Chat feature available for Tinker Computer Support Published March 2, 2012 72nd ABW Communications Directorate TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- In the beginning there was the Help Desk. Then, 72nd Air Base Wing Communications Directorate provided the TierZero to allow you to make easy fixes to numerous issues. Now, in an effort to constantly improve customer service and provide a means to the mission, there's the option for Chat Mode. Chat Mode can be accessed through the TierZero website. The TierZero icon is on the Tinker AFB homepage, about halfway down on the right-hand side, and also is listed as a favorite within Internet Explorer. For 76th Maintenance Wing mechanics, a TierZero shortcut also is available on AppSpace. According to Robert A. Cuthbertson, site manager of the Comunications Directorate Information Technology Customer Service, Tinker military personnel and civilian employees have four levels of IT assistance. TierZero is a self-help website and is "the first line of assistance," Mr. Cuthbertson said. "It's the customer helping themselves." Placing a call to the Help Desk (at 734-4357) to speak with a technician, is Tier 1. Tier 2 is when the Help Desk dispatches a field technician to solve your computer dilemma. Tier 3 is "when a highly technical expert is required to solve the problem," Mr. Cuthbertson said. Chat Mode is about halfway between TierZero and Tier 1. You communicate with a Help Desk technician, but via your computer rather than your telephone. "It's much like instant messaging," said Jeffery Foltz, application developer, Communications Directorate Network Engineering and Operations office. "You, the customer, control the speed of the conversation." Why the TierZero and the new Chat Mode? The Help Desk typically has about 300 to 400 open tickets working on any given day, Mr. Foltz said. The Communications Directorate is constantly striving to ensure customer service, communications and mission support by improving our processes wherever they can. When someone accesses the TierZero Website, a "Live Chat with the Help Desk" box appears at the lower right. Approximately 4 inches above the "Live Chat" box are two rectangles. The top one - which asks, "Is this a good time to call?" - lists the number of callers on hold , the anticipated wait time, and the number of Help Desk technicians available to answer calls at that moment. The bottom rectangle lists similar information for the chat line. The TierZero homepage is populated with icons that provide shortcuts to answers to the most common computer problems at Tinker: e-mail and Outlook issues, printer problems, Common Access Card and certificate issues, Office 2010 tips and tricks, global address list issues, Web and Internet issues, virtual private network setup, dealing with spam e-mail, Windows 7 help, frequently asked questions, ADLS (Advanced Distributed Learning Service), information assurance, and automated backup tool. It even has a search feature in case what you are looking for is not on the home page. TierZero "empowers customers to help themselves," Mr. Cuthbertson said. "Customers can fix a lot of their computer problems. They just don't know how to do it." TierZero was launched Oct. 29, 2010, and provides customers with four tools to help them solve their computer problems. There are several videos; many articles, usually half-page synopses; many documents, usually several pages long and typically in PDF format; plus Fix It Now software. Approximately 16,000 individuals have visited the TierZero site over the past 16 months, Mr. Foltz said. "That's 74 percent of the people on this base," he added. Live chat provides one more way for customers to get computer assistance. TierZero and the chat function both were developed by Chickasaw Nation Industries, which has operated the Help Desk under contract with Tinker AFB since 2008. The Help Desk provides computer technicians from 6 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday.