Reader ®, printer driver), always explain why, and remember your support boundaries. We are not Adobe® technicians, nor are we printer techs, but we will help install Adobe® Reader ®, as we have an agreement with Adobe® to integrate their product with ours. Also, it doesn’t hurt a computer to install the right printer driver.

Troubleshooting Tips

• Where do I start?

• When you receive a case, follow the basic troubleshooting steps.

• Refer to the KB’s when appropriate (which is most of the time).

• Before escalating, be sure you have completed each troubleshooting step, referred to the KB’s, used the chat, and asked your Team Lead (if necessary).

How would you handle…

• What would be the proper troubleshooting procedure for a customer who gets a blank white screen when trying to print a check?

[Software Product] Knowledgebase Articles

Some of the most common Knowledge base article titles we will come across during our printer troubleshooting:

• Can't print invoice, other sales forms and/or checks at all

• System locks after printing

• Alignment for the voucher section of checks is not correct

• Boxes/squares are printing on my transactions

• Getting a blank screen when trying to print a check or Sales form

• when Acrobat® Reader brings up an old form but you are trying to print a new one

• when some lines appear fuzzy

Adobe® Knowledgebase articles

Adobe® Acrobat® support:

http://www.Adobe.com/support/products/Acrobat.html

Troubleshoot printing problems (Acrobat® 5.0-6.x on Microsoft ® Windows® ):

http://www.Adobe.com/support/techdocs/316508.html

*Editor’s note: These websites might be out of date.

Microsoft® Knowledgebase Articles

HOW TO: Troubleshoot Printing Problems in Microsoft® Windows 95®, Windows 98®, and Windows Millennium®

Edition:

http://support.Microsoft.com/kb/128345

Troubleshooting general printing problems in Windows XP®:

http://support.Microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;314085

*Editor’s note: These websites might be out of date

Conclusion

• Troubleshooting printing problems is very linear – there is always an identifiable cause for printing problems, even if it is not necessarily visible to the untrained eye.

Question & Answer

• Summary

• Questions

END OF DEMONSTRATION

YOU CAN REACH SEAN AT:sean@seantbrandt.com

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