Technical support advisor Review

I would give customers expert advice and technical know-how to help them with setting up computer related products or resolve issues such as viruses or a printer not printing. I just imagine if it was me with the issues the customer has and I want to help them above their expectations. I would go into work at whatever time was allocated and find a seat before answering a call, often to a customer who is angry that they had to wait a few minutes but I would be determined to get those 10/10 marks by the customer after the call ended as all that's how we know we are doing a 10/10 job and only trackable metrics matter.

Over time you learn to work around system issues. You don't even need a company to take a full call, you can log the details on the next call if you're computer has loaded by then. You learn the alphanumeric alphabet in both the real form and the customer form. You get lots of similar problems so you teach yourself the best technical way to resolve the issues and become a master or tech support for dummies.

I loved my job so much I was doing it for £3 an hour. I disagree with colleagues thinking this is the worst job. I enjoy the challenge of turning around a customers bad experience or assumed outcome and going the extra mile to really make the customers day. To really go above and beyond. To go from a swearing customer to one wanting to give you gifts. We was taught to tell customers "not what you can't do, but what we can do" as unfortunately a lot of the times you want to provide great service but are limited by repair times or pickup days etc but I could still go out of my way to get the best result for the customer and that was the real challenge. I enjoyed treatment my customers like they were VIPs and getting the absolute best outcome I could for them.

There wasn't anything wrong with the structure of the programme. We would go to an office building where a college teacher taught us IT for a few months and we did coursework then we went to the call center and worked there basically. There was someone who helped us with doing on the job work and there was an issue with a load of that work getting lost for all the apprentices but eventually it was all recovered.

There was a couple of managers at the call centre that were very nice and willing to help with anything you needed. If you struggle then your manager can offer you support by letting you listen in to a experienced colleagues calls for example. One time a manager even answered a call for me and showed me lots of good techniques for showing empathy and avoiding long silences etc.

The teacher tells you everything you need to know in order to complete your coursework and exam. I never asked for any extra help so I can't comment on how that would have gone. The teacher marks the coursework in a reasonable time and we all found the course easy as a result.

The role required you to have technical knowhow, as you'd be punished for taking more than several minutes on average on a call and if you didn't know what you was talking about then you'd have to do a customer service job as well basically. The qualification provided excellent IT knowledge that helped us provide industry - leading support.

There was a Christmas party provided by the company and it was amazing. They sure know how to throw a party. We would also arrange team nights out where some of the team would come out for a game of bowling for example and we'd all show off out mad skills. The company has a football team which does training and proper games if you like that.

No

Well really it depends. The company is open minded about hiring employees so if you need work then you can try it but it's not for everyone. The pay and benefits has gotten worse now but its still way ahead of the competition if you believe what management tells you.

If you need help then ask for it as most of the colleagues will be happy to help and have been in your shoes and know your job. You will get better at your job over time and you will be able to show people the way. The company values hard work and you can show this through your figures.