Service level agreements: keeping a rein on expectations

Traditionally, Help Desks have been passively reactive -a call comes in and we try to 6X the problem or answer the question. There was a strong tendency to take whatever “came at us” and try our best to “take care of it”. While it is very admirable to accept such a challenge, it hasn’t done much for our collective reputations, or what some call the PIF (Positive Image Factor). Most of us have ended up in a no-win situation with our customers (users) expecting more than we can reasonably provide.