Field Technician Computing and Peripherals

SUPPORT REQUESTS & TIME1. Requesting Support and Scheduled Appointments 1.1. All Clients will have a Client web portal which is accessed via a username and password. Only personnel that the Client specifies can request support. As many authorized users may be added as the Client needs. Here you may enter new support requests, track your open tickets, add information to tickets, see who your ticket is assigned to, the method of support provided be it on-site or remote and the estimated completion date. Here you may search the interactive knowledgebase of the most common IT issues at your site so end-users can try to remedy easily solved previous events. Only users who are authorized on the web portal may request support via phone. Telephone use is reserved for Mission Critical situations (Corporate Premium Support) or dialogue regarding your office IT operations and new sales inquiries.2. Escalation request from Corporate Standard Support to Corporate Premium Support 2.1. Clients requesting same day support or requests for immediate assistance for a Non- Mission Critical event would qualify as Corporate Premium Support. 2.2. Generally Dakotech will strive to provide the most responsive support to all incoming requests, and therefore clients may receive quicker response to Corporate Standard Support requests during periods of low volume. This has been done since 1999 in the interest of good Client service and in no way implies Dakotech will always be able, or obligated to deliver immediate resolutions to requests at the Corporate Standard Support rate.3. After Business Hours Support, Weekend Support and Time Commitments Unscheduled support provided after Standard Support hours and/or weekends qualifies as Corporate Premium Support unless confirmed in writing, e-mail, quote or the Client web portal.4. Requests for Corporate Premium Support are confirmed within 1 hour and can be made by telephone only to the main Dakotech support number (734-786-3355). The time target window for an on-site technician visit of 2 hours after response is confirmed.5. Time 5.1. It is assumed that all time spent in dialogue with a customer experiencing an issue or seeking Technical questions of any kind via phone, email or onsite may be invoiced. 5.2. Upon support request and immediate attempt to resolve client issue(s) remotely and/or

further information may be gathered by our techs and is billed in actual on going time with a maximum Remote Support (Standard or Premium) attempt of ½ hour (00.5). A site visit may be deemed necessary and subsequent charges invoiced. DEFINITION OF MISSION CRITICAL & RESULTING CONSEQUENCES1. Non-Mission Critical When a non-Mission Critical event occurs, Clients are asked to use the Client web portal when requesting support. This includes most issues, such as an offline workstation (where other workstations are available for use), offline workstation printer (where other printers are present), remote user issues, and automatic backup issues.2. Mission Critical Situations are defined as causing major, widespread disruption of office activities, such as an offline server, general network outage, e-mail server outage, office- wide virus activity, or loss of printing capabilities from all user workstations. Dakotech may treat these events as Mission Critical and will respond with a Premium Corporate Support response. Confirmation by telephone of the support request will be made to the Customer, and a targeted on-site response time of 2 hours after initial confirmation via Customer being called back from Dakotech. [i.e. initial call received and confirmed via Dakotech call to Customer at 11:00 a.m. resulting in a Dakotech technician on-site by 1:00 p.m.] 2.1. When a Mission Critical event(s) occur a phone call to 734-786-3355 is required. If after-hours, leave a voice message with description of the problem and the best callback number. Dakotech will respond with a confirmation of a Mission Critical event within one hour of the initial request and a site visit 2 hours thereafter if needed. 2.2. Clients asking for a priority response for non-Mission-Critical issues, including same- day onsite technician visit or technician response at a specific time, including responding with support outside of Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (EST) may be billed for Corporate Premium Support rates. TECHNICIAN TIME SLIPS1. Dakotech Time Slip all Dakotech technicians are required to fill out a Dakotech Time Slip and have it signed by a representative of your business when providing on-site support. For all on- site visits a copy is stored in a binder (Dakotech Time Slip Storage) which resides at your location near your server. Digital signatures via electronic devices may be used and/or PIN codes of authorized individuals that request support. If Time Slips are used compare them to your invoice later. Dakotech maintains all original documents.

2. Technicians cannot discuss Hourly Rates or Discounts Technicians are never allowed to discuss rates or discounts with Client’s. Technicians may estimate hours to complete a job. Time Slips are only documentation of the time spent and steps taken in resolving your issues. Rates and discounts can be discussed with your Account Manager and/or Dakotech office staff only..3. Offsite Support Time slips Time Slips for off-site support including but not limited to: phone, email or remote administration may not be provided for you. If one is needed you may request a .PDF be sent via email at months end. CONFIDENTIALITY, SECURITY AND DATA INTEGRITY1. Dakotech may identify security risks, breaches, or other liabilities and make specific recommendations in writing for the resolution of these risks. Dakotech cannot be held responsible for exploited security threats.2. Dakotech accepts no responsibility or liability for lost, missing, or corrupted data caused by viruses, worms, unauthorized user activity (hacking), and the like. From time to time Dakotech may identify specific and threats and may recommend and undertake immediate action to protect Client networks without prior authorization. While this is rare, notice of this action will be given in the earliest reasonable time after the work occurred, including details of what the specific issue was and why immediate action was necessary. Corporate Standard Support services given to intervene or remediate these issues are billable activities for which Client assumes responsibility of payment not to exceed two (2) hours of Standard Support in one (1) month.3. In order to provide Support Services as described herein, Dakotech technicians will necessarily be privy to and have access to sensitive Client firm data files and other sensitive information. Dakotech agrees to take all reasonable measures to keep all files, client information, passwords, and any other proprietary client data secure and confidential. Dakotech will not delete, remove or alter client data files.4. When it becomes necessary for Dakotech to remove hardware offsite for service, a Dakotech Inbound Hardware Checklist (DIHC) will be completed and left with the Client, detailing the nature of files known to be on the computer or other equipment. Dakotech will take all reasonable measures to protect this Client data while it is in our possession.

DAKOTECH STAFFING1. NON-COMPETE. During the period of time that the Customer employs services from Dakotech and for a period of (1) years after the termination or cessation of such employment for any reason (both periods of time, taken together, being referred to hereinafter as the \"RESTRICTED PERIOD\", the Customer shall not, anywhere in the United States, directly or indirectly, whether individually or as an officer, director, employee, consultant, partner, stockholder (other than as the holder of not more than one percent (1%) of a publicly held corporation), individual proprietor, joint venturer, investor, lender, consultant or in any other capacity whatsoever, solicit, entice, approach, advance or offer a position for reimbursement or trade of products or services competitive with those developed, designed, produced, marketed, sold or rendered by the Dakotech at any time during the Restricted Period.2. NON-SOLICITATION. During the Service period and the Restricted Period, the Customer shall not, directly or indirectly, whether individually or as an officer, director, employee, consultant, partner, stockholder, individual proprietor, joint venturer, investor, lender, consultant or any other capacity whatsoever: (a) solicit, divert or take away, or attempt to solicit, divert or take away Dakotech Staff or (b) hire, retain (including as a consultant) or encourage Dakotech Staff to leave the employment of the Dakotech, or hire or retain (including as a consultant) any former employee of the Company who has left the employment of the Company within one (1) year prior to such hiring or retention.3. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. The Customer agrees and acknowledges that their non- competition and non-solicitation obligations hereunder are essential to the protection of the Dakotech's business.4. EQUITABLE REMEDIES. The parties hereto hereby agree that breaches of covenants and obligations undertaken in this Agreement are likely to cause Dakotech substantial and irrevocable damage, which would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove precisely; therefore, it is agreed that this Agreement shall be enforceable by specific performance. If breach is found on behalf of the Customer, the Customer agrees to pay a 6 month average of previous IT labor invoices. This date is determined by the Dakotech staff worker performing IT related services as defined in the Service Level Agreement for the Customer directly and thus circumventing Dakotech services. If the Customer is less than 6 months old 50% of the averaged IT labor generated to date shall be owed.5. MISCELLANEOUS. Dakotech acknowledges that this Agreement does not constitute a contract of employment and does not imply that the Customer will continue their use of services for any specific period of time.

