[MI_BB_TECH]

I am currently a member of what we call the "Wireless Support Team" here in one of the Northern State"s Government. We're up to almost 600 BlackBerrys and its getting to be a little overwhelming trying to train people.

We're a GroupWise shop and if any of you administer BlackBerrys in this type of environment you know you always have your hands full.

Anyhoo... Up until now our process has been something like this....

Our Group gets a ticket for an activation, one of us techs is assigned to handle the activation, phone # transfers etc. and then final delivery to the client. Where feasible, we do a wireless activation over the phone if the person is "tech competent" or comfortable with the idea. Once thats done... we give the client some quick tips on its use and we leave.

Once back in the office we pass the ticket to our training group who then either schedules a 1 1/2 hour one-on-one training session. When possible we try to do group trainings if we have a client who takes delivery on a large quantity of BB's. We have designed our own training manuals tailored to our environment and for each device. We've looked at some of the online training but it just doesn't seem to fit the bill or is VERY EXPEN$IVE!!!

I just keep thinking there has to be another/better way... Can any of you out there who are managing and offering training in a large BlackBerry environment similar to ours please pass on some ideas how you are running things? We'd really like to know

Thanks in advance!

[d_fisher]

Training? What training... I answer a few questions, and them email the end user a copy of Stinsonddog's TipNTricks guide.

[EricaJ1074]

Try these links
1) http://www.consilient.com/training/index.php These include self paced training and instructor led training for individuals ($75 USD) and enterprises.

2) http://www.blackberry.com/support/tr..._courses.shtml These are free and should help with the basics of using BlackBerry devices.

3) http://www.discoverblackberry.com/ This also has free training tutorials which are listed under certain models.

Hope this all helps.

[MI_BB_TECH]

Guys...

We've tried both approaches....

I don't know where you're from but we believe in customer service...
Hell...nothing would make me happier than to drop the thing off and RUN or say RTFM (read the friggin manual) and be done with it.... Unfortunately thats just bad business and poor service...

We originally tried handing the unit off to the client with "detailed" instructions (I mean with pictures with arrows and all) and that only lead to more phone calls and repair tickets that were basically "How do I do this or that"... They won't read the written materials!!

We've played around with some of the online stuff (including the links you've mentioned) and its the same story... They don't have the time, won't make the time, or don't have the inclination to READ or look at anything.... But they can always make the time to call us and b*tch or ask 100 questions about its use....

Once we actually started training them... either one-on-one, or in small groups, we noticed our "nuisance" tickets and phone calls went WAY DOWN... But.... like most IT groups, we're on a tight budget... and our staff is getting stretched out and burned out!!! especially since we're now finding ourselves rolling these things out all over the State...

Anyone else have any other experience or suggestions with this?

[sharronvolgyesi]

when i got an old blackberry a couple of years ago, i also got a cheat sheet from nevada learning. it helped me out a lot. don't know if they have a version for the most current model though. good luck!

[juwaack68]

When we first rolled them out, I would sit with new users and give them 30-60 minutes worth of training. Now that we have over 400 of them, I have off-loaded deployment to our Helpdesk - they activate and send them out, take care of port requests, and answer questions.

We have a major account with Nextel and they provide online, interactive 'get going' training once a week for the 7520 and 7100i, so we point people in that direction, too.

I still send out a 'tip of the week' (the last one showed people how to program a speed-dial key to call and log into their Unity mailbox).

Frankly, and this may see harsh, if someone is afraid to play with the thing to figure it out, perhaps they shouldn't have one (but nobody is reading my suggestion box on that one).

[udontknowjack]

I have a precorded 1 hour training session I made using Webex recorder, Power points and the BB simulator. New users get an email with a link to this training video, Tips and Tricks and a link to BB's site with the user guides for each device. My customers love the video becaus they can view it any time they want and as often as they want. We just don't have the resources to give adequeate training. I believe in customer service but what you are doing has to be expensive and sometimes you have to way price with service.

[Donna]

350 users and growing - I suggest that a new user allocate 1 hour for user training, this is one-on-one, we each have the same model handheld and go through the features. The user must be comfortable with a minimum of sending and rcving e-mail before I leave. Sometimes additional sessions of 15 -20 minutes are needed a week or 2 later when I'm in their area.

[juwaack68]

Originally Posted by Donna

350 users and growing - I suggest that a new user allocate 1 hour for user training, this is one-on-one, we each have the same model handheld and go through the features. The user must be comfortable with a minimum of sending and rcving e-mail before I leave. Sometimes additional sessions of 15 -20 minutes are needed a week or 2 later when I'm in their area.

Wow....are you looking for work? Do you mind if I ask - do you do anything other than Blackberry/cell phone support, or is that your sole responsibility? I also do Cisco IP Phone admin and just don't have time for it all.

[EricaJ1074]

Originally Posted by juwaack68

Frankly, and this may see harsh, if someone is afraid to play with the thing to figure it out, perhaps they shouldn't have one (but nobody is reading my suggestion box on that one).

