All Helpdesk Consultants are expected to:

1. Read the Helpdesk and HDCS listservs e-mail daily.
2. Contribute to the discussion and problem solving on the Helpdesk and HDCS listservs. We can't survive without your collective expertise.
3. Attend the weekly (or as scheduled) Helpdesk Consultant meetings.
4. Arrive ON TIME for your Helpdesk shifts. If you are unable to be present during your scheduled shift, you are responsible for finding a substitute. Without a Helpdesk Consultant on duty, the Helpdesk cannot adequately support our campus. Requests for substitutes can be sent to the HDCS listserv. If there is an emergency, please contact the Helpdesk supervisor - alternate arrangements may be made depending on the situation. Excused absences include academic conflicts, illness, and family emergencies (but these still require an Helpdesk Consultant to find a substitute for her shift). Unexcused absences will result in disiplinary action.
5. Provide excellent customer service. Be aware that Helpdesk Consultants are a very visible face of Information Technology to not only faculty and staff, but to students and their parents. Please greet people with a smile and a welcoming, helpful presence.

All Helpdesk Consultants should not:

1. Perform hardware duties: This includes installing Ethernet cards, putting in batteries, installing internal modems, etc.. Francis performs our hardware repairs on campus. Information Technology prefers that you DO NOT do any hardware work even when you are off-duty because of liability. People may ask you to do this because they know you are technical, but here are some considerations:
• Information Technology does not pay student consultants to do installs or repair hardware. Students with hardware install needs should make arrangements with their computer vendor (for warranty repairs), a computer repair center, or do it themselves if they can.
• If a Helpdesk Consultants does it just as a favor, it makes it seem that Information Technology provides this service even though we do not. If a Helpdesk Consultants does it for a user as a friend, the friend may hold you and Information Technology liable if something goes wrong. Other students may also expect you, other Helpdesk Consultants, and RCCs to provide the same level of service and become upset when they are told we can't assist with hardware. So the moral to this brief story is: DON'T DO IT.
2. Accept abuse from angry or upset users. If a user is irate, do not hesitate to send her to the Helpdesk supervisor. You were not hired to receive abuse from the people you are supposed to help. Be sure to keep a copy of all correspondence between you and the irate user so that the Helpdesk supervisor can follow the situation and back you up. Make sure that the problem tracking syste record is also up-to-date and contains all available information. As much as possible, communicate with the Helpdesk supervisor - cc: her on all potentially problematic correspondence! She is your ally and will support and defend you 100% unless you are rude to the user. It's also a good idea to tell the Helpdesk supervisor of potential problems before they happen, so that she is not surprised if she receives an irate phone call.