6. Litigated cases where the Customer is in Breach of the Agreement shall only be tried in Washtenaw County, Michigan regardless of where the Customer resides.7. Rulings against the Customer require the Customer to pay all court and lawyer fees on behalf of Dakotech. WARRANTY INFORMATIONDakotech Warrantees labor for 30 days. Software and hardware warranties are as suppliedfrom the respective manufacturers.1. Dakotech makes no implied or explicit warranties other than software and hardware will be installed correctly based upon manufacturer and/or industry standards.2. Return visits or remote sessions initiated in response to warranty service requests may reveal an underlying cause was not due to any failure or error on the part of Dakotech. At that time the return visit may become billable labor at Corporate Standard Support rates. If this is the case Dakotech will provide documentation explaining the root cause and why it is not a warranty issue.3. Warranty support requests should be made in writing to [email protected] and shall include the following: 3.1. Statement of known issue 3.2. State how this issue is related to or appears caused by the prior work 3.3. Statement of intended outcome(s)4. It is the desire of Dakotech to provide superior service, however computers and networks are complex systems with sometimes unpredictable interactions between various applications software and hardware configurations. Dakotech will strive to explain clearly when these unanticipated interactions cause problems which are not specifically tied to warranted work. WARRANTY EXCLUSIONS1. Generic PCs assembled from off-the shelf components (AKA “White Boxes”) are not recommended by Dakotech.

2. Refurbished machines and machines that were previously owned.3. Any PCs knowingly and intentionally operated by client without a pay licensed virus protection, or unlicensed and un-patched software.4. As offsite IT administration Dakotech accepts no responsibility or liability for: lost, missing or corrupted data, viruses, worms, hacked systems and similar items resulting in a mission critical situation or financial loss.5. User error, user inability to run applications, hardware failure and help installing, removing or using software. Dakotech reserves the right to decline any warranty including but not limited to other IT support providers actions, such as: when the user/Client (or another administrator/3rd party) elects self-installation of software in a corporate setting without prior approval from Dakotech, this includes but is not limited to: applications, Windows updates, other software updates and any hardware installation. Request for modification must be requested with approval granted via email to [email protected] prior to any installations.6. Dakotech cannot warrant the outcome of work completed on 3rd party IP based (multifunction) printers.7. Dakotech does not service printer hardware of any kind.8. Dakotech does not service laptop hardware except for memory modules and hard drives.

GENERAL ITEMS1. Dakotech policy prohibits installation or support of any pirated or illegal copies of software. Client must be able to produce, on request, proof of ownership for all software with sufficient licenses for the number of users in the office. Original software disks indicating Client as the legal owner including proof of license shall be kept available, preferably in one central place to facilitate verification, software updates, and system reloads.2. Sometimes Dakotech may be required to contact a 3rd party for support [such as a hardware or software manufacturer]. Dakotech will bill the client up to 100% of any costs incurred for this 3rd party support.3. The client is responsible for all drop shipments signed for and left at locations from all carriers. Please provide us with a main contact within your office if you would like to appoint a specific person for this activity.4. Dakotech recommends corporate grade systems, from manufacturers like Dell, Gateway, HP and similar companies. Dakotech does not generally sell hardware, but as a service can assist with obtaining competitive quotes for Dakotech Clients to purchase the hardware directly. All quotes and time spent via email or phone are billed accordingly as Network Consultation at the rates listed herein.5. Dakotech hardware support and repair services are limited in scope. 5.1. On Desktop PCs Dakotech generally only performs memory module upgrades. Other hardware upgrades may be obtained from a 3rd party vendor. 5.2. Dakotech does not service failed laptop hardware other than replacing hard drives or memory module upgrades.6. Rates and terms are subject to change, as business conditions merit.

DAKOTECH SUPPORT MINIMUM SYSTEM REQUIREMENTSMinimum System Requirements are in place to protect clients from being billed for supportequal to or more than the value of the actual equipment1. Dakotech Minimum System requirements – machines shall have ≥ 1.0 GHz processors, machines shall be running one of the following Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Microsoft Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008.2. Dakotech supports most other Microsoft applications and all 3rd party Windows-based applications.

Appendix A: Credit Card Payments and Prepayments via Check Dakotech Support Associated Fees Rates $105.00/hour Credit Card on FileCorporate Standard SupportCorporate Premium Support $150.00/hourConsultation $85.00/hourIncluding: Office AutomationConsulting / Training (IncludingAdobe/Time Matters etc. support)and/or Project Management Services1 technician/consultant onsite visit Travel fee $35 per tech/per occurrenceAll Cabling and Infrastructure work Quoted and billed separately Not sold by Dakotech, no discountAll hardware or software purchased fromA3rndyPsamrtyal(lDhealrld, wMaicrreoosrofsto, fLtewxairseNpeuxrischeatsce.)d Will be billed separatelythrough Dakotech (Adobe, ESET etc.)

Dakotech Prepayment Associated Fees Options, Discounts & $10,800.00 Rates $90.00/hour120 hours Prepayment CorporateStandard Support $7,600.008(A0ppheonudirxsBP, mreapyacoynmtaeinntoCtheorrdpeotarialst)eStandard Support $95.00/hour4(A0phpeonudrixsBP, rmeapyacyomntaeinn toCthoerrpdoetraailste)Standard Support $4,000.00(Appendix B, may contain other details) $100.00/hourCorporate Standard Support Deducted from balance at discounted rate of $90.00, $95.00 or $100.00/hourCorporate Premium Support Deducted from balance at discountedConsultationIncluding: Office Automation rate of $120.00/hourConsulting / Training (IncludingAdobe/Time Matters etc. support) Deducted from balance at rate of $85/hourand/or Project Management Services1 technician/consultant onsite visit Travel fee deducted from balance at $35 per tech/per occurrence, no discountAll Cabling and Infrastructure work Quoted and billed separately Not sold by Dakotech, no discountAll hardware or software purchased fromA3rndyPsamrtyal(lDhealrld, wMaicrreoosor fsto, fLtewxairseNpeuxrischeatcs.e)d Will be billed separatelythrough Dakotech (Adobe, ESET etc.)

Note: Any software or supplies needed would be paid for separately.

WarrantyEffective product warranty tracking can provide a significant productivity gain for servicebusinesses. Defective parts covered by a manufacturer’s warranty can be returned from the fieldfor credit or zero charge repair. Service providers can save considerable amounts of money byclosely tracking warranty information and assuring maximum credit for parts. Contractmanagement spans the entire contract life cycle, from opportunity identification, pricing, andproposal generation to service delivery execution on contractual commitments and contractadditions to cancellations and renewals. Visibility into product warranty expirations enables anorganization to strategically re-prioritize service sales resources to improve customer retention,win-backs, and off warranty contract capture rates.Field Service Technicians use their product training and technical skills to ensure that high-value business equipment such as film processing machines, minilabs and large formatprinters are properly maintained and repaired with the minimum of downtime.They visit the premises of companies and organizations that have a warranty or on-goingservice agreement with the equipment manufacturer or support company.Field Service Technicians will typically have a basic electronics qualification or will have gainedon-the-job experience and training from working in an electronics role.Photographic manufacturers employ thousands of Field Service Technicians across the UK. It istheir job to install, maintain and repair a wide range of commercial and business imagingequipment, including: film processing equipment, photographic and inkjet printers, commercialand scientific scanners, large format printers, minilabs, digital kiosks and photo booths, as wellas related computerized control systems and software.There are several core responsibilities of the role. Field Service Technicians install, configureand calibrate equipment and train staff in the safe use of the equipment. They service theequipment regularly, carrying out scheduled maintenance and replacing worn or faulty parts.They repair equipment, diagnosing and fixing faults on site, and logging repairs on a database.They may also receive bonuses for encouraging customers to replace old equipment with newmachines, and in some cases this role can be combined with the role of a Technical SalesRepresentative.

