Spectacular Support Centers:
Best Practices for Small to Mid-Sized Help Desks and Technical Support Centers
by Kristin E. Robertson

ISBN 978-097134069-5

Number of Pages: 279

Price: $49.95 until July 7, 2007 then the retail price is $56.95.

Available through www.krconsulting.com immediately; after July 7^th also available on Amazon.

Small to mid-sized support centers are underserved today at conferences and in the support center literature. Now there is a guidebook for this large and growing segment of the market - Spectacular Support Centers: Best Practices for Small to Mid-Sized Help Desks and Technical Support Centers is the definitive resource for best practices for small to mid-sized support centers and help desks. It covers topics from strategic leadership and marketing to support request handling methods, support tools and quality assurance. Each chapter delves extensively into the many areas required to run a top-notch support center.

Spectacular Support Centers provides metrics and reporting examples throughout, as well as graphs and charts for the many aspects of managing a support center. These include skill set analyses, common metrics, scorecards for analysts, example schedules, sample job descriptions, SLA response tracking, and many, many more! This is not another theoretical help desk book, but a reference guide that takes you from beginner to best practices in every aspect of your support center or help desk.

This book is full of practical advice given by a fellow help desk and support center manager, Kristin Robertson. You receive information on best practices used by the top notch, large support agencies, and how to modify them for your smaller center. Spectacular Support Centers will be your companion through every issue and aspect of growing your center.

A strong review board of professional practitioners and industry specialists reviewed Spectacular Support Centers, and here is what they had to say:

"As useful as a Swiss Army knife for any small to medium call center manager whether veteran or newbie: This is your guide. As a must-have in one’s library, it’ll be one of your most worn-out references in your career. It is practical and very illustrative in its approach to solving common call center/IT help desk issues. Bravo!"

Richard Brannock, Director, Americas Technical Assistance

Center, Check Point Software Technologies

"Spectacular Support Centers is an easy-to-read and invaluable guide for service managers. It covers everything that a help desk/support center manager needs to know to effectively run the organization. Not only does it cover every aspect of the support center, but it also provides practical examples that can be applied within your operation. Kristin’s vast experience in the technology service industry is captured in this book, a must-read for managers of both small and large support operations."

John Hamilton, President,

Service Strategies Corporation

"Kristin Robertson continues to share her expertise with the support industry through Spectacular Support Centers. This book is full of great advice and examples to help new support center managers and those managing smaller support centers improve the quality of their services."

Rick Joslin, HDI Executive Director of Certification & Training

"This is the A to Z of small help desk best practices. Kristin has included everything. Her knowledge and experience come together in an easy-to-read book that even the most seasoned help desk manager will benefit from. I know this book will be a resource I will refer to often while running my support center."

Nathan Harvey, Manager, Tech Support

FedEx Kinko’s

"This book is a “must-read” for the smaller support center manager, with great practical advice on establishing a “best-in-class” customer support center."

Scott Stegner, Director of Global Product Support

TAC

"I’ve been looking for a book like this for years. This is the only book I have found that directly addresses the needs of my smaller support center. This book won’t end up on my bookshelf; it will stay right on my desk for quick access."

Douglas Coco, Support Center

Manager, Mohawk Industries, and

President, DFW Chapter, HDI

"I found Kristin Robertson’s Spectacular Support Centers to be very comprehensive yet also very easy to read and understand. She is able to condense an amazing amount of valuable information into a relatively small volume. While it focuses on the smaller support centers, it is valuable for support centers of any size."

Terry Allen, Support Center Consultant, Past President of HDI’s DFW Chapter, Past Director of HDI’s Central Region and Member of HDI Member Advisory Board

"Small support operations is where it’s at in today’s entrepreneurial economy, and Kristin’s approach is helping new entrepreneurs to drive efficiency and manage the growth of their remote service operations. [This is] the success roadmap for managers of small technical support operations."

Ben Stephens, Principal/Vice President,

Service Strategies

"Here is the roadmap for success within a small support organization."

Dan Wilson, General Manager,

PMV Technologies

"Spectacular Support Centers is sure to become THE guidebook for all smaller support centers. [It is] packed full of insightful commentary, useful diagrams and helpful metrics, and anyone in the support center industry can learn from Kristin Robertson’s expertise. If you are new to support center leadership, this book will provide the basis to build your support center around. If you’re an experienced leader, this book will provide you with the framework upon which to improve your team."

Phil Gerbyshak, Help Desk Manager,

author of 10 Ways to Make It Great!

and editor of HelpDeskNotes.com