Remote Support by GoToAssist

Six Traits of the Successful Small Business Owner from Inc. Magazine

Brenda Dentinger — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 16:29:45 +0000

I came across this article published by Inc. a while ago and thought it would be good to share here since many of our customers are small businesses but I think this list applies to anyone in any type of career.

Ability to collaborate: delegate, build strong releationships, connect with customers.
Be self-fulfilled: love what you do and your passion will help you be successful.
Future-focused: think not only about today or this year, have the future planned out.
Curious: read, ask questions, learn. When you ask a lot of questions you can uncover more truths.
Tech-savvy: relying on new technology helps businesses succeed. From what I’ve heard from our customers, remote support technology is critical for folks in IT and Software support. In fact, I surveyed our customers and found that by using GoToAssist Express, customers see a productivity increase of 30% to 50%, leading to increased revenues of $50K to $100K a year. That is one strong ROI!

You can read the full article from Inc. Magazine here.

GoToAssist Express: Our New Look

Brenda Dentinger — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 00:15:21 +0000

Next time you log into the GoToAssist Express Web site, you’ll see some improvements. We are in the process of updating our look and made the My Account section easier to navigate and more appealing visually. We hope you enjoy this upgrade to your remote support service.

Get Ready to Support Remote Workers

Brenda Dentinger — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 21:06:31 +0000

Working remotely is such a hot trend right now, I thought I’d share one of the many articles I’ve read recently. This one, written for Small Business Trends, spoke of how working remotely can save a company thousands of dollars per employee, increase employee productivity and reduce employee turnover.

If you are in IT, you’ll need a strategy for supporting all of your remote workers. RDP and other free tools won’t work if someone is having VPN problems. You’ll need a remote support tool that is reliable and easy to use so your productivity isn’t impacted because someone remote is having technical problems.

Announcing Our New Advertising Campaign — “You gonna do something or just stand there and bleed?”

Richard Kaplan — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 18:00:13 +0000

Who you gonna call when rustlers, hackers and malware start hanging around your homestead?

Have you seen our new GoToAssist advertising campaign? We’re having more fun than hogs in a fresh mud slop, and we think you’re going to enjoy it too.

Our new publicity tips a giant 10-gallon hat to the spirit of the old West. Soon roughriders, bull wranglers and sharpshooters will be emblazoned across our Web banners, magazine ads and emails.

“Why the old West?” you might ask.

Because we think the mythic heroes of the old West live on in today’s support professionals. Just like those lone gunmen of yesteryear, tech professionals ride into town, delivering hope and help to desperate Americans everywhere. In these modern days, when decent folks need assistance fast, they best call an unassuming but determined and skilled troubleshooting support guy or gal who is ready to spring into action.

Feast your eyes on this pretty picture:

Now appearing in magazines everywhere.

And while you’re at it, join us in the fun of mashing up old western movie quotes into something new and sweet for tech support. Here’s a few ticklers thought up by Trey Clark, Alleah Gogley and Tom Schultz of the GoToAssist remote support posse.

“One support slinger against a world of technical problems? I like my odds.”

“Wherever he goes, he leaves a trail of slain technical issues.”

“Technical problems can run, but they can’t hide.”

“This virtual desktop ain’t big enough for both me and that virus.” [Based on “This town ain't big enough for the both of us, and I'm going to give you 24 hours to get out.” Spoken by Wheeler Oakman in The Western Code (1932)]

IT support cowboy: “In the cool of the evening, when the computer problems arise, that’s when I appear.” [Based on “In the cool of the evening, when the food and liquor and women are ready, that's when I appear." Spoken by Walter Houston in The Virginian (1929)]

Or mash up your own classic Western movie quote, and send them this way. We’d love to read them!

Webinar: Effectively Growing Your Key Sales and Service Talent

Brenda Dentinger — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 17:34:04 +0000

Want to gain and retain more customers? Want motivated team members who actually see the big picture? The quality of your Professional Services team correlates directly to winning new accounts and keeping the ones you already have.

Join us for an interactive Webinar with Rebecca Morgan, best-selling author and creator of innovative solutions for workplace effectiveness. Rebecca will explore how to nurture your team’s customer contact skills to retain customers and provide service excellence.

Attend this interactive Webinar to learn:

Why your best employees may be ready to leave, along with your best customers
How you can develop your people — even with little or no budget
Strategies for achieving the highest ROI from any development effort
And more…

Date: June 10, 2010
Time: 11am Pacific, 12pm Mountain, 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern

Note: If you can’t attend the live webinar, you can still sign up to view the recorded version on demand. Just click the regisration button above.

This webinar is sponsored by GoToAssist, the leader in remote support software.

Is your customer suffering from Computer Stress Syndrome? (I know I am.)

Richard Kaplan — Thu, 27 May 2010 17:30:30 +0000

Need some help here! Photo courtesy of Flickr Commons

I’ve got a confession to make. I usually try to hide this from my more tech-sophisticated friends, but sitting at my home are two computers with mounting problems. And sitting next to them is an irritated wife who fumes over Internet connectivity issues and a son who tends to sob every time he tries to download a song and his iPod crashes. Sometimes he supplements those tears with a well-formed curse before the word “Dad.”