Incident EscalationThis is a term that seems to mean different things for different people. For some, it means theHelpdesk or Service Desk assigning an Incident to a more expert team (or third party supplier)when the nature of the Incident and the skills in our specialist groups dictate that we must doso.For some, it means adjusting the priority of the Incident (usually upwards).For others, it means changing the Incident and alerting staff as it becomes possible theresolution will be late.Fortunately ITIL provides us with some useful definitions – Functional Escalation, andHierarchical Escalation.  Functional Escalation refers the process of assigning an Incident from one team to another based on the skills required to resolve the Incident – for example, assigning an issue with a database backup to the DBA team.  Hierarchical Escalation refers to a process whereby we take action to avert the resolution of an Incident being unsatisfactory or late.These two types of Escalation are not mutually exclusive: you may, as part of your IncidentManagement process, do both.A number of strategies are used in Functional Escalation. Some of those I’ve encounteredbeing used successfully include  An ‘open’ system, whereby any Agent wishing to reassign an Incident assigned to them can do so. This assumes that staff work diligently on Incidents, and will not needlessly re-assign Incidents for no other reason that they want to focus on projects of most interest to them. Generally ‘open’ approaches like this work best in smaller groups, where expertise and responsibility is very clearly defined.  A ‘refer and request’ system, whereby any of the specialist teams who wish to have a reassignment can reassign the Incident back on the Helpdesk of Service Desk only, with a request for assignment to another teams (for instance, it turns out after diagnosis that a different team needs to become involved). This stops a ‘pass the hot potato’ mentality developing, helps the Service Desk team keep involved, and is one of my preferred approaches.The ‘open’ and ‘refer and request’ methods of Escalation are by no means the only possibleapproaches, but they are two that are used very frequently in Incident Management.

Follow safety procedures while handling tools and system troubleshootingOur objective is a safety and health program that will reduce the number of injuries and illnessesto an absolute minimum, not merely in keeping with, but surpassing, the best experience ofother operations similar to ours. We recognize that the responsibilities for safety and health areshared.  The company accepts the responsibility for leadership of the safety and health program, forits effectiveness and improvement, and for providing the guidance and assistance to ensure safeworking conditions.  Supervisors are responsible for developing the proper attitudes within themselves towardsafety and health and within those they supervise, and for ensuring that all operations areperformed with the utmost regard for the safety and health of all personnel involved.  Employees are responsible for the wholehearted, genuine cooperation with all aspects of thesafety and health program, including compliance with all rules and regulations, and forcontinuously practicing safety while performing their duties. Management considers no phase ofthe operation more important than the health and safety of the employee. Management willcontinue to be guided and motivated by this policy and, with the cooperation of all supervisorsand employees will actively pursue a safer working environment throughout the company.It is of the utmost importance that we present a professional appearance, provide all customerswith a positive impression, and comply with all laws, regulations, and policies of both ourcompany and the cable company. Neglect of these procedures can have negative results suchas…  Customers obtaining unauthorized (and therefore illegal) cable service  Signal leakage that can potentially affect air traffic navigation  Loss of your job  Loss of contract with the cable company. You must have a reliable late model personal vehicle and if you are performing field disconnects,it must be a truck or a van that can carry cargo, a 28’ or 32’ fiberglass ladder and a 6’ or tallerfiberglass stepladder. An SUV may be used depending on client system requirements. Again,reliability is crucial. If your vehicle isn’t working, you aren’t working and you aren’t makingmoney.

Work hours and commitment are also crucial. Your job function will require customer contact.Many people are not at home during the day so your work hours will include evenings until 9:00p.m. and weekends. Evenings and weekends are “prime time” and these will be the mosteffective hours of the work week. Your manager will provide a weekly work schedule before thestart of each work week.

Basic troubleshootingSymptom: Sluggish response time Could be: A software problem. The fix: Run a full antivirus scan to make sure you don't have any malicious software tripping up your computer. If malware isn't the problem, get into your System Configuration utility and look at whether applications are continuously running in the background that don't have to be, such as an application you rarely use that's constantly looking for updates. Then uncheck it, freeing up resources. \"This tool will allow you to disable any third-party programs that will perform functions when the computer starts up,\" explains Michael Obenshain, technical lead for support escalations in the customer service and support group at Microsoft. If you don't find the applications that are slowing down your computer -- or this step doesn't help -- check with vendors to see if you need any software updates. Also, run a disk defragmenter, which reduces the amount of fragmentation in the file systems, thus freeing up space. Sometimes a computer is slow because of hardware problems, Obenshain says. Run a Check Disk utility (chkdsk) to see if there are any bad spots on the drive. The program will mark those spots as bad, and Microsoft won't write to them anymore. (He suggests that you do this monthly anyway, noting that lots of bad spots indicate that your hard drive is failing.)Symptoms: Distorted video, crosshatched lines on your monitor, sudden loss of power Could be: Overheated components in your computer, such as the central processor, which will kill power to the machine, or the graphics card that connects to the monitor. The fix: Turning off your computer and letting it cool will resolve the problem temporarily, but it doesn't fix the underlying cause, which is often dust inside your computer, says Bill Bivin, community liaison for the Community and Conversations group

at Dell. Get out your manual, or get to the manufacturer's Web site to find instructions on dusting out your computer. (And keep up a regular dusting schedule to avoid future problems.)Symptom: Computer won't boot up Could be: A software issue. The fix: Sometimes the inability to boot up and get into the operating system indicates a corrupt system file, says Bob MacDonald, vice president of technology services for Staples' EasyTech service. Some off-the-shelf diagnostic tools will scan and, if possible, repair the problem. The alternative, though, might be to reinstall the operating system -- a time-consuming task that could mean data loss, particularly if you're not backing up regularly, he says. More advanced diagnostics and repairs are best left to IT professionals, who can usually protect against data loss.Symptom: Computer won't boot up past POST (\"power-on self-test,\" the preboot sequence) Could be: A hardware issue. The fix: Take note of any messages or beep codes -- even if they seem cryptic -- because they give details of the problem, Obenshain says. You can use them to search online or to search a vendor's Web site for information about what might be wrong and how to fix it. In addition, try to isolate the problem by disconnecting any external pieces of hardware connected to the machine and rebooting to see if any of them could be the problem, Obenshain says. If you added a new piece of hardware and couldn't boot up, it could mean that there's something physically wrong with it, or that there's some incompatibility between it and your computer, or that the driver on that device isn't compatible with a piece of software on your machine, he explains. \"So the quickest, simplest test is to take off the new addition and see if that's the fix,\" Obenshain suggests. After a few weeks without additional problems, you'll have a better idea of whether you addressed the real problem, he notes.

Also, those who are more tech-savvy can open up the desktop casing to make sure all the cables are secure. Sometimes a cable can be jostled loose when a computer is moved.Symptom: Problems launching a software application (e.g., won't launch, freezes up computer,produces an error message, etc.) Could be: A conflict with other applications. The fix: Try the System Restore function to remove any recent changes. \"It removes any system settings, like if you changed your desktop from a picture of a puppy to a picture of the beach, or any software added since the last restore point,\" Bivin explains. If your computer has problems launching applications soon after you've installed new software, uninstall the new application and then install it again to see if that solves the problem, he advises. You should also check for and install updates on existing software, he adds.Symptom: Blue-screen error Could be: Hardware or software problems. The fix: You can look at Event Viewer in Computer Management to get a brief description of the error and maybe even reference support articles. (To access Computer Management, click Start and then click Control Panel. Click Performance and Maintenance, click Administrative Tools, and then double-click Computer Management.)Have your say \"It will tell what file caused an issue, so you can identify whether it was hardware or software that caused it,\" Obenshain says. You might just need a software update to get things rolling smoothly again. Otherwise, you can use the messages that appear to search for a probable cause and solution. If the computer is successfully able to boot and you're working in Windows and getting error messages, you can go to Microsoft's support site to find troubleshooting info or, if it's a known problem, the steps to resolve it, Obenshain says. He notes that the messages might not make sense to the user but could mean a lot to IT professionals.

