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Well, here's another in my small series on how to do things an admin needs to know how to do.
This one relates to IIS (Internet Information Services) which is the service, or rather series of services, that hosts connections to your server. This is also what holds up OWA and your web portal if you are self hosting.
Sample from a blog article I wrote:

One thing alot of admins don't know, is that you should never EVER restart the actual IIS service from the Services console. It's not because this sort of restart can cause harm, it's really because when you stop the IIS service several other services are stopped at the same time.

These services are dependent on IIS to run correctly. When IIS is restarted incorrectly, it doesn't usually come up with a list of services that were stopped during that time. Unless you have all these services memorized, it's best to not do an IIS restart this way.

Instead, it would be preferable to restart IIS with the methods I've outlined for you below. These will restart most of the services that IIS pulls down and will allow your system to resume regular operation the soonest.




Ok, so that's it. I have a MS article linked below for you to look at too, if you need it. :) Enjoy!!

Here's a Microsoft TechNet article with more detailed information about IIS.
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/003ed2fe-6339-4919-b577-6aa965994a9b.mspx?mfr=true

Labels: how to, iis, instructions, management console, method, microsoft, MS, phone support, support, system, tech, technical, technical support, windows

This morning was a fun morning. I had two calls in a row where I talked to some not so smart people. So today is an instruction lesson. Now, if you get paid more than $60,000 a year to work on a computer, you'd think that you'd know one of the basics of administering said system.



This is how you get to the management console in Windows:

1. Right-click on My Computer
2. Select Manage from the list.

Yay!! That's it. You're there.

Now, here's two ways to find the Services console->

First way:
1. Follow instructions above to get to the management console.
2. Expand "Services and Applications"
(* Left click on the little (+)Plus symbol to it's left to expand)
3. Click Services in the list.

Second way:
1. Click Start -> Run
2. Type Services.msc in the Run window.
3. Hit ENTER or OK

Tada! Now was that so hard?? How could you not know how to do this if you work on computers every day? Well, no more excuses. Now you know.

Labels: admin, how to, instructions, lesson, management console, services.msc, stupid, windows

Todays lesson is: Don't ask a question if you're not ready for the answer.

This applies in two ways. One, if you ask a question, pause your talking long enough to hear an answer. Two, if you ask a question that requires I give you information to write down or type, have your keyboard/paper ... READY.

That's all for today.

Labels: be ready, call centers, calling, instructions, listen, listening, phone, phone support, question, support, tech, technical, technical support

A friend of mine pointed this out from Craigslist, Best of, and it fit so well with my theme here I had to post it. This is awesome funny. Kudos to whoever wrote it.
((Note: this is an exact copy, it includes the links back to craigslist.com and the posting number))


best of craigslist > pittsburgh > Things to consider when calling Tech Support...

Originally Posted: Fri, 27 Apr 23:38 EDT

Things to consider when calling Tech Support...
Date: 2007-04-27, 11:38PM EDT


Hi! I'm your Technical Support Rep. I have a considerable amount of control over one or more important aspects of your daily life: television, telephone, and internet. Sometimes one, sometimes all three. Before we interact, I'd like to share some thoughts with you:



* I am here, simply put, to fix your shit. My job is not complete until said shit is fixed. Please just help me fix this shit.

* With that out of the way, know that I hate you exactly as much as you hate me. No more, no less. If you are at least relatively pleasant, I'm happy to help you- even to make small talk as I attend to the issue at hand. Conversely, if you are a total and complete jackass, I will make this the worst 10 minutes of your week.

* Neither I, nor any of my coworkers, are out to fuck you. We are not idiots. We are college graduates in technical disciplines, the vast majority of whom are here to work their way up the IT ladder to more fulfilling positions. Sometimes we have off days, sure, but we know EXACTLY what we are doing. Note that this does not apply to anyone outside of our department. They are, in all reality, idiots who are out to fuck you.

* So you've already unplugged the "internet box" and plugged it back in? Brace yourself, you're going to do it again. Most of the time I do this for a reason...unless you're a dick. Then I do it to see how mad it makes you.

* Don't lie to me- I can tell you have a router. It isn't illegal.

* To those who think they are "computer illiterate": The vast majority of the time, you are lovely customers: Patient, willing to learn, and most importantly, willing to listen. Thank you!

* To those who think they are CompSci PHD's: The vast majority of the time, you are retarded: If you already cycled your equipment and it didn't work, why did it work when I made you do it again? If you are so well educated, stay the hell out of the queue so that people who need help can get it.

* Supervisors don't have a magic wand that they can wave to make everything better. They are governed by the same protocol and use the same utilities as I do. In fact, supervisors are more likely to tell you to fuck off- believe it or not, they have other pressing issues to attend to. If a node goes down, they WILL put those 200 subscribers before you in Priorityland.

* Threatening to cancel does not intimidate us. We have an entire department that is paid to care about that, which means that I don't have to. Harsh? Sure, but I have more than enough work to do fixing shit, yelling at field techs, following up on cases, and explaining the concept of email to your grandmother that it won't cause me to lose any sleep.

* It worked fine yesterday? Oh, then I must be wrong. Let me reconsider the 40 minutes I spent troubleshooting your Win98 box. Check it out: Shit breaks (see point 1); If shit did not break, I would be mowing your lawn instead of sitting in this office.

