825 Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. OVERVIEW Th is chapter covers the basic skills necessary to function in a customer- or client-related environment. Not all computer jobs require you to meet and work with customers and clients, but most do require you to interact with customers and clients regularly. You probably assume you already know how to deal with people. However, there are some specifi c skills required to keep customers and clients happy of which you may not be aware. In this chapter, you will be introduced to specifi c support scenarios. You will learn about the forms of conduct that have been accepted as industry standards. You may be the most skilled technician in the company, but if you do not deal with people professionally and courteously, you will most likely lose your job or be banned from dealing with customers and clients. You will also never be raised to a position of leadership or management, and all other career options may become limited. Th e importance of learning the skills in this chapter cannot be emphasized enough. Reading, understanding, and being able to put into practice the skills covered in this chapter may determine your future in a computer-related career. Customer Support Simply put, customer support is the delivery of customer assistance, training, and services. Th is section provides an overview of customer support, giving you the big picture of how organization models work together to resolve customer and client computer problems. You will learn how diff erent levels of support can be distributed across these models and will be made aware of the level of customer interaction typical of each model. Customer Support Organization Models Th ere are several standard organization models for customer support. Some of these models include a help desk, call center, small business, service counter, depot tech- nician, and corporate enterprise support. Th e exact model of your company and how you fi t within that model depends on the ■ number of people requiring support ■ product being supported and ■ customer location (local or global). Some organizations operate as a combination of several models working together as a team. For example, a help desk service may be outsourced to a foreign country. Th is help desk may work closely with an organization in the United States that performs the actual physical work. In the following sections, several of the most common support organization models are presented. A+ NOTE The CompTIA A+ Exams contain questions related to proper communication and professionalism. You will most likely encounter questions related to customer relations, such as communicating clearly with the customer, listening to the customer, and conveying a positive attitude to the customer.