Since beginning our partnership with Skype we have heard some great reviews and observations on just how powerful of a tool Skype really is. Today I received a letter from Michael Barrow, one of our Certified MinuteFix Techs. He writes:

I have recently taken more time to explore the Skype community as we eagerly await the next major build and product launch from them. Being pleasantly surprised at the variety, depth, and spirit of content in this great community I got to thinking, “how familiar am I really with the entire Skype universe?” So I started casually clicking through all the menus until I got bored and found the Tools > Do More menu. I then found all the latest utility software we call “Skype Extras” for users. Now I’m expecting these all will provide a multitude opportunities for MinuteFixers to support them in the future. In all I counted several dozen to play with including my own troublesome issue with the Cryptochat4skype extra. (Only after being politely teased for having an annoying message appear in our Technicians Chat Room.) The message simply says that all chat entries to this user will be scanned for malware and viruses. I Googled it and discovered the only way to get rid of it was to do a fresh install of Skype including searching for and deleting all Skype related folders. This was a great experience seeing as I now have the fix the caller who wants to remove the Crypto4chat extra but doesn’t know how. All in all I learned also I will have no reasons for idol time in the coming weeks since there are so many other “extras” for us as technicians to break and play with.

The best find of all was in the skype.com site. How many technicians do we know have that ugly caller story? I mean the caller that would not seem satisfied regardless of how good our service was? Yes, that one caller we all remember and probably may never forget. The next question that comes to mind is. What can we do after the call is over? Sure we can journal the call sequence and reflect what we could of done otherwise or reposed on things we could have said or presented differently to the caller. Most importantly, this page I found in the halls of skype.com reminded me what we really need as support technicians. And that is resolution on every case we take, regardless of the final outcome. Not only did I find this downright fun watch but therapeutic for every computer user including the seasoned technician and for the green eared newbie. Enjoy Minute Peeps. Until my next post….

Michael Barrow
Certified Minutefix Techinician

Some you may have seen the new footer link on the Certified MinuteFix Technician page that says Skype Prime Providers. If you click on that link you will find yet another video of Drew explaining something he didn’t understand twenty minutes prior. What he did understand, however, was how to really go overboard and make an amazing video (if I do say so myself) for Skype Prime providers coming into the world of MinuteFix. Of course, once it was viewed by a very, very select audience it was decided it might be a bit much for the “newbies”. So, we chopped it some and presented what you now see on this page. But, it is with great pleasure that I present to you the never-before-seen, director’s cut……

I have spent a couple of nights behind the “velvet rope” waiting for access into an exclusive club or two. Never so much as when I had just turned 21 and was living in Miami. It seemed like a rite of passage almost. There just something so special about that VIP status. Perhaps it is the exclusivity of it and the ability to be one of the “chosen”. Well, my friends in the Tech world we have been given than VIP status.

Our friend at Skype, Peter Kalmström, has invited us to test out the yet-to-be-released Skype Toolbar that boasts a new feature to be included in the next version of the Skype Web add-ons. The new feature shows your Skype online status everywhere on the web. In other words, if I am browsing a web page and your name should happen to be on that page and you are one of my Skype contacts, your name will be a quicklink that when clicked will immediately engage my Skype to call you. How cool is that?

I encourage you to read Peter’s blogpost here as well as downloading the Skype toolbar here. Please note, however, that you are looking for the download at the bottom of the page. It should be SkypeIEPlugin.2.3.0.9.PamFax.exe

If you have any questions for Peter or you just want to tell him how awesome it is to be working with Skype in this capacity or really anything else, you can find him on our Ning community.

Great news guys. Telephone support is up and running!

We have heard the requests for proper phone and support and while we always anticipated offering it, we are excited that we are able to do so much sooner than we ever thought. As of now every technician will be able to offer support to customer not just through chat or remote desktop but also through VoIP phone. So, in essence, we can provide the best support possible to each and every customer that appeals to their comfort level, skill level and personal preference.

If a customer logs on and enters their phone number you will now see it in the right of the chat session window. That number will look a lot like a hyperlink. It will say “Call Name”. That number will then engage Skype and call the customer directly. It is very simple and is probably easier than even typing.

