by Doug Gardner 
Here at Nebula Consulting we work with clients via projects and through our support offering, Nebula Advance. Giving us a lot of experience in the ways that people report tasks and issues. Teaching us that although there are different approaches, there is definitely a best way to go about getting your issue resolved quickly.
The golden rule is to make it as easy as possible to investigate. Here are some more detailed hints for getting that resolution:
Make it easy
Give links, examples, videos (we love using Vidyard) and an explanation. We have found that video in particular is helpful as it allows us to see a lot of information we wouldn’t normally have. To break down what this means to the person working on the task, it is great if you can provide:
- A relevant and informative subject line. ‘It’s broke’ doesn’t help and will slow down the resolution.
- A link to a record on which an error is occurring or a full screen image so people can see the browser entirely. There can be many aspects that influence this problem and it is best to have all the information.
- An explanation (preferably in a video) of the issue being replicated explaining what you are seeing and what you expect to see.
- Information on who is effected. If you also know who isn’t effected, this is really helpful.
- Steps for duplication. Duplication is the key to any investigation, if you have not managed to determine when it happens, then the support person will do so as a first step. This means working out not just when it does happen but when it doesn’t as well. The more precise this is, the closer we are to knowing where the issue is and therefore, how to resolve it.
- The areas you have investigated if you have been able to. This can really speed things up as it prevents duplication of work.
Give people time to investigate and make yourself available
Following up is fine but it takes time to investigate and that time is best used without distractions. Asking for a call if needed is really helpful, and remember to provide your number. The likelihood is that if you have an urgent issue, you will be required to test a solution before it can be deployed. So it is a great idea to say when you are available, and make sure that you make yourself available.
Ask the right person
If you are using bespoke functionality, ask the person who built it. Alternatively, if you have an account manager, ask them and copy other people in. If you need to complete questions when creating the ticket/case then take them seriously, they are there to help route your question to the right person which will save time in the long run.
Google before you submit
After spending 2 hours unsuccessfully investigating your issue, it might sound ridiculous that some support staff can resolve your question in 5 minutes. It is mainly because they know how to Google the problem. This means using the correct terminology, knowing which websites were useful (such as the Salesforce Trailblazer Community), and putting the software name in the search. You may also find that it is a known issue which is reported in a different way. In the Salesforce world the Status website and the Known Issues page are especially helpful for this and can save you hours of investigation.
Don’t say that everything is Urgent
I could use a lot of phrases for this. For instance, ‘With great power comes great responsibility’, ‘Don’t cry wolf’, or, ‘If everything is priority 1 then nothing is’. There are times when you really do need help urgently. And at that time you need to be able to get attention straight away. So use your power responsibly.
Following all of this advice will get your issue resolved quickly. We are very blessed at Nebula Consulting to have so many great customers who align with our values, and with whom we have built strong relationships. I would recommend that you build the same level of relationship with your support teams.
***
To find out for yourself how lovely our team is, you can always get in touch, we’ll always be more than happy to help!