Helpdesk and customer service

Helpdesk

At a university attended by thousands of people, most problems are not new. Therefore it is very likely that someone has experienced the same problem as you and that the solution can be found on the Internet.

The Helpdesk site

When you encounter IT problems, first look for help on the IT Center’s Helpdesk site. It contains a wealth of instructions and videos in an easily accessible format. The Helpdesk instructions can be found at https://helpdesk.it.helsinki.fi/.

The Helpdesk page with a search field. You can open a larger image by clicking the link.

You can also find the Helpdesk and ID Point contact details on the Helpdesk menu.

In addition, on the right-hand side of the Helpdesk site you can find current IT failure notifications. The failure notifications provide you with information about outage reasons, durations and the affected user groups.

Contacting Helpdesk

The Helpdesk advises students and staff in IT problems related to studying or working at the University of Helsinki. You can contact the Helpdesk if you need help with things like the university’s IT environment, e-mail or logging in to university services.

You can reach the Helpdesk by phone at +358 (0)2 941 55555 and by e-mail at helpdesk@helsinki.fi. The Helpdesk opening hours can be checked at https://helpdesk.it.helsinki.fi/en/help/7000.

Arso Nist, a shady figure who works as a warning example, had found out Raymond Keskivarsen’s e-mail address from an Internet forum on gardening and had begun a quest to take over the world by sending loads of junk mail from different addresses to Raymond. Raymond informed the Helpdesk about it and received instructions on how to filter incoming messages. In this way, Raymond foiled Arso’s plans and can also filter his fan mail automatically into a separate folder based on certain key words.

Chat

You can also contact the Helpdesk customer service via chat. To use the chat, go to the Helpdesk site, which also lists the opening hours of the chat. When the service is available, the window shown in the image is shown at the bottom of the Helpdesk page. You can type your question in the text field next to the balloon. The answers are shown below the original question.

ID point

When contacting the Helpdesk, please bear in mind that passwords cannot be changed over the phone due to security reasons. The same applies to other user account-related matters which require personal identification. This does not apply, however, if you first identify yourself at one of the many ID Point service desks, presenting an ID. After identifying yourself at the ID Point, you can handle all your user account issues with the Helpdesk over the phone.

When you contact the Helpdesk, you will usually be asked the following questions:

1. What were you doing and which program were you using?
2. What exactly happened?
3. Which error message did the computer give you? Write the error message down very carefully or take a photo.

If you have the answers to the above-mentioned questions when you contact the Helpdesk, they will not have to be figured out separately and your problem can be handled considerably faster.

The Helpdesk helps in all questions and problems concerning user accounts. A typical question concerning user accounts is “I cannot log in”. Many user account issues require personal identification, so please remember to identify yourself at an ID Point before calling the Helpdesk.

Samuel Soundman, student at the Faculty of Department Store Music, has been standing in for the messenger boy at the company of Raymond’s cousin, Taxi-Tommy. His commitments take their toll, and one day in a computer lab, Samuel realises he has forgotten his password. Samuel visits an ID Point service desk and presents his ID. He receives a code to be used for identification when contacting the Helpdesk by phone. When calling the Helpdesk, he receives a new password. In addition, he is told that he can also get a new password from home with his Finnish online banking credentials.

How to avoid the most common problems with your user account:
1. Immediately change your initial password.
2. In the future, change your password at least once a year.