Symptom: Peripherals won't work Could be: Corrupted software. The fix: It's tempting to think that your printer is kaput or your PDA is on its last legs when it won't work with your computer, but it's often just faulty software, Meister says. \"The software that allows the computer to talk to the hardware sometimes gets corrupted or deleted or changed,\" he explains. The fix could be as simple as uninstalling the software for the device and then reinstalling it, he adds. Look for and install any updates, too.How to Identify Which Hardware Component is Failing in Your ComputerConcluding that your computer has a hardware problem is just the first step. If you’re dealing with ahardware issue and not a software issue, the next step is determining what hardware problem you’reactually dealing with.If you purchased a laptop or pre-built desktop PC and it’s still under warranty, you don’t needto care about this. Have the manufacturer fix the PC for you — figuring it out is their problem.If you’ve built your own PC or you want to fix a computer that’s out of warranty, this is somethingyou’ll need to do on your own.Everything You Need To Know About the Blue Screen of Death

This may seem like obvious advice, but searching for information about a blue screen’s errormessage can help immensely. Most blue screens of death you’ll encounter on modern versionsof Windows will likely be caused by hardware failures. The blue screen of death often displaysinformation about the driver that crashed or the type of error it encountered.For example, let’s say you encounter a blue screen that identified “NV4_disp.dll” as the driverthat caused the blue screen. A quick Google search will reveal that this is the driver for NVIDIAgraphics cards, so you now have somewhere to start. It’s possible that your graphics card isfailing if you encounter such an error message.Check Hard Drive SMART StatusHow to See if Your Hard Drive is Dying with S.M.A.R.T.Hard drives have a built in S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology)feature. The idea is that the hard drive monitors itself and will notice if it starts to fail, providingyou with some advance notice before the drive fails completely. This isn’t perfect, so your harddrive may fail even if SMART says everything is okay.If you see any sort of “SMART error” message, your hard drive is failing. You can use SMARTanalysis tools to viewthe SMART healthstatus informationyour hard drives arereporting.Test Your RAMRAM failure canresult in a variety ofproblems. If thecomputer writes datato RAM and the RAMreturns different data

because it’s malfunctioning, you may see application crashes, blue screens, and file systemcorruption.To test your memory and see if it’s working properly, use Windows’ built-in Memory Diagnostictool. The Memory Diagnostic tool will write data to every sector of your RAM and read it backafterwards, ensuring that all your RAM is working properly. Check Heat Levels How hot is is inside your computer? Overheating can rsult in blue screens, crashes, and abrupt shut downs. Your computer may be overheating because you’re in a very hot location, it’s ventilated poorly, a fan has stoppedinside your computer, or it’s full of dust.Your computer monitors its own internal temperatures and you can access this information. It’sgenerally available in your computer’s BIOS, but you can also view it with system informationutilities such as SpeedFan or Speccy. Check your computer’s recommended temperature leveland ensure it’s within the appropriate range.If your computer isoverheating, you may seeproblems only when you’redoing something demanding,such as playing a game thatstresses your CPU andgraphics card. Be sure tokeep an eye on how hot yourcomputer gets when itperforms these demandingtasks, not only when it’s idle.

Stress Test Your CPUYou can use a utilitylike Prime95 to stress test yourCPU. Such a utility will fore yourcomputer’s CPU to performcalculations without allowing itto rest, working it hard andgenerating heat. If your CPU isbecoming too hot, you’ll start tosee errors or system crashes.Over clockers use Prime95 tostress test their overclocksettings — if Prime95 experiences errors, they throttle back on their overclocks to ensure theCPU runs cooler and more stable. It’s a good way to check if your CPU is stable under load.Stress Test Your Graphics CardYour graphics card can also be stress tested. For example, if your graphics driver crashes whileplaying games, the games themselves crash, or you see odd graphical corruption, you can runa graphics benchmark utility like 3DMark. The benchmark will stress your graphics card and, ifit’s overheating or failingunder load, you’ll seegraphical problems, crashes,or blue screens whilerunning the benchmark.If the benchmark seems towork fine but you haveissues playing a certaingame, it may just be aproblem with that game.

Swap it OutNot every hardware problem is easy to diagnose. If you have a bad motherboard or powersupply, their problems may only manifest through occasional odd issues with other components.It’s hard to tell if these components are causing problems unless you replace them completely.Ultimately, the best way to determine whether a component is faulty is to swap it out. Forexample, if you think your graphics card may be causing your computer to blue screen, pull thegraphics card out of your computer and swap in a new graphics card. If everything is workingwell, it’s likely that your previous graphics card was bad.This isn’t easy for people who don’t have boxes of components sitting around, but it’s the idealway to troubleshoot. Troubleshooting is all about trial and error, and swapping components outallows you to pin down which component is actually causing the problem through a process ofelimination.

Module 4:Engage with Customer

ENGAGE WITH CUSTOMERThe needs and requirements for service and support differ greatly by equipment, by customer,by site, by usage, and by many other aspects too numerous to mention. In fact, it may be saidthat every piece of equipment, at any particular customer site, has its own requirements forservice and support.That is why it is so important for services providers – both companies, and their servicetechnicians – to understand the unique customer needs, requirements, and expectations forservice in each of the key customer segments that it serves. Only by understanding, and actingupon, these key characteristics and patterns can a services provider hope to eventually succeedin meeting the unique needs and requirements of all of its customers, in all of its customersegments.To assist in doing so, we suggest the following five easy guidelines:1. “If you can speak the customers’ language, you can understand their needs better”The only way you can truly understand your customers’ critical needs and requirements forservice is to be familiar with the terminology, technology, and “buzz words” they use wheneveryou interact with one another. For example, if a customer tells you that they absolutely,positively have to have the system back up and running for an important weekly production run,or a regularly scheduled staff meeting, you really need to know exactly what they are talkingabout before you can truly understand the criticality of the failure in terms of how it will impacttheir business operations. It is not good enough to only understand how they use theirequipment – you also need to know what they are using it for.Once you understand what is going on – in the customer’s own language, and from their uniqueperspective, you will be much better equipped to address their concerns, fix the equipment, and“fix” the customer itself. However, in order to accomplish this, you will first need to have a clearunderstanding of what your customers are telling you, in their own words, and using their uniqueterms, names and examples.2. “If you know who to deal with, you can get to the root of the problem quicker”Knowing who to deal with in each customer’s organization is critical to the success of any long-term service and support relationship. However, in order to be in a position where you caneffectively identify the principal customer contacts and liaisons, you will first need to have a fairunderstanding of each customer’s organizational structure and hierarchy. This will require at

least a general understanding of the various titles, roles, and functions generally utilized by thecustomer, as well as the specific individuals corresponding to each within the organization.The time you spend dealing with the wrong individual(s) at any of your customer sites will betime wasted, as it will likely extend the overall length of the repair process. In some cases,information given to the “wrong” individual may be worse than not providing it to the customerat all. Of course, it will never be possible to acquire and maintain total information for every oneof the customers you support – but you should place yourself in a position to at least maintainthe basic information for each of the primary accounts you support on a regular basis.3. “If you know how customers use their equipment, you can help them avoid commonproblems, and suggest ways to improve productivity”In many cases, the causes of equipment failures may be more a result of the way in which thecustomer uses the system than as a result of problems specific to the equipment itself. Forexample, systems used primarily for simple office applications will typically not fail with the samefrequency as systems used for more complex applications in a multiple-shift productionenvironment.You, as the primary services provider, are typically the most qualified one to assess exactly howthe customer is using the equipment, for what applications, over what time period, and withwhat volume of throughput, to determine whether it is being appropriately used and managed.In situations where you suspect the equipment is not being used properly, or is being over-usedin terms of the original product specs or suggested levels of usage, it will be your responsibilityto diplomatically point this out to the customer.But merely pointing out the problem will not be good enough from the customer’s perspective;they will also be looking for a solution, and that solution may very well hinge on yourrecommendation for either reducing usage to the manufacturer’s suggested levels, or to upgradeto a newer piece of equipment that has been designed to handle a heavier workload. This willultimately be your “call”, and one that you will be counted on to make only after you have “doneyour homework” of understanding how your customer has been using the equipment, and whatproblems they will most likely be forced to deal with in the future if they continue doing so atodds with the manufacturer’s suggested guidelines.4. “If you understand the importance of equipment availability to your customer, youwill better understand how to provide them with service and support”The best way to address the key components of equipment service and support for an individualcustomer or segment is to match its services needs and requirements directly against the “cost”of equipment downtime. In other words, the “real” value of the service and support you provideto your customers can be measured either in terms of the actual costs required to keep itsbusiness systems and equipment in working order and with maximum uptime, compared against