Thinking about phone support though. Here are a few tips from my experience to yours.

• Begin the call with “Hello. My name is _______________ with MinuteFix. May I speak with __________________.”
• Restate the customers initial issue to make sure you know what sort of tech support you will need to provide.
• Try using “sir” and “ma’am” as well as full words such as “yes” and “no” rather than “yeah” and “naw”.
• Try to keep background noise to a minimum both for you benefit and the customers.

I think it is going to be a really slick and easy to use addition to MinuteFix and I can’t wait to hear the wonderful ways each of us put it to use! If you are a Certified MinuteFix Technician you can expect an email in your inbox explaining the new support system in greater detail.

I think we have all realized how important it is to connect with each other both in and out of sessions. As with everything, there are pros and cons to working remotely. We don’t have the benefit of working under same roof but at the same time we can work in our PJs if we so desire. As one Tech stated, “[I miss] being able to stand up and take my headset off and yell over a cubicle to ask someone.” But being interconnected over a chat system is certainly something we can utilize to our benefit. We are building a network of the very best, so we can only service our customers better if we can reach out to each others great minds for answers.

Therefore, we’re happy to announce the chat platform of choice for the MinuteFix technician community: say hello to Skype. Diego, Oscar and I have talked long and hard about this choice and we feel this is going to be a great resource for MinuteFix for a few reasons:

1. Shared groups: Skype supports the notion of shared groups. As the community grows, we will need to have a chat platform that allows us to organize our teams: Windows, Vista, Office, Antivirus and Security and General Support. It will be very important for our technicians to be able to get help from others when stuck on a problem. As you all know, the network makes us all that more powerful. We don’t know everything, nor are we expected to, and there is nothing getting a little help from a friend. Shared groups organizes all of you who are part of the teams to work with each other. You won’t need to manually add each member, we will do it centrally. That way, when you are in a team, you will instantly be populated with all of the other technicians who are part of that team. Skype’s shared groups helps us organize ourselves and be able to better manage future growth. Skype also supports group chat, so a message can be sent to all members of the group, and we can all interact as if we had the community in the same room. Anyone who has the answer, or is available, can reply.
2. Phone support, down the road: We expect to roll out support over the phone for those technicians who would like to engage with the customer by talking. Skype has a very solid VoIP network (despite their 2-day crash last year, which, good for us taught them a lesson) and can work very well for serving as our phone support system. Skype allows us to manage calls to phone numbers very easily too. While on the subject of phone support, our idea is to launch with support for chat, solidify the product, build a solid following of consumers, and once we have the technology squared away, roll out the phone service.
3. Skype means business: Skype is very business-focused. Unlike MSN and Yahoo messenger, Skype is really focusing on providing a business-ready service. That is good for us because our chat platform is going to be a critical form of communication, and we need to treat it like business (which it is).

As with all new endeavors I want to take just a second to review a few ground rules and common behavior that will help us get the best out of this new tool.

1. Use group chat only for help with support, not for personal communications. Start group sessions when you are stuck with a support issue and need some help. If you know someone who might have the answer, chat to them directly without involving the entire group.
2. Try your best to be clear and to the point in your request. Use few words to get the words across. At MinuteFix, time is of the essence.
3. Don’t overuse it. We need to keep this tool useful, and if it becomes annoying due to overuse, technicians will tend to shy away from it. Use the forums for open conversations.
4. If you are starting a group chat to get some help, let the customer know. Use words like “I am putting this request out in the community, do you mind holding for a moment?”
5. If you are currently engaged in a chat session, remember that your priority is your customer. He or she is paying for your time helping them, not helping someone else. You can either ignore the chat session by leaving the group chat, or respond only if it does not cause a delay in your current session.
6. Skype allows you to set your online status. Please make sure that you set your true online status at all times. If you are online, you might get a chat request.
7. Skype does not currently allow management roles for shared groups. I will manage the groups centrally by adding Technicians to the respective groups. Contact me if a change needs to be made.

So please keep your eyes open for invites from me to particular Skype groups. I think this is an exciting advancement for us and I look forward to chatting with each of you!