Tiered help desk support is common in businesses large and small. You’ve probably experienced it yourself and not even realized you’ve experienced it. The one most people can relate to is when they call their home internet provider asking for help. Usually the first person just tells you to turn on and off your router or do a hard reset, right? When that doesn’t work, they transfer you to someone else. If the problem is still unresolved, you may be sent higher or they may schedule an on-site visit. In short, you’ve been through tiers one through three. And, if you did any self help with a chat bot or by reading their try this before calling instructions, that’s tier zero.
Many small businesses have the capability to handle tiers zero and one, perhaps even two if you have an IT individual or team, in house. Sometimes they can call the manufacturer or software provider for assistance as well. However, some problems need taking care of on site or by someone with network access. That’s where tiered help desk support from a local IT outsourcing company steps in.
Tiers 0 & 1
If you can find the answer in an FAQ or help section on your device, that’s considered tier 0 support. Some programs and companies now provide tier 0 support through AI chatbots. Basically, in tiered help desk definitions, tier 0 is when you, the user solves your own problem.
Tier 1 is when you need to get someone else involved, but it’s a simple solution. Can’t find your password? Ask for it to be reset. Application requesting an update but you aren’t an admin so you can’t start it? Again, tier 1. This is the most common level of support small business owners usually handle themselves or with a technologically capable staff member. Ideally it should only take a few minutes to get someone with a tier 1 level issue back up and running.
Tier 2
If you have an IT person on staff, they should have tier 2 support capabilities for most of the tools you utilize. For example, diagnosing that a hard drive has failed and being able to replace it is considered tier 2 support. Setting up a new laptop for a staff member, also tier 2. In tiered hep desk support, a tier 2 ticket requires technical knowledge and troubleshooting skills. Some businesses outsource tier 2 and up. Others hire a team member for this level and hire their IT managed service company for tiers 3 and 4.
Tier 3
Unless you are a larger business with several IT staff members, you likely don’t have a staff member who can handle a tier 3 issue. These issues often require deep technical troubleshooting and programming skills. They are people who require deeper access into the network, applications, and machines than most tiered help desk support personnel. An example would be a program that continues to crash on one machine when it’s running fine on others.
Tier 4
Although IT outsourcing companies offer tier 4 support, they too often have to get the manufacturer/vendor/software company involved in tier 4 tickets. These are often highly unusual technical and complicated issues previously not experienced by anyone involved. The solution can be anything from a software patch to reinitializing a machine. These types of issues should be rare but take a great deal of technical skill by an IT expert in order to work to a solution with the vendor.
Do You Need Additional Help Desk Support?
Toucan Technology Group offers tiered help desk support solutions. We can be your only resource and handle everything from basic password resets to complex vendor related issues or we can partner with your IT team and take over when they have exhausted their knowledge base. Call us to learn more about Toucan’s tiered help desk support today at (317) 376-4874 or fill out our contact form and we’ll reach out.
