1st Line/2nd Line/3rd Line Support Differences?

[Mikoyan]

Hello people I just need to know the specifics of each of these roles..

My current job title is Technical Support Analyst and my job description is 1st line support but this is not true as I get all the calls escalated from the 1st line support and passed nearly all of them to me, I do 2nd and a bit of 3rd line according to these descriptions I have found from various sites..

Do they define the differences of 1st/2nd/3rd line well?

If anyone can give any further insight would be appreciated as I wanna bring these things up and ask for more money!

From a site:

1) Usually working from a script but with little knowledge of the application do their best to solve the problem. In most cases this works.

2) Development\Functional\Technical Team try to solve it based on intimate knowledge of the system. Solve 99% of the problems.

3) 2) can't solve it so contact the application developer support line with a detailed description of the problem and usually solve the problem.

Thx

Edit: Just to add if one was going onsite to customer sites and installing fixing problems is this 2nd line support?

 

[Duke]

Completely depends on the company and roles. Generally the ones you've posted from a site define them quite well.

 

[MowyTone]

The higher the number the more specialized they are. for example 3rd line could be development/testing

 

[Ucof]

Hey, Im a "Technical Support Analyst" too! We are supposed to be first line, but there's a good ammount of 2nd line there as well.
We don't got no stinking script (well, other than taking the mandatory info) and can do whatever we want to do to fix the problem.

 

[m4cc45]

1. Answer phones and take calls solve very basic, re-occuring problems.
2. Solve the queries from 1st line. Also responsable for some infrastructure work (new servers / comms / etc).
3. Solve the queries from 2nd line. 'Own' the infrastructure. Responsable for major infrastructure design and implementation. In most companies they normally manage someone at 2nd line. Normally very well qualified and have intimate knowledge of the infrastructure.



M.

 

[Janesy B]

Hey, Im a "Technical Support Analyst" too! We are supposed to be first line, but there's a good ammount of 2nd line there as well.
We don't got no stinking script (well, other than taking the mandatory info) and can do whatever we want to do to fix the problem.

Technical Support Analyst is one of the worst jobs in IT, I was one for a year and I hated every day of it. I'm a NOC engineer now so I can spend time proactively resolving issues and doing installs rather than just having non-techies shout at me.

 

[Sonea Fifer]

1) Usually working from a script but with little knowledge of the application do their best to solve the problem. In most cases this works.

2) Development\Functional\Technical Team try to solve it based on intimate knowledge of the system. Solve 99% of the problems.

3) 2) can't solve it so contact the application developer support line with a detailed description of the problem and usually solve the problem.

1. Answer phones and take calls solve very basic, re-occuring problems.
2. Solve the queries from 1st line. Also responsable for some infrastructure work (new servers / comms / etc).
3. Solve the queries from 2nd line. 'Own' the infrastructure. Responsable for major infrastructure design and implementation. In most companies they normally manage someone at 2nd line. Normally very well qualified and have intimate knowledge of the infrastructure.

Both the above post seem to sum up the job pretty well imo.

I used to be one of those 3rd level support monkeys. It basically meant I was dealing with the companies own incompetent / foreign outsourced first two levels of technical support. Also being continously lied to, just so they can dump a technical issue on you that they cant resolve themselves.

Thank GOD I managed to escape - as Janesy correctly said it is one of the worst IT jobs out there.

 

[Janesy B]

Both the above post seem to sum up the job pretty well imo.

I used to be one of those 3rd level support monkeys. It basically meant I was dealing with the companies own incompetent / foreign outsourced first two levels of technical support. Also being continously lied to, just so they can dump a technical issue on you that they cant resolve themselves.

Thank GOD I managed to escape - as Janesy correctly said it is one of the worst IT jobs out there.

Lying was rife where I was worked, we even caught out an email from a customer that was forwarded to us and at the bottom of the email chain it said "I said yes to all the questions like you told me to". I certainly lost all trust in customers from then on. I asked my supervisor if I could visit site and resolve some issues to see if the customer was telling fibs or not and about 5 out of the 7 times I went on site the customer DIDN'T do what I asked them despite them saying that they did, after doing what I recommended to them, the issue was resolved. Mind you getting £180 from a customer do reinstall printer drivers sure shut them up

Get out while you can, I did

 

[Guest2]

That I think -

1st is fixing someone mouse or keyboard, walking around sorting things
2nd is doing more stuff remotely, admin tools like group policy, active directory etc
3rd is where 2nd go if some admin tools go bang

Im (and im guessing most half decent support roles) are 2nd with a touch of 1st now and again. Using citrix access management console, group policy, vnc and stuff. Also occasionally using other server admin tools but generally left to the IT manager.

