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220-1102 Practice Question: A technician receives a ticket from a user who…
A technician receives a ticket from a user who says their email is 'broken.' Upon investigation, the technician finds that the user's mailbox is full. The user is known for being confrontational. Which response best demonstrates professionalism?
⚠ Common exam trap
CompTIA often tests the trap of choosing a technically expedient solution (like increasing quota) over a professional communication approach, leading candidates to overlook the importance of de-escalating a confrontational user by providing a clear, non-judgmental resolution.
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
"Your mailbox is full. Delete some emails and empty your trash. Let me know if that fixes it."
It directly addresses the root cause (full mailbox) with a clear, actionable solution (delete emails and empty trash) while maintaining a neutral, professional tone. The technician avoids blaming the user or escalating the situation, which is critical when dealing with a confrontational user. This response focuses on resolving the issue without unnecessary commentary, aligning with CompTIA's emphasis on professionalism and effective communication.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
"Your mailbox is full. Delete some emails and empty your trash. Let me know if that fixes it."
Why this is correct
This response exemplifies professional IT support by providing a clear, actionable solution without assigning blame. It directly addresses the technical symptom of a full mailbox and offers standard user-level remediation steps: deleting unnecessary emails and emptying the trash. Furthermore, it includes a crucial follow-up request, "Let me know if that fixes it," which ensures the issue is fully resolved and demonstrates commitment to user satisfaction, aligning with best practices for incident management.
- ✗
"This is a common issue when people don't manage their inbox. Please clean it up."
Why it's wrong here
This statement is unprofessional and counterproductive because it adopts a condescending and accusatory tone. While the user's inbox management might be the technical cause, blaming the user directly can create hostility and damage the technician-user relationship, hindering effective problem resolution. A professional technician focuses on providing solutions and guidance, not on shaming users for common technical challenges, which violates principles of good customer service in IT.
- ✗
"I'll increase your mailbox quota so you don't have to delete anything."
Why it's wrong here
This approach is problematic as it constitutes a temporary workaround rather than a sustainable solution, and potentially violates organizational IT policies. Indiscriminately increasing a user's mailbox quota avoids addressing the underlying issue of poor email management and can lead to excessive resource consumption on mail servers, impacting overall system performance and storage costs. Furthermore, it sets an undesirable precedent, encouraging users to rely on quota increases instead of practicing responsible data hygiene.
- ✗
"Your email isn't broken; you just have too many messages."
Why it's wrong here
This response is dismissive and unprofessional because it corrects the user's terminology rather than focusing on their reported problem. Users often describe technical issues in layman's terms, and a technician's role is to interpret and resolve the underlying technical fault, not to critique their language. Such a statement can make the user feel invalidated or foolish, eroding trust and making them less likely to report future issues or cooperate with troubleshooting efforts.
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JA
Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This 220-1202 practice question is part of Courseiva's free CompTIA certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the 220-1202 exam.