the costs that would be incurred as the result of an extended period of downtime (i.e., missedproject deadlines, overtime pay for make-up shifts, etc.).By understanding the impact that equipment downtime has on the customer’s businessoperations (and costs) – and how it is actually measured by the customer – you will be betterprepared to provide your customer with precisely the level of support it requires when such anevent happens. In some cases, you may not even have to change the way in which you providethe support – merely the way in which you communicate with the customer as you are doing so(i.e., an extra courtesy phone call or two along the way, additional information on how to avoidor prevent similar failures in the future, etc.).5. “If you understand how your customers’ needs will be changing, you can prepareyourself to support them in the future”By understanding your customers’ plans for growth, along with their anticipated timetables forchange, you will be better prepared to gauge the expected impact that these changes will haveon their service requirements in the future. If you can anticipate their changing needs, you willalso find yourself in a much better position to ensure that both you – and the servicesorganization you work for – will be able to meet your customers’ evolving services expectations.Basically, in a case where your company – or you, yourself – has been supporting a particularcustomer that is planning to acquire another company, or downsize its existing facilities and/orwork staff, it would be helpful for you to be aware of the forthcoming change so that you canprovide your “reengineered” customer with a new “plan” for ensuring that its changingrequirements for service and support will be met seamlessly, and with no unnecessarydisruptions or inconveniences.If you have already established a direct line of communications with the appropriate internalmanager of business systems and equipment at the customer facility, you may also havepositioned yourself to obtain some form of “early warning” that such a change may be takingplace in the near future. Armed with that information, you can go back to your companymanagement and have an appropriate “transition plan” developed in behalf of your customer toboth facilitate and expedite its move to a new set of service and support needs. This will requirea fair amount of interaction with other areas within your own company, and you will need to beable to work internally as a team to assist the customer with its transition.Services providers – like yourself – must understand not only how to fix the equipment, butalso how to fix the customer, and this may vary greatly from one customer to another. As aresult, the most successful services providers will typically be those which:

 Speak the same language as their customers; Know the appropriate individual(s) to deal with respect to fostering long-term customer relationships; Understand how the customer is using (or possibly misusing) the equipment; Understand the total costs that the customer perceives to be associated with equipment downtime; and Are prepared to change along with the customer’s evolving needs and requirements for equipment service and support.

Do’s & Don’t’s while handling field calls and dealing with Customers.A call centre agent’s job is one of the most challenging, yet rewarding and most imperative.From taking orders to providing customer support, sticky situations arise. But how you handleit all can make a difference between creating loyal customers and losing business. Whether thecall centre is small or large, it has two agents or two hundred plus, it all starts with the righttraining. Every rep who answers a call should be undergoing a training session. It is anongoing process which should never stop. Customer care agents should be guided on how tomanage both inbound and outbound calls. The situation varies in both cases; former isproviding information and handling complaints, whereas latter involves in selling business.Here is the list of what call centre agents should and should not do during a call interaction. Do’s1) Have in-depth knowledge about the company’s products and services:When agents are thorough with the features and specifications of the product, they have tomake least efforts to solve the query or sell the product. This results in establishing credibility,trust and leaves an impression on the prospect’s mind. Moreover, it boosts the confidence ofthe agent and helps them to cross their line of ability to sell more. 2) Give importance to customer’s identity:Asking customers details during every call bugs them. To avoid this, train the reps to use CRMsolutions. This tool works in improving company’s customer service practices by helpingemployees respond to client’s queries quickly and effectively. This saves the customer’s timeand improve agent’s productivity and efficiency. It even works in providing speedy bookkeeping and accurate financial reporting’s of the clients.According to the Crimson Consulting Group, 50% of call centre agents have been using CRMfor over a year, and they tend to have a high level of CRM expertise. Two-thirds of surveyrespondents stated that they are “self-sufficient” or “support others with CRM.”

3) Follow two-way communication process:The agent’s main job is to communicate; first of all they should allow the customers to speakwithout any interruption. The agent should actively listen and speak only after they finish.Secondly, they must possess the quality of excellent communication skills. 4) Focus on customer rather than selling: An agent’s entire attention should be on customer’s interest and what they require, ratherthan pushing them to buy the company’s product. They should focus more on understandingthe requirements of the prospects and empathize their situation. This develops customer’sfaith in you and they tend to build a relationship. This way, when they will have an issue, theywill surely search for you.5) End to end Visibility:Even if the call centre agent’s job does not dictate to go beyond the first call resolution stillthey should be keen to resolve the issue proactively. They must get into the root of theproblem to ensure that customers do not call for the same issue again. And even avoidtransferring their call from person to person, it plays an important role in shaping thecustomer’s experience.6) Take tips and pointers from a successful call centre agentOne of the best ways to improve your own performance is to get tips from someone who isdoing well. Sit in on calls with a successful call centre agent and listen to how they managetheir calls and handle customer interactions. Then, incorporate their techniques into your owndealings with customers. By following others footsteps you can add extra efficiency in yourwork.

Don’ts1) Don’t lose patience:The calmer the agents manage to keep themselves, the more successful they become. Comingacross people with different temperaments happens in their day to day schedule. While makingoutbound calls, few prospects give annoying responses; they become rude and slam the phoneat times. Even during inbound calls customers take out their frustration because of theircomplaints. This demoralizes the rep’s spirit because they cannot respond in the samemanner, but if the client abuses then the caller must report it to the seniors. Anyhow do notupset a client because they might not need anything today but they might require it later inthe future. If they have a bad experience with you, they will never make a purchase.2) Don’t rely only on the Script:A script is must for every call centre agent. Value proportions, product information, FAQs,unless changed, should be jotted and highlighted on their papers. The reps should be givingexact data to the prospects because they don’t forgive later for false information. But at thesame time, avoid narrating every bit from the script, it sounds robotic on the agent’s end.Keeping the sheet for reference is advisable. 3) Do not keep the client’s call on hold for a long time:Keeping the customer on hold irritates them. They do not like hearing the background recordwhich says “Your call is on hold. Please wait for the assistance.” . Rather it is suggested tokeep talking to the customer while searching for the information. The priority of the agent is toget favourable feedback from the attendee and it can be only fetched by giving them utmostattention.4) Don’t keep running to your Supervisors. Solve a query on your end:Sometimes it is inevitable for the agents to ask the customers to take the supervisor’sassistance. It’s tempting to save everyone’s time and offer to pass them straight up the chainof command, but it shouldn’t happen for three reasons:

 Supervisors lose faith and they miss a chance to move up the ladder. Customers would think agents are unaware and uninformed and giving invalid reasons sothey don’t call again. You will never gain the confidence to give final answers.If the client request for manager’s help, then of course you should entertain. But in a well-runcall centre, your answer and your supervisor’s answer should be exactly the same. 5) Never Say “I have no idea Sir”:This is another statement which can completely kill a customer’s confidence in you. No oneexpects you to know all the answers, but you should at least be confident and positive aboutfinding the ones you don’t know. Otherwise the call experience of the client becomesunpleasant. As per a study done by YouGov, 76% of customers said “just one unpleasantcontact centre experience was likely to make them take their business elsewhere”. A recentZen desk survey also revealed that 35% of customers stopped doing business with a companyafter a poor experience.Call Centre Agents needs to develop the right material in them which pushes them towardssuccess. They need to become the complete package. They work hard, exceed expectationsand do more than asked to achieve high-quality consistent results. A little direction can leadthem working extremely well with both customers and employees.

