A standard for help desk professionals and those considering becoming support professionals, this text focuses on key information for user support professionals, including decision making, communicating successfully with a client, determining the client’s specific needs, and writing for the end user. This text has been updated to reflect the latest in support industry trends, especially the use of Web and e-mail-based support. For those considering entering the field, alternate career paths for user-support workers are described. This edition has retained and updated the CloseUp feature, which details real-life scenarios of working professionals and issues in the workplace. With balanced coverage of both people skills and technical skills, this book is an excellent resource for those in the technical-support field.