* Speakerphone? Turn it the fuck off.

* Don't call back and have another rep troubleshoot the same problem. He will read the notes I left about how you spilled coke into your cable box. Even if he didn't, he would come to the same conclusion, and more people with undiagnosed problems would be stuck listening to that god-awful hold music.

* I am not blowing smoke when I say that I understand how frustrating it is to wait on hold, get transferred, and deal with bad agents. I too have called Dell's tech support line. The difference is that I actually DO care about your problem, so please just calm down before I kill your family.

* My company has over 20 million subscribers. I handle a region of about 2 million. To this day, none of them have ever called in to say "I just wanted you to know that my shit is working correctly." Maybe someday?



So what can I help you with today?

* Location: Internet
* it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests


PostingID: 320304562

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Labels: call centers, calling, calling back, e-mail, guilt, instructions, listen, listening, method, microsoft, phone, phone support, question, questions, support, technical, technical support

Hi! Sorry it's been awhile. I haven't been here for some time because I've been a little busy. I'm working on a book, and have been making some mini-movies, and of course I have multiple blogs that I log to regularly. So here it is.

Today's advice is:
...you need listening skills. When you call support be prepared to listen. Not just talk. On every call I verify what product the person is calling about, because I support six different products, and there are many more that my company makes. Sometimes the customer isn't paying attention and answers me without thinking, which means that they get 5-10 minutes of each of us not understanding what the other is talking about.

Here's an example:

I say: "Thank you for calling FunCompany my name is Reine. Can I get your name please? "
Customer answers: "Joe Bob"
I say: "Can you tell me what company you're calling from?"
Customer answers: "FunCompany Software for my PC"
I say: "Yes, I understand that you need support for the FunCompany software, but what company do you work for? I need that information for verification..."
Customer answers: "OH! You mean MY company... I'm calling on behalf of ID10T company."
I say: "Thank you. I'm showing here that you are calling about the FunCompany Jumping Bean Software, is that correct?"
Customer answers: "Yes."
I say: "Ok, how can I help you with that?"
Customer answers: "Well, my Magic beans aren't growing a beanstalk."
I say: "Well, our jumping beans don't grow beanstalks."
Customer says: "Well, I bought this FunCompany product and it's not growing beanstalks. I know its supposed to grow beanstalks. I even put it in dirt."
I say: "Are you calling about the FunCompany Jack n' The Beanstalk Software?"
Customer says: "Yeah, that's the product I need help with."
I say: "Well, then you're on the wrong line. Let me transfer you to the FunCompany Jack n' The Beanstalk Software support queue."

........End.

Ok, so that's the end of my example. See what I mean? Had he listened to begin with he would have saved himself alot of time and aggrivation.

Labels: call centers, calling, instructions, listen, listening, phone support, question, questions, tech, technical, technical support, wrong product

Today's advice is: Don't take shortcuts.

Follow the instructions even though they don't make full sense. If you have to know why they are how they are, then ask. Then follow the instructions.



I had a young woman contact me today about registering her product. The process involved knowing enough about her network to be able to get past her proxy/firewall for the registration. Short of being able to do that, she needed to be able to type a long command prompt-style string to bypass the proxy/firewall.

I sent her a copy of it so she could literally copy/paste most of it, but there were a few places where she'd need to fill in the appropriate information. Unfortunately for her, it required full path information to the files she was trying to use.

Every time she got to one of those variables instead of typing the full path:

c:\example folder\example.exe

She would attempt to use a system variable:

%drive%:\example folder\%filename%

Or some such nonsense.



Now, that may be ok in some circumstances, but the instructions clearly stated that she need the fully qualified path.

In the end, the process failed. Even after I tried time and time again to get her to put in the correct information.

She could have saved herself alot of time and aggravation by just filling in the correct information the first time instead of trying to buck the system. Those instructions are there for a reason. If you knew how to do it your way then why are you calling for help??? Because you don't know how.


So, the moral of the story is:

Capitalize on someone else's experience and do it the tried and true way. Don't try to be a hero.

Labels: call centers, calling, instructions, method, question, questions, support, tech, technical, technical support

Everyday I have someone who calls and asks me something so inane I can hardly believe they are calling me. In every piece of software I've ever worked with there is always some sort of documentation that comes with the software that explains how to use it.


Almost always in plain english, all you need to do is follow the instructions. Still, some folks out there won't be able to follow the directions, either because they don't know enough about their operating system (OS) or because they just don't want to. The first of which I can tolerate, but the second..... well, lets just say they should just return the product.


When calling technical support, or heck, lets be crazy... ANY kind of phone support for a piece of software, a device, or even your lawnmower, show that you have some sense, and at least skim through the manual in an attempt to find your answer. If there's a webpage for the company, search there. If there is a forum or bulletin board, search there. The last one is very helpful, in almost all cases, someone else has already asked this question. All of these solutions, even doing all of them in consecutive order will save you umpteen hours of waiting on hold.


So please, save yourself from frustration, and don't call a phone support rep to find out how to do the average normal settings that are in your users' manual. The only exception to this rule, is that you've lost the book, and need a new copy. We are happy to provide these.


That's my rant for today. Have a good weekend!

Labels: admin, advice, help, how to, instructions, questions, software, support, system, technical, technical support