Follow behaviour etiquette when interacting with customers.Etiquette in customer service is a conduct that is acceptable to customers and behaviour thatencompasses the expectations customers have when doing business with the company.Etiquette is the soothing balm and oiling that the business machinery requires. It allowsinteractions, meetings and customer relationships to run smoothly and make businesses workwithout bottlenecks. Etiquette in Customer Service will calm irate customers, build the basis oftrust and loyalty and foster mutually respectful relationships between the company and itscustomers.Today’s mode of communication is fast, relentless and visible owing to social media and otherdigital communication. Companies are increasingly focusing on shaping the image of their brandand are also depending heavily on employees. The employee make up of any company is verydiverse and definitions of etiquette and social behaviour probably differ from one to the next.The behaviour exhibited by employees will determine whether the company comes across asprofessional or rude and abrasive. Customers can be put off completely if they encounter rudeand brusque mannerisms. Etiquette in Customer Service thankfully is a skill that can be easilytaught with sustained training and coaching. Knowing how to behave socially will help theemployees to create a positive image for the company and enhance the reputation of the brand.Customers have many more communication channels by which they can now interact withcustomer service agents. These front-ending staff has to, among other things, mind theirmanners and ensure that their tone, demeanour and facial expressions reflect respect andetiquette while serving the customer. Eye contact, a smile, good posture and a confident mannerof speaking are all aspects of Etiquette in Customer Service and these employees have to beconstantly mindful of these outward expressions. Would you like to be served by an ill-kempt,slouched and brusque mannered customer service staff?This is the intangible part of customer service that agents just cannot hope to succeed withoutand consequently the company they represent will either have a great reputation or becompletely pulled down by customer comments. When customer service staff is thoroughly andadequately trained, they would be more confident while serving the customers and be able toportray the brand much more effectively. With time etiquette will become part of their personaand they would conduct themselves more professionally. Behaving in an appropriate mannerdecreases customer frustration and complaints and raises the overall standard of customerservice. As with all aspects, satisfied customers are happy. Happy customers become loyal andtake the company towards success.

On many occasions, customer service staff that is not trained in Etiquette in Customer Servicewill not even be aware that their behaviour is unacceptable. Consistent good practices andcoaching in etiquette will make it a way of life. Managers must ensure that any behaviour thatreflects Etiquette in Customer Service must be immediately recognized and praised. This is away to reinforce this behaviour in the staff dealing with customers. Etiquette creates anenvironment of professionalism and fosters respect.Etiquette in Customer Service can be manifested in many ways and has a number of benefits.– Etiquette while writing emails is just as vital as interacting with the customer face to face. Awritten communication must reflect the company’s values and should be able to impress thecustomer. The communication must be precise, courteous and reflect the personal appearanceof the person writing it. A badly written or curt email will be seen as an extension of the personand the company this person represents.– Telephone etiquette is another vital component for customer service. Ensure that calls areanswered promptly with a smile and courteous greeting. The person answering the call muststate their name and department and remain cool and composed irrespective of the customer’sdemeanour. It would be even better if the caller is addressed by name and a few pleasantriesexchanged.Etiquette in Customer Service can add tremendous value to your company’s image and a lackof it can strip your company’s reputation almost immediately. Etiquette training for staff mustbe seen as an investment. The payoffs are many and guide employee behaviour even outsidethe office premises. People who know how to behave in social interactions appear more confidentand are easily liked. As the average age of staff is getting lower, it is even more important to fitin to the social accepted norms and customer service behaviour that long time and oldercustomers find acceptable.Etiquette in Customer Service is what shapes customer perceptions of your company and brand.Customers form impressions, obviously, based on the interactions they have with the customerservice staff. It is these impressions that will determine their journey with your company.Customer service agents that have been able to convey politeness and professionalism will leavecustomers with a positive impression and a confidence that the company would be attentive totheir expectations and requirements. Conversely, if customers are confronted with behaviourthat is negative, they will form impressions that will not do much for the company’s reputation.Even a single negative comment on the powerful social media is enough to start a ‘movement’of negativity for your company.Well-trained and well-mannered employees are also more efficient and productive. They would

understand the importance of being punctual, meeting deadlines, dressing appropriately,speaking clearly and politely and other such socially and business acceptable behaviours. Peoplewho have no idea of what such behaviour is, normally come across as self-centred, rude andcallous even if they are not actually so. It is therefore imperative that etiquette training be takenseriously since it not only will help in the business setting but also in all social interactions.Etiquette also helps employees understand how to behave in cultures and interactions that maynot be familiar ground. Etiquette in Customer Service helps the staff understand how to reactand treat customers that maybe from different cultures, countries or economic standing. Diversecultural scenarios would be much more easily handled and mastered.Every interaction a company or its representatives have with customers or even potential oneshas an impact on the success or failure for that company. Etiquette in Customer Service is thesure shot way to ensure that customer service levels remain high and are not compromisedoften. Customers are unlikely to wait around to understand why someone from the companywas rude or disrespectful to them. Customers demand respect and deserve it too. Even everydayinteractions with other people require respect and an understanding of how to behave. Customerrelations are at the heart of every business and it this communication that will determinewhether a company will be able to attract and retain its customers.Every staff member and especially the customer service agents must typify customer serviceexcellence. By attending training and coaching programs on etiquette, customer service staffwill always be able to maintain a professional demeanour. Dealing with difficult and or angrycustomers would not be a great challenge as it would be easier for such staff to calm suchcustomers. Serving customers this way tells the customers that they can trust the company andwill also be mindful of their behaviour in the future. With increased technology, servicingcustomers and meeting their demands has become even more challenging. However, whenetiquette in customer service becomes top priority managing these challenges becomesenjoyable. Such agents are able to suitably reflect and complement the values and ethics of thecompany they work contributing to the company’s and their own success. This must be ongoingand consistent to ensure that customers can see this as the norm for the company and not justa one-off depending on the mood of the agent they interact with.

Importance of Personal GroomingImportance of personal groomingGrooming is the art of cleaning, grooming, and maintaining parts of the body. The corporate worldhas identified the need for grooming and imaging, thus being receptive in adopting theseservices. An image and grooming consultant identifies and translates the vision and values ofthe company and helps its employees embody the same through clothes, accessories, make-up, skin, hair, poise, posture, mannerism, fitness and personal grooming. The consultantempowers employees to improve their personal and professional life.Industry status While India becomes globally competitive with the growing need for groomingand image consultants, this sector is likely to see an exponential growth in the coming years.The influx of international companies and also rise of brand 'India' at the global scale indicatesa positive push to the growing numbers.Growth areas in the coming days, there will be a rise in the demand beyond the conventionalimage-driven hospitality and aviation sectors and new areas like retail, banking, hospitals,corporates and individuals will come in the foreground. Employees and staff are the centre ofany successful business and imaging and grooming empowers employees, so it is safe tobelieve that any company that caters to the customers, will be seeking expertise in this field.Skill-sets required In order to be an image consultant, you need to have good training andpeople-skills, an understanding of lifestyle trends, an in-depth, technical and practicalknowledge of fashion, clothes, accessories, skin, hair, personal grooming and hygiene. Animage consultant needs to sense the pulse of what works and what people expect from otherpeople — as individuals or as a company. Image consultancy cannot be taught throughtextbooks or in a classroom and there are not many places to learn and study, but one canassist or work with an image consultant to gain practical experience and knowledge.Remuneration in this field depends entirely on size, scale and services offered. The importantthing for a fresher in this field is to quantify the volume of work, time and effort for each caseand charge accordingly.A beginner could start with a smaller project (only in volume of work) with individuals earning

as little as Rs 15,000 and gradually move to bigger hotels, corporate, etc., where the financialreturns are higher.This will also allow them to scale their services portfolio and assemble a competent team,which is an essential part of growth in this field. It is important to develop a network andreputation as that will help fuel the success in the field of imaging and grooming. There arealso returns in the form of gratitude and sense of accomplishment you get from making apositive impact in the lives of individuals.You could help transform the life of a single person or thousands of people who are part of awork-force. Students who are trained in this field can assist established image consultants andthen work independently as consultants. They can also be hired in HR and training divisions oflarger companies. The potential for this field in India is tremendous as demand currentlyexceeds supply.10 steps for Grooming  Bathe daily unless specified otherwise by a medical professional. Take a shower if you prefer.  Use deodorant. Choose a sensitive or aluminum free variety if you suffer from allergies.  Brush teeth on a regular basis. Twice daily should be a minimum; once in the morning and once at night.  Wash hair when needed. Younger folks or people with straight hair may need to wash hair daily while others with very curly hair may need to do so less frequently as daily washing can dry out their hair and strip them of important nutrients.  Keep hair cut and styled. Well cut hair allows you to present a confident image.

