The UCS Service Desk is available to everyone entitled to use the University Computing Service and is the first port of call for any queries about the various facilities the Computing Service provides.
The Service Desk is open from 09:00-17:00 from Mondays to Fridays, except Wednesdays 10:00-17:00 and Fridays 09:00-16:30.
You can contact the Service Desk in one of five ways:
- In person - next to Computing Service Reception on floor 2 of the Cockcroft building on the New Museums Site (see the site map for details)
- Telephone - the number is 01223 (7)62999 (please note that we may monitor and record telephone calls for training and quality assurance purposes with the aim of improving our service to you)
- Email - send email to service-desk@ucs.cam.ac.uk (please include your Central Registration Scheme userid e.g. ABC1000)
- Fax - the fax number is 01223 (3)34679
- Post - to the Service Desk via the University Messenger Service (UMS) or at the New Museums Site, Pembroke Street, Cambridge, CB2 3QH.
Most problems presented at the Service Desk are resolved by Service Desk staff. The Service Desk is backed up by a full team of Computing Service experts, who can handle the more specialised problems. If a particular problem cannot be resolved at the Service Desk it will be passed to the experts for advice and/or action. Where an in-depth discussion is required, a consultancy appointment may be suggested.
We welcome any suggestions you might have on aspects of the UCS Service Desk. Please send these to the Service Desk Manager, Vince Woodley (vrw10@cam.ac.uk).
The Role of the Service Desk
One of the tasks of the UCS is to help members of the University to be more productive through the use of the facilities it provides. Available technology is of limited effectiveness to many people unless they are also helped to use that technology and are given assistance when they encounter problems with it. In return the UCS has the opportunity to gain valuable feedback about the way facilities are used and what the real requirements are. The UCS Service Desk was set up to handle users' initial calls for assistance, with the following goals in mind:
- to provide a focus within the Computing Service for users to obtain general and technical assistance;
- to offer prompt and efficient front-line assistance, with the aim of answering as many routine questions as possible;
- if the call is not resolved at the Service Desk, to pass it on to an appropriate specialist if available within the Computing Service;
- to provide feedback within the Computing Service about common problems encountered by users, which might indicate the need for further courses, documentation or a change in what is provided;
- to record the details of a call and any initial advice given so that we can refer to statistics and case histories if required.
Service Desk Operation
The Service Desk is split both logically and physically into two parts:
- the Front Desk is in the reception area on the second floor of the Cockcroft building and the advisers there will deal with both personal callers and telephone calls. Staff on the Front Desk have a range of computers giving access to facilities provided by the Computing Service.
There are a number of Service Desk telephone lines using the number (7)62999. In cases where all Front Desk staff are already dealing with callers, calls are switched to an answering machine where a message can be left, which will be dealt with as soon as possible. - the Back Desk is situated in staff offices nearby. In practice there will be one adviser on duty who will normally deal with all email enquiries. If the enquiry is not urgent we suggest that a description of the problem is emailed along with other relevant information (such as hardware and software details). Fax and written letter enquiries are also passed to the Back Desk from the UCS fax machine on (3)34679 - please mark them for the attention of the Service Desk.
The Computerised Call Logging System
Whenever you contact the Service Desk by email, phone or in person you will be asked for your user identifier, so that your query can be logged in our computerised call logging system. If the Service Desk cannot resolve your question directly you will be given a call ticket number. We request that you use the call ticket number when contacting the Service Desk subsequently about that problem. This is especially important for calls coming in by email, to enable messages to be processed automatically.
The call logging system ensures that calls are not "lost". Outstanding questions can be properly managed and call histories can be retrieved if appropriate. The call logging system also helps us to monitor trends and can be searched to identify queries which recur frequently, for which further courses, documentation, Newsletter tips etc. may be needed.
Last updated: November 2012