That's what I did. I have basically just trained myself from day one. If they won't take the time to play with the device and learn from it (and screw things up in the process and then figure out on their own how to correct most problems), then they don't need it.

Took one hour right out of the box (with my first 7100 series device) to learn SureType. Everything else I picked up because I basically compared it to sending email and surfing the web on a pc.

[Keebler]

I am an admin and usually do the EAs. We also have two other Admins on site, which helps a lot. I usually hand off a BB to a new user with a brief (20-30 min)overview of the functionality of their phone if they are a new user. I also then shoot them an email will documents( Keyboard Shortcuts, Tips and tricks, and Other knowledge bases) but I also urge them that if they have any questions day or night to feel free to give me a call. This is for the Corperate users. For our divisions, we talk to their helpdesk or bb support person, give them the EA password and expect them to do the rest. How they do thier training is up to them.

[Soapm]

My company gave us no training. The device arrives in the mail, you open a ticket to get it activated and just keep checking the device for BES or you can do a wired activation once you get the email that your ticket is closed.

We have a general help desk you can call with questions but none of them actually have a BB so the advice is on about that level. My boss had hers about 4 months now and I just set her profile to alert her the other day. She kept saying she hated the phone because you have to be looking at it to tell if you get a call. I had no idea that's what she meant.

It's nice now that I've turned on her alerts because she sends me either PIN's or TXT where as before she always came looking for me.

[EricaJ1074]

Anybody need help? I am not on a BES so I don't know much about it or creating themes, but I have been known to do the following for free and out of the love of BlackBerry.

I self trained using the online forums (after getting my 7105t), online tutorials, reading the manuals and DM Help section, using the Help feature on the BB, playing around with it in my free time, and asking questions myself.

Since having my 7105t (and my 5 other 7xxx series prior), I have done the following via AIM, Yahoo, GTalk (Google Talk), PIN messaging, BlackBerry Messenger and online via forums:

1) Help people choose the right device between a full QWERTY keyboard and a 7100 series BB

2) Basic setup-explaining just about every feature and application preloaded, and any 3rd party apps

3) Troubleshooting-if anything goes wrong with a 7xxx series device, I will work my tail off to find the solution.

4) Typing differences-I can explain SureType vs Multitap

5) Choosing accessories based on what people want

and any other questions they have regarding service, pricing, carriers, etc. I hope to, one day, add more BES experience to my belt but I don't work in a corporate environment yet.

Another good source, if people are willing to take time to read it, are the 7100 series and full keyboard series e-books and tips on http://www.blackberrymadesimple.com

[Osh]

Hi Guys,

This is a key issue for us; we sell BlackBerries here in the UK and our approach is simple and up-front. We sell training days to clients with a promise of a follow-up phone call to each user every day for 10-days and a ‘homework’ assignment every day during that period. We record a user log and email this to the client every day.

To give you an example we’ve just done a user course for 6-users and charged the client £500 (around $1000 – and they have 4 more booked) the client booked and paid for the training location and we gave a 2hr training session from a laptop linked to RiM’s own training resources. Thereafter we called each user every day for 10-working-days (around 10-15 minutes p/call) and set an assignment each day for each user to do. The details were all recorded in a log and sent to the client and they and their users loved it!

Now they are more than happy to be a reference site for us and we are in the process of documenting them as a Case Study which we will add to our web site for future marketing events.


Mikey

[MI_BB_TECH]

Thank You all for the suggestions, we do appreciate them...

We use a centralized IT environment here (Which means that our agency supports all of the other agencies for the devices) and as much as I would love to be able to charge the client for training its just not feasible "at this time", (Its kinda like billing your cubicle neighbor for helping them with a problem) but believe me we're going to take a long hard look at it during our next staff meeting. Since I originally posted this, we have gone through more manpower shortages so we're up against the wall for "inovative" solutions.

I was a customer service/support person before coming to my present job so I guess I'm having a conflict with the "Tech side" of my brain which agrees with what many of you have said about "If they're too dumb to figure it out they shouldn't have one."

Vs.

the "customer service" side of my brain which says its wrong to just dump the thing on people because EVERYONE has their own comfort level with Technology. I've been a computer guy for almost 10 years now and I'd like to think I'm pretty good at it...but getting back to that "Comfort Level" thing if you want REAL COMEDY... ask me to use the copy/fax machine... Its like watching the Three Stooges because I can make it fail in ways that the R&D guys never dreamed of...Monkeys would have better luck using it!!!

I often have to bribe one of the Admin Assts to do stuff for me because I swear that the device is posessed and waiting just to torment me!!

Again... Thank you all for your input, you have reaffirmed once again that the people who frequent this forum are the best! and why this site is one of my favorites!!!

[ladyhollman]

No one ... self trained from this wonderful site. Yes, I'm on a BES and sometimes help the IT guy figure stuff out.