 

[Sin_Chase]

In the companies I have contracted in 1st line is often the mouse/keyboard/oh hi I upgraded your RAM kind of a role.

Help desk is just help desk and not considered a "Line of support".

 

[n3vrmind]

1) answers the phones, raises tickets, deals with a list of simple tasks (creating accounts, building pcs) all of which can be procedurized and the overall job is not required to be particularly skilled, basic/enthusiast knowledge requirement

2) handles anything 1st line cant, gets to get involved in building/supporting servers and is expected to know how to use all of the applications that are supported by the department and be able to troubleshoot problems to a reasonable standard, good IT knowledge required but wouldnt necessarily need to know details of how the _msdcs dns entries work for example.

3) handles anything 2nd cant, expected to have an expert knowledge being the last line in most companies this is where the buck stops, will be responsible for uptime/performance/capacity planning/scaling out the systems as well as supporting them as well as the implementation/design of new projects. Some companies split some of this responsibility into 3rd/4th line. Or have multiple teams decicated to key areas such as windows/unix/exchange/storage/networks

 

[Jock Dodds]

3rd line generally wear Red Dwarf t-shirts and their keyboards have an orange hue from all the Cheetos dust.

 

[Casdawer]

I'm 1st/2nd line support for a company and i deal with pretty much anything that get's thrown at me.

I deal with network issues, account issues, hardware issues, software issue, installation of new servers/workstations... the lot!

3rd line deal with the crap we can't do.

 

[cosmogenesis]

1st line support - password resets and telephone call logging with some other incidents. Maybe even creating accounts via scripts or some interface or deleting accounts. Possibly even recovering lost files and email if the solution is easy to use and teach to others.

2nd line and 3rd line tend to be the same in many regards depending on the company in question.

Desktop and server support, hardware and OS problems.
Applications support, SQL sever, Oracle, Exchange, ISA, Office etc
Network Printer installation
TCP/IP address management
Firewall, LAN and WAN management and support
Remote site visits
File and print server problems
Perfomance issues
Capacity issues
PC builds and installs

Things like that.

 

[Ciphon]

I swear there was a thread EXACTLY like this a few weeks ago.

Edit:

Yes there was:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18018536&highlight=1st+line+support

 

[Knubje]

I swear there was a thread EXACTLY like this a few weeks ago.

Edit:

Yes there was:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18018536&highlight=1st+line+support

It's ok, 2k posts and being a member for 5 years - he hasn't located the Search button at the top of the page yet, some people are just slower than others...

 

[Mikoyan]

mods please close will check out that other thread out thanks for the replies and Knubje I did search "first line" and "support" "line support" but I guess I used the wrong words (not numbers!) my search skills need tweaking! sorry to upset you lol

 

[Knubje]

mods please close will check out that other thread out thanks for the replies and Knubje I did search "first line" and "support" "line support" but I guess I used the wrong words (not numbers!) my search skills need tweaking! sorry to upset you lol

It's ok mate! I just get sick of seeing the same old threads in GD when I'm trying to procrastinate at work

If you start a new babe thread or something of similar proportion all will be forgiven

 

[Mikoyan]

It's ok mate! I just get sick of seeing the same old threads in GD when I'm trying to procrastinate at work

If you start a new babe thread or something of similar proportion all will be forgiven

\/

 

[Ev0]

It does depend on the organisation, for instance my last place:

1st line was the helpdesk, however they fixed a lot of calls there and were not just merely call loggers.

2nd line was for things that needed desk/site visits or were too time consuming to do on the helpdesk. Not an indication of how difficult something was, purely time based really, for most things anyway.

3rd line, well wasn't really anything in house I'd have called third line. This was when we'd call up the manufacturer or whoever we had a support contract with.

Historically the same big team covered 1st and 2nd, with I guess some people acting as 3rd line when the 2nd line person couldn't fix it but someone else in the team had those skills.

Now since I've left they've split the teams up now into smaller groups so the 1st line people are 1 small team and all they do is 1st line, same for 2nd line etc.

Where I am now the desktop guys cover 1st and 2nd line, then if they can't do it it either comes to one of us server guys to help or whoever we have a support contract with

That I think -

1st is fixing someone mouse or keyboard, walking around sorting things
2nd is doing more stuff remotely, admin tools like group policy, active directory etc

Personally I'd have said it was the other way round, 1st line is sitting there using your remote tools etc to try and sort it. If that's no good it goes over to 2nd line to go fix, walking around, site visits etc. Sending out a new kb or mouse though should be a 1st line job imho.

To me first line is always (rightly or wrongly ) that first point of contact, that initial question or query, so if it's somethign that can't be fixed then somehow it's a second line jobbie.