Tiscali : Serving self-servers

An easily accessible error codes feature brings benefits both to customers and company.

The Site

Tiscali, the European internet communications provider, has a help section on its UK site which can be reached from any page via the universal navigation bar. Within the section’s six ‘online help’ topics many of the advice pages have an ‘Error Codes’ feature in the right-hand panel. This offers three separate dropdown menus of error codes for broadband, Outlook and dial-up respectively.

Clicking on a code opens a page describing the problem indicated by the code. It also sets out the steps that can be taken to troubleshoot the issue and gives links to other help pages where practical tips or further advice can be found; for example, to check Outlook Express settings or go to a security software provider’s site.

The Takeaway

Error codes are one of the enduring mysteries of the web to most users. Everyone has had one, practically no one understands their significance. At best they assist the technical help desk that you end up contacting to identify the problem. Tiscali’s easily accessible Error Codes feature offers a more satisfying outcome both for its customers and the company.

The provision of explanations is supportive in itself, but the use of basic web capabilities (linkage, interactivity, data storage) takes the feature beyond reassurance to self-help by sharing both the diagnosis and the possible solutions of commonly encountered problems. For the customer this translates into a quicker way to resolve the issue (not least because it is a 24-hour service), while for Tiscali it takes pressure off and cost out of its technical support system.

First published on 27 October, 2005