In addition to dealing with irate customers, many are under the gun by supervisors who monitor their calls and keep track of how much time they take to resolve problems. As a result, according to Steve Cain, benchmarking director for the help desk practice at the Gartner Group Inc. in Stamford, Conn., their turnover rate is close to 70 percent a year, one of the highest for any job category. What really galls some of them are signs of incompetence from their supposed masters. Gianmarco Rossi, a Level 1 employee for a contractor in Orlando, Fla., recalled being unable to solve a customer's cable- modem problem, so he tried to forward the call. But the Level 2 technician refused to take it and instead proposed an endless stream of solutions, none of which worked.
Some people worry that such mutual sniping can distract technicians of both categories.
Where Level 2 people get frustrated is when Level 1 techs don't accurately diagnose the problem. It's not an exact science and things can be misinterpreted. Sometimes the solution a Level 1 tech proposes can ultimately complicate the work for the Level 2. He acknowledges that it gets under his skin, however, when they ask him basic technical questions or come back with a problem he has already gone over with them. It probably helps that many people in Level 2 and even their bosses have worked in the trenches and know how grueling the experience can be.