Our #1 tip: Before you call or submit a ticket: Restart your computer. This is often the first thing you will be asked to do if you are experiencing computer trouble. Restarting your computer fixes more things than you might think. Why? Who knows! But it works. No change? Ok, time to submit a ticket:

  • Enter a descriptive summary of your problem in the Subject field of the web form. This will help us have a possible solution ready.
    • Use wording that states what the specific problem is and what you are seeing. For example, "Issues logging into Email" is a better summary than "Help!", "Work Order", or "Ticket request". 

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    • Examples of descriptive summaries:
      • The sound system is not working in Chapel
      • The phone is not working in General Office
      • Computer 7 in continuous boot loop in Resource Center


Our #2 tip: Provide as much information as possible.

  • In the Description section of the web form, enter all the details the are relevant to the problem. Please do not assume we know what you are talking about: be descriptive. Try to include as much of the following information as possible:

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    • The ID or make and model of the equipment. Dell desktop computers should have a label on the top tower that has a “Service Tag” number. The Dell laptop computers will have the “Service Tag” number on the bottom. The Lenovo laptops will have an “S/N” on the bottom of the laptop.
      • Example: 8B08202, LR0DC0JA, or 9X8F13.
    • If the computer boots to Windows 10  you can find the S/N or Service Tag with the following steps
      • Click Start and Type “About your PC” and click it
      • Look for “Device Name”. That is the S/N or Service Tag
    • If it is a printer or other piece of equipment, the make and model is usually easy to find. Example: HP LaserJet 4200n
    • The building and room where the equipment is located.
    • Your phone number.
    • Detailed information about the problem or request. Anything you may know that is pertinent will help us find a solution quicker for you.
      • What were you trying to do when the problem happened?
      • What happened instead and was there an error message?
      • When was the last time this worked and/or when did you first notice the problem?
      • What is the severity? Are you the only one experiencing the problem? Is anyone else in the office having the same problem?

Our #3 tip: Incident updates

  • When tickets are created, or comments added, you will receive an email with a subject line that has the ticket number and summary in the subject field. Example: "[Ticket #12345] Computer not responding – Spiceworks".
    • When you reply to one of these emails, that email will become a comment that is added to the ticket.
    • You should always use reply if you need to add additional information to tickets 
    • Please read the ticket emails because we may ask you for additional information or provide the information you need!
      • If you are asked to try something, let us know what you tried. Most tickets are held up because follow-up questions do not get answered or are answered vaguely.
      • For example, if asked, "Did you try restarting the computer?", don't reply "It's not working". Instead say "Yes, I restarted the computer, it's still not working."