Articles

Practical guides for modern support

Honest writing on reducing ticket volume, building a knowledge base, SLA design, support automation, and the messy realities of running a support team that customers actually trust.

11 articles
Support8 min read

How to Clear a Support Ticket Backlog (and Keep It From Coming Back)

A growing backlog is a symptom, not the disease. The triage sprint that drains the queue fast, plus the structural fixes — deflection, staffing math, and a daily ceiling — that stop it refilling.

Paul HittJun 9, 2026
Support7 min read

Support Shift Handoffs: Running a Follow-the-Sun Queue Without Dropping Tickets

Tickets fall through the cracks at the seams between shifts and time zones. The handoff ritual, ownership rules, and async notes that let a 24-hour support operation pass work cleanly instead of losing it.

Paul HittJun 9, 2026
Support8 min read

Onboarding New Support Agents: A 30-60-90 Ramp That Gets Them Replying Faster

Throwing a new hire at the queue with a login and a wiki link wastes weeks. A structured 30-60-90 ramp — shadowing, scoped queues, and QA-driven coaching — that turns a new agent into a confident one fast.

Paul HittJun 9, 2026
Support7 min read

Help Desk vs. Service Desk: What's the Difference, and Which Do You Need?

The terms get used interchangeably, but they solve different problems. A clear breakdown of scope, mindset, and process — and an honest answer to which one your team actually needs right now.

Paul HittJun 8, 2026
Support8 min read

Building an Internal Help Desk: IT Support That Employees Actually Use

When employees route every IT request through Slack DMs and tapped shoulders, nothing is tracked and nothing improves. How to stand up an internal help desk people will actually use instead of routing around.

Paul HittJun 8, 2026
Support7 min read

Ticket Tagging That Stays Useful: Designing a Taxonomy You Won't Regret

Most tag lists rot into hundreds of near-duplicates nobody trusts. How to design a small, structured tagging taxonomy — and the governance to keep it clean — so your reporting actually means something.

Paul HittJun 7, 2026