I’ve tried to track down and resolve these issues. I’ve spent tedious hours looking for helpful hints on Internet forums. But all my efforts have only ended in me deleting my PC’s audio driver and losing sound. (Please don’t ask me how.)

Americans love their glistening, data-munching machines and they celebrate that treasure trove called the Web. But at the same time, those much-beloved technologies are an unending source of stress.

A recent study by the Customer Experience Board says two-thirds of consumers have either experienced significant computer problems or contacted tech support last year. OK, I’ve done both. Furthermore, I join 78 percent of users who feel at least somewhat tech savvy, however that same group is afflicted with what one expert is calling “Computer Stress Syndrome.”

Despite all manufacturer efforts, computer technology is complex, prone to malfunction and even susceptible to “disease.” After all, connectivity means being exposed to the contagion of viruses and malware.

All that is enough to make a grown, supposedly practical fellow like me start pulling out my hair and weeping, when not dodging the angry glares of my family. Yes, I’ve got Computer Stress Syndrome and I’ve got it bad.

We consumers need help. And we often aren’t getting it from manufacturers and vendors. Microsoft, apparently hurting for revenue, tells those who want live help to get out their credit card. In fact, Forrester Research recently reported that only one major computer manufacturer has decent consumer ratings, nearing 80 percent “good” ratings, while other major producers barely achieve a majority of “OK” ratings. (Can you guess who scored the decent ratings?)

There’s a deep and growing gap in support, and that’s where all the tech wizards using GoToAssist Express and Corporate need to step in. To tell the truth, sometimes I feel like you guys and gals are the grease keeping civilization from coming to a big screeching halt and complete mental breakdown.

(Next: Consumer views of tech support: the latest research)

Setup an Unattended Session on Fastsupport.com in under 2 minutes!

Tem Boylan — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:50:20 +0000

I’ve been looking at a ton of user comments from surveys, UserVoice, etc… and I decided to address an issue that seems to be showing up rather frequently. Many of you might not even be aware that the feature exists. So here it is, a very quick and easy way to setup unattended support when you are on-site, physically at the target machine. Along with the written steps, please take a look at my quick instructional video. I created it using GoView, another great product from Citrix Online.

Follow these simple steps:

Go to following URL: https://www.fastsupport.com/unattended
Click on “Set Up Unattended Support”
You will be prompted to login to your GoToAssist account
- Enter your GoToAssist username and password
You will be prompted to enter your system username and password
- (e.g. Domain Admin, Local Admin, Local User Account with install rights, etc.)
You will be prompted to enter the following information
- Computer nickname (e.g. Bob’s Office Computer)
- Access Code (Unique to this machine)

That’s It. Your Computer will now show up in your Unattended Machines list!

Click on icon below to watch a step by step presentation of the steps outlined above:

Hello World!

Tem Boylan — Wed, 26 May 2010 09:48:38 +0000

Greetings everyone,

My name is Tem Boylan and I would just like to say how excited I am to be the newest member of the GoToAssist product management team. Although not a Santa Barbara native, I have lived here ever since I moved from San Diego to attend UCSB. When I’m not working I like to spend my free time Running, Racing (both Auto and Motorcycle), Riding my Dirt Bike, Surfing when I can, and Traveling whenever possible. I come from a long history of involvement in the technology sector so I am extremely aware of the value offered by remote IT support services and have been a long-time user of Citrix Online’s product offerings.

The GoToAssist line of products provide invaluable tools for anyone in a support role. I look forward to doing my part to ensure that GoToAssist continues to be the leading remote support service. I’ll be posting to this blog on a regular basis to share pertinent stories, helpful tips, and the latest GoToAssist news as the team continues to crank out new features and enhanced performance.

Please Welcome Tem Boylan

Barry Dacus — Fri, 21 May 2010 22:17:57 +0000

Please join me in welcoming Tem Boylan as the newest member of our remote support product management team at Citrix Online. Tem will be a regular contributor to the Remote Support Blog. Tem will probably tell you more about himself a little later.

– Barry

Technology Services World – May 2010

Brenda Dentinger — Wed, 19 May 2010 02:07:18 +0000

My how time flies. It seems like only yesterday when we were up in Santa Clara at the Technology Services World (TSW) conference. The GoToAssist team was in full swing catching up customers, making new friends. When I asked the staff later what stood out about the conference, they said “the overall passion our customers had for the GoToAssist product, I’d had never been to a show where so many people came up just to say they use GoToAssist and love it!” (Such a good comment I had to use it on the blog.)

While at TSW, I checked in on some sessions and happily found that the topic of First Contact Resolution (FCR) was very popular. The message: FCR drives not only customer satisfaction and retention but cost reduction as well. In GoToAssist land, we live FCR everyday, it is one of the most important metrics in support and services. In you want to learn more about how to improve your FCR rates with remote support, review this webinar. You can also read more about the TSW conference on John Ragsdale’s : Eye of Service blog.

Here are some pics from the event. Enjoy!