 Shave hair, as needed. Shave your face, legs and armpits if you believe this is necessary.  Trim nails. Shorter nails look neater. If you have longer nails, keep them in good condition. Girls can also paint them.  ear clean clothing. Always remove clothing with stains for immediate treatment.  Wear clean and polished shoes. Shoes are always the first thing many people look at. They tell a lot about a person.  Wear a decent perfume, if possible a designer perfume. However, do be aware that some people are violently allergic to scents of most kinds. Almost no one is allergic to lavender, so a spritz of lavender essential oil (rosemary for guys) may be all you need.List of the Top 10 Essentials of Good Etiquette1. Please and thank you make the world go ’round. Use them frequently with everyone you meet–they’re not just for special occasions.2. After ringing the doorbell, step back a foot. It gives the person opening the door some breathingspace.3. Always announce yourself first when calling. “Hello, this is X. May I speak with Y?”4. If you’re the person being asked, “Is this X?” The correct response is, “This is he/she.”5. When the restaurant’s maitre’d comes to seat you, step back and let your host or hostess proceedto the table ahead of you.6. Your napkin goes in your lap upon sitting down at the table. On your chair should you excuseyourself to go to the Ladies or Men’s room. On the table when the meal is complete and you areleaving.7. Unless you are expecting an emergency call– from a doctor, your child’s teacher, etc– electronicdevices have no place on the table during a meal.8. Short of visible shards of glass, or the possibility of anaphylactic shock, don’t comment on thefood unless your comment is favorable.9. If you are a guest and there is something peculiar about your food, or you would like a refill onyour drink, tell your host and let him speak with the waiter.

10. Again, there’s no need to look at your electronic device in between finishing the meal andleaving the restaurant. Give your dining companions your full attention until your goodbye’s arecomplete.

Understand incident life cycleThe incident response process has several phases. The initial phase involves establishing andtraining an incident response team, and acquiring the necessary tools and resources. Duringpreparation, the organization also attempts to limit the number of incidents that will occur byselecting and implementing a set of controls based on the results of risk assessments. However,residual risk will inevitably persist after controls are implemented. Detection of security breachesis thus necessary to alert the organization whenever incidents occur. In keeping with the severityof the incident, the organization can mitigate the impact of the incident by containing it andultimately recovering from it. During this phase, activity often cycles back to detection andanalysis—for example, to see if additional hosts are infected by malware while eradicating amalware incident. After the incident is adequately handled, the organization issues a report thatdetails the cause and cost of the incident and the steps the organization should take to preventfuture incidents. This section describes the major phases of the incident response process—preparation, detection and analysis, containment, eradication and recovery, and post-incidentactivity—in detail.Preparation Incident response methodologies typically emphasize preparation—not onlyestablishing an incident response capability so that the organization is ready to respond toincidents, but also preventing incidents by ensuring that systems, networks, and applicationsare sufficiently secure. Although the incident response team is not typically responsible forincident prevention, it is fundamental to the success of incident response programs. This sectionprovides basic advice on preparing to handle incidents and on preventing incidents.3.1.1 Preparing to Handle Incidents. The lists below provide examples of tools and resourcesavailable that may be of value during incident handling. These lists are intended to be a startingpoint for discussions about which tools and resources an organization’s incident handlers need.For example, smartphones are one way to have resilient emergency communication andcoordination mechanisms. An organization should have multiple (separate and different)communication and coordination mechanisms in case of failure of one mechanism.Incident Handler Communications and Facilities:Contact information for team members and others within and outside the organization (primaryand backup contacts), such as law enforcement and other incident response teams; informationmay include phone numbers, email addresses, public encryption keys (in accordance with theencryption software described below), and instructions for verifying the contact’s identity.

On-call information for other teams within the organization, including escalation information.Incident reporting mechanisms, such as phone numbers, email addresses, online forms, andsecure instant messaging systems that users can use to report suspected incidents; at least onemechanism should permit people to report incidents anonymously.Issue tracking system for tracking incident information, status, etc.Smartphones to be carried by team members for off-hour support and onsite communications.Encryption software to be used for communications among team members, within theorganization and with external parties; for Federal agencies, software must use a FIPS-validatedencryption algorithm20.War room for central communication and coordination; if a permanent war room is not necessaryor practical, the team should create a procedure for procuring a temporary war room whenneeded.Secure storage facility for securing evidence and other sensitive materials Incident AnalysisHardware and Software:Digital forensic workstations21 and/or backup devices to create disk images, preserve log files,and save other relevant incident data.Laptops for activities such as analyzing data, sniffing packets, and writing reports.Spare workstations, servers, and networking equipment, or the virtualized equivalents, whichmay be used for many purposes, such as restoring backups and trying out malware.Blank removable media.Portable printer to print copies of log files and other evidence from non-networked systems.Packet sniffers and protocol analyzers to capture and analyze network traffic.Digital forensic software to analyze disk images.Removable media with trusted versions of programs to be used to gather evidence from systems.Evidence gathering accessories, including hard-bound notebooks, digital cameras, audiorecorders, chain of custody forms, evidence storage bags and tags, and evidence tape, topreserve evidence for possible legal actions.

Educate customer for non-occurrence of recurring incidents and safety processSigns of an Incident For many organizations, the most challenging part of the incidentresponse process is accurately detecting and assessing possible incidents—determiningwhether an incident has occurred and, if so, the type, extent, and magnitude of the problem.What makes this so challenging is a combination of three factors:Incidents may be detected through many different means, with varying levels of detail andfidelity. Automated detection capabilities include network-based and host-based IDPSs,antivirus software, and log analyzers. Incidents may also be detected through manual means,such as problems reported by users. Some incidents have overt signs that can be easilydetected, whereas others are almost impossible to detect.The volume of potential signs of incidents is typically high—for example, it is not uncommonfor an organization to receive thousands or even millions of intrusion detection sensor alertsper day. (See Section 3.2.4 for information on analyzing such alerts.)Deep, specialized technical knowledge and extensive experience are necessary for proper andefficient analysis of incident-related data.Signs of an incident fall into one of two categories: precursors and indicators. A precursor is asign that an incident may occur in the future. An indicator is a sign that an incident may haveoccurred or may be occurring now.Most attacks do not have any identifiable or detectable precursors from the target’sperspective. If precursors are detected, the organization may have an opportunity to preventthe incident by altering its security posture to save a target from attack. At a minimum, theorganization could monitor activity involving the target more closely. Examples of precursorsare:Web server log entries that show the usage of a vulnerability scannerAn announcement of a new exploit that targets a vulnerability of the organization’s mail serverA threat from a group stating that the group will attack the organization.While precursors are relatively rare, indicators are all too common. Too many types ofindicators exist to exhaustively list them, but some examples are listed below:A network intrusion detection sensor alerts when a buffer overflow attempt occurs against adatabase server.

