You know you've been doing a job too long when you start finding anecdotes about computer support genuinely funny. Only there was this helpdesk at a software manufacturer and the caller said he couldn't get his monitor working. They asked whether he could hear the fan in the computer working and he wasn't sure; they asked whether the cables were all plugged in and he said he thought so but he couldn't see them; they suggested he shone a lamp behind the computer and he said the lamp wasn't working either, and neither was the main light, because there was this power failure...

Anyone thinking of setting up their own support system for IT will need to bear in mind the patience needed in such an enterprise, and also the sorts of calls the support desk is likely to get. "Most people who phone up are confused or angry or both, and it takes very special people to be able to understand their predicament," says Giovanni Alberici of Eicon Networks. They often need to be able to explain the question as much as the solution: "Non-technical end users take longest to resolve as they often have difficulty explaining what the problem is," says Mario Vigliotti, technical services manager at Unipalm.

There are a few figures around to give would-be support staff an idea of what to expect. IT helpdesk software seller Touchpaper says a quarter of all calls come from board level users having difficulty with mobile applications or devices. These users form typically 5% of the total workforce and would clearly benefit from extra training. Nick Doherty, service manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for asset tracking system company Peregrine Systems, points to other avoidable problems: "Some 90% of first-time fixed calls to the help desk can refer to password resets," he says. "Companies could purchase an automated password reset program which could provide an immediate win back."

Only a minority of the problems help desks deal with are genuine faults with systems. A spokeswoman for independent support company Servicetec pointed to some common difficulties: forgetting to turn on the monitor after powering up the base; turning on a computer when it has a disk in the A: drive; shutting down computers improperly; accidental deletion of icons, and installing ink cartridges into printers without first taking off the plastic seal are among them.

A more serious issue is the jump in support calls when new technology is introduced. ADSL, BT's version of broadband internet, has produced more than its fair share of support issues for suppliers. Via Networks is one of the companies that sells ADSL services, and it focuses specifically on the small business community; it confirms that users asking for help with poorly performing ADSL connections have put in 70% more calls than the average Via Networks customer over the last six months.

Naturally there are instances in which the best thing to do is to use the support services of the original supplier, even if your own support is mostly done internally. Accounting system specialist Sage gets a lot of "How do I..." calls from people who could find their own answers in the manual, but there are other queries. "Quite a significant number of calls are from businesses who want information on specific issues such as legislation, NI and tax issues, so we make sure our customer support staff have at least some basic knowledge and contact details at hand," says a spokeswoman.

There are a number of possible solutions for smaller businesses wanting to take on the apparently daunting task of support themselves. Touchpaper has already been mentioned as a supplier of helpdesk software; this typically allows the support operative an overview of the system and the caller's place within it, as well as records of any support issues they have had in the past.

It's possible to go further and automate a lot of the support functions completely. Broadband automation service company Broadjump, which tries to simplify end user installation of broadband to customers in the telecommunications industry, has automated much of its helpdesk function through a deal with Support.com, which makes web-based support software. This works as a question and answer-based system, so as long as a user (or customer if your products are the sort that need a helpdesk) can get at a web browser, they can service their own queries without taking up time from a human being. People still call of course; Gartner research says that 43% of calls are queries on how to do something within an application, while a further 13% are related to hardware. "It seems laughable that we take up so much time building expertise on applications into the helpdesk agent when intelligent search software could resolve these questions," says Don Ross, business development director for Knowledge Management Software plc. The company makes such systems and they work.

None of which is going to cure a company of the dreaded daft user syndrome. PR company MCC International has compiled a number of instances of support calls for a report it was drafting, and came across the classic printer problem in a financial systems company. "The company always used to tell customers not to switch off their printers when printing invoices if they were experiencing problems, because the data would be lost," explains an MCC operative. "One customer rang up very agitated wanted to know what to do, because they knew they shouldn't turn the printer off. When asked what the problem was, the response came back, 'Well, the printer is on fire!'"

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Setting up a help desk

Setting up a help desk for your staff can be a good idea, but remember:

· It's a people job as much as a technical job; callers will be stressed and they need gentle helping.
· Put as much help online as you can if you have an intranet, then wait for the avalanche of calls about subjects people could have looked up for themselves.
· An internal helpdesk might appeal initially, but you won't have the economies of scale an externally managed helpdesk can offer. Equally, an external helpdesk will have other clients apart from your business, which clearly you won't.
· Adequate user training will eliminate some of the sillier and time-consuming help calls a company will get.