Helping People Without Being a Help Desk

One of the reasons I promote some of the groups I belong to is that it provides networks of people who can help each other out. Thus, none of us is ever truly alone with our problems – we have some place to go when we’re stuck on some problem or issue. With that said, there are times to help people and times to push them toward their respective Help Desk.

Creating Your Network
Each person needs to create a network of people they can rely on to help them when they’re stuck. Writing to total strangers is fine when you’re desperate, but not nearly as likely to get an answer as writing to someone you already know. Unfortunately, I run into plenty of people who don’t see the need to build their network until the day they have a problem and realize they don’t have anyone else to rely on. Then, it’s late to start working on creating the kinds of connections. Also, if you’ve already helped someone else out, they’re more likely to help you. So, the next time to see a question by someone and you know you could help, consider responding on the off chance that that person would have an answer to your problem, some day.

Avoiding Becoming the Help Desk
Having a network of people to ask for help is not the same as contacting your software vendor’s Help Desk. While I do often try to help people that have a specific question that I know the answer to, I and many others hesitate to answer a question that could have easily been answered by someone’s Help Desk. The reason is that everyone who is on support is paying for that support. If they’re paying for it, they should use that before getting other people deeply involved. Plus, the software vendors charge for their support services to financially support having a Help Desk. The rest of us aren’t getting paid to do that support. So, if you have an idea you want to pass by someone or you’re really stuck and need a little direction from someone, your expert network is a good place to go. If you have a Windows error in your software or you can’t remember where the “propagate all things to all other things” option is at, you should contact the Help Desk.

Overall
The software vendor's Help Desk is supported by your maintenance fees and should be used before going to your expert network, unless you know the question is more related to strategy than "how to."

Gloria Metrick
GeoMetrick Enterprises
http://www.GeoMetrick.com/