Need Tech Support? How To Get The Best Results

It’s the words no one wants to hear: The website is down.

Sometimes, website problems are easily fixed and even a minimally tech savvy business owner can solve the issue. More often than not, though, someone without extensive knowledge and experience in web development needs help getting the site back up and running, or fixing other issues. But many people treat the prospect of calling tech support with the same level of enthusiasm as they would a root canal.

There are several reasons for this reluctance to call for help. Many people aren’t sure how to articulate the problem, and fear being talked down to by the representative or not getting the resolution they need. Some are afraid they won’t understand the representative’s instructions and will only make things worse. Still others are afraid of the cost of the help. 

Despite the perceived hassle of calling tech support, though, sometimes it has to be done — and there is a way to ensure that the calls go well and you get the resolution you need quickly and efficiently.

Start With the Right Provider

Every small business website hosting provider offers tech support to some extent. However, as with everything in life, not all things are created equal — and not all tech support is helpful. Many free or low cost services, for example, claim to offer 24/7 tech support, but only provide in-depth service during business hours. At night, during the weekends, and on holidays, tech support is limited to the most basic support services, with more complex problems added to the queue to be handled when more experienced technicians are on the clock. This means that a serious problem might not be fixed for hours, or even days, leaving your business in a lurch.

Another common issue with tech support is the level of service included in your hosting package. Before you sign on with a hosting service, confirm that you can access help and get solutions for any problem, and that advanced help won’t come with a major upcharge, or a recommendation for a different service plan. In fact, evaluating the technical support and service offered by any provider should be at the top of your list.

Try contacting technical support at different times of day and during “off hours,” and asking questions of the technicians to determine whether you can understand and work with them. Read reviews, and talk to other clients about their tech support experiences. Doing your homework now can save you many headaches down the road.

Learn the Terminology

A good technical support team is going to understand that many of the people calling in for support aren’t going to be well-versed in all of the terminology related to developing and maintaining a website. Still, you will get much further, and experience less frustration, if you take some time to learn the terminology, at least enough so that you can articulate the issue you are experiencing. 

Before you call, write down some notes about the issue; for example, if a process isn’t working the way that it should, describe exactly what you are doing in detail. If you get error messages or codes, jot down that information to share with the technician. Be prepared to describe the problem in detail: instead of saying “It’s not working!” describe what you’re trying to accomplish and what is going wrong.

Stay Calm

When your website is having technical difficulties, minutes can feel like hours. You might even be imagining money flying out the window as the seconds fly by. That is no reason to panic and take it out on tech support, though. Remaining calm and polite throughout the entire interaction will get you where you need to be faster and without causing heard feelings. If you aren’t getting the answers that you need, or you’re having trouble working with a particular representative, don’t be afraid to ask for a supervisor or another technician.

Developing a good working relationship with your hosting provider’s technical support team can make the difference between getting your problems solved quickly and stumbling through a frustrating series of calls and potentially expensive fixes. By keeping the support options in mind before you even sign up for a service and doing your part to make every interaction productive, you won’t dread picking up the phone, saving time and aggravation.