Antivirus software alerts when it detects that a host is infected with malware.A system administrator sees a filename with unusual characters.A host records an auditing configuration change in its log.

Module 5:Coordinate with Colleagues

Coordinate with ColleaguesField Service Technicians use their product training and technical skills to ensure thathigh-value business equipment such as film processing machines, minilabs and largeformat printers are properly maintained and repaired with the minimum of downtime.They visit the premises of companies and organizations that have a warranty or on-going service agreement with the equipment manufacturer or support company.Field Service Technicians will typically have a basic electronics qualification or will havegained on-the-job experience and training from working in an electronics role.Photographic manufacturers employ thousands of Field Service Technicians across theUK. It is their job to install, maintain and repair a wide range of commercial andbusiness imaging equipment, including: film processing equipment, photographic andinkjet printers, commercial and scientific scanners, large format printers, minilabs,digital kiosks and photo booths, as well as related computerized control systems andsoftware.There are several core responsibilities of the role. Field Service Technicians install,configure and calibrate equipment and train staff in the safe use of the equipment. Theyservice the equipment regularly, carrying out scheduled maintenance and replacingworn or faulty parts. They repair equipment, diagnosing and fixing faults on site, andlogging repairs on a database.They may also receive bonuses for encouraging customers to replace old equipmentwith new machines, and in some cases this role can be combined with the role of aTechnical Sales Representative.

Report ProblemsReport Problems identified in the FieldCore Competencies: Planning & Organizing – The ability to plan, prioritize, set objectives, and action plansto achieve results in a timely and cost effective manner. Plans and organizes work,coordinates with others, and establishes appropriate priorities. Demonstrates the abilityto determine the appropriate sequence of activities for completing work. Preparesrealistic estimates of the time needed for completing work. Decision Making – The ability to reason and reach sound conclusions in a timely manner; which includes acting independently or seeking counsel and accepting responsibility for decisions made. Demonstrates the ability to apply a broad base of knowledge, information and deep expertise to address critical issues. Demonstrates the ability to take into account all relevant issues when making decisions. Addresses issues critically and logically evaluating alternatives before making decisions. Makes decisions in a timely manner balancing analysis with decisiveness.  Execution – The ability to manage work and time to maximize productivity; problem solves effectively; acts decisively, demonstrating confidence, conviction, and sound judgment; manages resources to control costs and achieve objectives; maintains effectiveness in varying tasks, environments, and responsibilities.  Communication – The ability to convey ideas and information (verbally and in writing) simply and convincingly. Speaks and writes clearly and concisely as it pertains to the job. Facilitates open discussion and utilizes communication methods appropriate to the situation. Expresses reactions and opinions without intimidating others.  Relationship Management – The ability to build effective interpersonal relationships through good listening skills, development of trust and rapport, acceptances of differences, and willingness / ability to work with peers, supervisors, and subordinates.  Customer Service – Accurately anticipate and identify customer requirements and track performance against these requirements. Follow up with customers to ensure problems and / or issues are resolved. Contribute to the development of customer service processes and procedures.

 Results Orientated – Does what is necessary to get the job done whilst producingquality work in a safe manner. Understands deadlines must be met and strives everytime to achieve this goal. Self-Development – Demonstrates an awareness of one’s own capabilities and seeksopportunities to acquire new knowledge, skills and job responsibilities. Seeksopportunities to apply new skills to the job and accepts feedback on performancereadily and in a positive manner.

Deliver Work of Expected QualityOn a day-to-day basis, the field engineer is the company representative the customer will getto know best. But field engineers are often sent into the field inadequately equipped to meet,let alone exceed, customer expectations. In today's ultra-competitive marketplace, the fieldtechnician is expected to arrive armed with updated information regarding equipment history,repair needs and required forms and parts. When this doesn't occur, customer satisfactionratings plunge.Thankfully, the powerful Core systems Field Service Management Software gives field engineersthe tools they need to excel at their jobs. A single application offers both historical and real-timecustomer data, which means that by the time the engineer arrives at the work site, they arealready ready to dig right in and get to work making repairs and meeting (even exceeding) salesgoals and quotas.In this way, each field service technician is empowered to take ownership of their critical role inthe company's success at a whole new level. Technicians become the \"face\" of the company ina tangible, daily way, and that face is one of competence, efficiency and cutting edge technology.The new Google Material design interface of core systems automated Field ServiceSoftware minimizes technician training time. Technicians can access schedules, service routesand directions in a few clicks. All critical information (customer requests, equipment history, etal) is at the technician's fingertips well before arriving on the job site.And best of all, there is no more cumbersome paperwork! With e-forms and checklists,technicians can invoice the customer on the spot and then upload their reports and submit timeand expenses before leaving for their next appointment. What this increased functionality addsup to is skyrocketing customer satisfaction ratings, repeat orders and increased customerloyalty.

Interpersonal ConflictsResolve inter-personnel conflicts and achieve smooth workflowConflict, or more specifically, interpersonal conflict, is a fact of life, and particularly oforganisational life. It often emerges more when people are stressed, for example, when thereare changes on the horizon, or when everyone is under pressure because of a looming deadline.However, conflict can also arise in relationships and situations outside work.Handling conflict in ways that lead to increased stress can be detrimental to your health. Poorconflict management can lead to higher production of the stress hormone cortisol, and alsocause hardening of the arteries, leading to increased risk of heart attacks, and high bloodpressure.Learning to deal with conflict in a positive and constructive way, without excessive stress, istherefore an important way to improve your well-being as well as your relationships.Interpersonal conflict has been defined as:“An expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatiblegoals, scarce resources, and interference from the other party in achieving their goals”.Unpicking this a little, it means that for a disagreement to become a conflict, there needs to be: Some element of communication: a shared understanding that there is a disagreement; The well-being of the people involved need to depend on each other in some way. This doesn’tmean that they have to have equal power: a manager and subordinate can be equally asinterdependent as a married couple; The people involved perceive that their goals are incompatible, meaning that they cannotboth be met; They are competing for resources; and Each perceives the other as interfering with the achievement of their goals.Types of ConflictThere are three types of conflict, Personal or relational conflicts, instrumentalconflicts and conflicts of interest: Personal or relational conflicts are usually about identity or self-image, or important aspects of a relationship such as loyalty, breach of confidence, perceived betrayal or lack of respect.

 Instrumental conflicts are about goals, structures, procedures and means: something fairly tangible and structural within the organisation or for an individual. Conflicts of interest concern the ways in which the means of achieving goals are distributed, such as time, money, space and staff. They may also be about factors related to these, such as relative importance, or knowledge and expertise. An example would be a couple disagreeing over whether to spend a bonus on a holiday or to repair the roof. It’s important to emphasise that dealing with conflict early is usually easier, because positions are not so entrenched, others are less likely to have started to take sides, and the negative emotions are not so extreme. The best way to address a conflict in its early stages is through negotiation between the participants.Later on, those in conflict are likely to need the support of mediation, or even arbitration or acourt judgement, so it’s much better to resolve things early.There are five main strategies for dealing with conflicts, all of which can be considered in termsof who wins and who loses.5 Strategies for Dealing with Conflict1) Compete or FightThis is the classic win/lose situation, where the strength and power of one personwins the conflict.It has its place, but anyone using it needs to be aware that it will create a loser and if that loserhas no outlet for expressing their concerns, then it will lead to bad feeling.2) CollaborationThis is the ideal outcome: a win/win situation.However, it requires input of time from those involved to work through the difficulties, and finda way to solve the problem that is agreeable to all.3) Compromise or NegotiationThis is likely to result in a better result than win/lose, but it’s not quite win/win.Both parties give up something, in favour of an agreed mid-point solution. It takes less timethan collaboration, but is likely to result in less commitment to the outcome.4) Denial or AvoidanceThis is where everyone pretends there is no problem.It’s helpful if those in conflict need time to ‘cool down’ before any discussion or if the conflict isunimportant, but cannot be used if the conflict won’t just die down. It will create a lose/lose