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Run a service desk

A teacher reports a broken projector. The school’s support team needs one request with the correct queue, owner and history, not several disconnected chat messages. The agent records the investigation, follows up with the requester and resolves the ticket when the outcome is clear.

On this pagePrepare desk settingsPrepare or find a service requestRead the conversation before replyingTransfer, merge or split carefullyResolve a requestContacts, knowledge and reports

Prepare desk settings

A configured channel is not proof that an external provider or mailbox is connected. Inspect its status and any activation or routing error before publishing that contact path.

  1. Open Service desk → Desk settings.
  2. Review Queues, Service levels, Contact channels, Agents and Saved replies.
  3. Assign the intended support responsibilities and check queue access.
  4. Configure and verify a contact channel through its actual activation controls before expecting requests to arrive.

Prepare or find a service request

  1. Open Service desk → My requests for your own work, or Agent inbox when handling support. Search for an existing request first.
  2. Choose New request. Enter a specific Subject, such as Grade 3 projector will not power on, then describe what happened, what you expected and what you tried.
  3. Review Category, Priority, optional Customer, Assigned agent and Followers. Leave the request in the queue when an agent has not been assigned.
  4. Choose Submit request when ready and confirm the returned number and status. Do not interpret opening the form as submission.
The actual request form with a concrete projector problem. It was not submitted and no message was sent.1 Describe the concrete problem2 Submit after reviewing the request

Read the conversation before replying

In Agent inbox, use Status, Assignee, Queue and Priority filters to focus the work. Open the request number to review Conversation, Activity and Agent details.

The captured SD-000014 is an explicitly simulated office-hours enquiry. Its timeline retains creation, queue and assignment changes and a reply; its status is Awaiting Requester.

Review Via and the intended audience before using Send. A portal reply and an internal note have different audiences. Read and adapt any saved reply to the actual request.

An explicitly simulated office-hours request retains its conversation, assignment history and Awaiting Requester status.1 Request status and conversation2 Review assignment and service details3 Resolve only when the issue is addressed

Transfer, merge or split carefully

Use the ticket’s available transfer, merge or split controls when work belongs elsewhere or duplicate requests need to be linked. Inspect the destination and retain enough context for the next agent.

A merge can change where the conversation is tracked; do not use it to hide unresolved work. Check the recorded events and related request references after the action.

Resolve a request

  1. Confirm the reported issue has a supported resolution.
  2. Use Resolve and enter the required resolution details.
  3. Inspect the resulting status and conversation so the requester’s follow-up remains understandable.
  4. If work resumes, use the available lifecycle action on the existing request instead of creating a duplicate solely to change its status.

Contacts, knowledge and reports

Use Contacts to maintain the identities and channels used by requests. Use Knowledge for reusable answers, reviewing publication and access before treating an article as a requester-facing response.

Open Reports to review the desk’s available operational measures. Check time windows and statuses before interpreting SLA or resolution figures, and inspect source tickets for exceptions.

Plan follow-up project workReporting destinations