The Engineer's Toolbox: Delivering "The Best Service"...it matters

There goes my mobile phone,screaming like "It's Monday morning,wake up sleepy head and prepare for work!". As soon as I reach out to snooze it, I'm already seeing myself in front of my computer analyzing the Weekly Service Surveillance Report. In all my years of being an employee,I learned that it's more stressful resisting on doing the things you have to do than doing it right away. So I always tell myself "It's no big deal,I'm used to it." And so, my day goes on like any other Monday.
Reports were done before my afternoon break. Then, I received an email message informing me that I have a training to attend to, the next day. I was like,"What's this? Service Desk Analyst?." I'm thinking, oh, another one of those mind-setting, brainwash kind of training to make me a "better employee." After some last minute modification of my schedule for the week, I was all set-up. We'll at least I'll have sometime away from my desk,sitting in a hotel chair, pretending to listen from a boring instructor while checking on my facebook account. But in the back of my mind, I 'm hoping this training would be different for my superior told me this will make me a certified Service Desk Engineer. And so, all of my expectations were tested the following day.

First day,I arrived late with a ton of sweat all over me. Good thing we have this nice room with overflowing coffee and very nice people . So I quickly "cooled" down over a hot cup of coffee while browsing this book which is in my impression, kind of thick for this training. I'm wondering if we'll be able to finish covering the topics in this book for three days.After about 10 minutes, I'm settled and it's game time. There was this tall young lady speaking in front of us introducing our trainer. Obviously she's not a native Filipina but I'm really glad that I'm able to understand what she's saying. This made me feel even more comfortable, at least I will not be having a hard time listening, I just have to understand. From then on, I'm sure I'll learn something from this training. And so,there goes "Chris", our trainer. I really didn't get his real name the first time, always was the case every time I go on a training session with foreign trainers. First impressions, oh great, a man who looks like he really know what he's talking about. I was glad to hear Chris said "We're all in good hands". And so, after a bit of introduction and acquaintance with the rest of the class, It's all down to business. But before that, we had this mock exam, I'm glad I got a passing grade (wish this was for real already). That got my my confidence a notch higher that I can pass the actual exam.We go on discussing roles & responsibilities, effective communication, skills and competencies. After the first session, I've come to realize many things about being a Service Desk Engineer, "It's not as simple as you might think". The day ends and I'm looking forward for the next session.

Day 2, I don't know if I'm excited or what but I'm really early this time. So early that I had enough time to go to a chapel and thank the Lord for the blessings. I was the first one to arrive, and so I just did the morning routine over a cup of coffee. Right now I'm even more comfortable with the rest of the class so I had a nice time doing all the activities set for the day. We discussed cross-cultural communication, process management and the service desk environment for the training proper. We had a chance of talking with Chris about other things (politics, culture, cost of living, etc.) during our break, I want to call it my "yosi break" (cigarette break). It was another good acquaintance session.The food, by the way, is really good too. I was a little disappointed knowing we will not be actually taking the exam as part of the training, but then I just focused on being able to pass, learn and be a certified Service Desk Analyst. And so, the day passed by with me having a greater realization of what this training, really, is all about. It's not about the exam or anything, it's about delivering the best service whatever is your profession.

Last day, is was the perfect timing. That's my perfect example of learning for the past two days. We discussed about Problem solving, tools and technologies and managing SLA's. Had a lot of fun doing the activities set for the day. Then we had another mock exam, this time it's a different story. The questions are much tougher and the answers must really be precise. But this is what you have to expect if you are to get a certification. Felt a bit down when I wasn't able to get a passing grade (short of one correct answer to be exact). I'm hoping to leave a good impression to the rest of the class but maybe not this time. I guess I have to try harder and do better on the actual exam. That's another good lesson for me. At the end of the day, It's all about attitude, how you react will depend on how you see the things around you. If you want to deliver good service, then you must first be able to see good things on what you have and what you can do.