[PLUG] Email question

Donkyhotay donkyhotay at verizon.net
Thu Jul 9 14:55:46 UTC 2009


Depends on your customer and most likely when dealing with servers you'd 
probably get a better answer but in my experience whenever I ask "what 
happens when you try to [whatever they are complaining about not being 
able to do]?" I'm usually answered with "I just told you it doesn't work!"


Do not be afraid to joust a giant just because some people believe in 
windmills.


wes wrote:
> On Wed, Jul 8, 2009 at 11:24 PM, linux-yug <linux-yug at xprt.net> wrote:
> 
>> All
>>
>>
>> I am applying for a tech support job and have to answer this question..
>>
>> Problem
>> If an end user were to call you saying they cannot send email through
>> their local hosted POP3/SMTP server, how would you go about
>> troubleshooting the issue
>>
>>
>> Reponse:
>>
>> 1.. Ask if the mail has ever worked..
>>
>> 2.. If mail has worked ask when was the last time it worked correctly
>>
>> 3.  Ask if any hardware/software has been installed since the mail last
>> worked.
>>
>> 4.  When was the last time the computer was booted.
>>
>> 5.  Have customer boot computer again and check email
>>
>> 6.  Have customer check  POP3 and SMTP settings.
>>
>> 7.  Have customer reenter POP3 and SMTP settings.
>>
>> 8  Reboot computer and try email again.
>>
>> 9. If email is still not working ...Have customer open terminal window
>> and ping both POP and SMTP servers..
>>
>> 10.  I email is still not working..Have customer call local ISP and see
>> if there are problems there...
>>
>>
>> #########################
>>
>> Is there a better/quicker way/method ?????
>>
>> Have I missed some obvious step??
>>
>>
>>
>> TIA
>>
>> Linux-yug
>>
>>
> I don't see any mention of asking for an error message. Since most end-users
> don't know what an "error message" is, my favorite way to get them to tell
> it to me is to ask "what happens when you try to [whatever they are
> complaining about not being able to do]?"
> 
> it works well for me. YMMV.
> 
> -wes
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