My IT guy

Some moons ago, when I was a Mac user, I had call to find an IT bod to sort out a major failure with what was a relatively new machine. (Yes folks Mac's have some pretty nasty ways of telling you they don't like you). Fortuitously, I came across a very competent and, believe it or not, expert communicator IT guy. He did his best with the beastly machine and helped avert a major crisis. Having used computers for quite a long time, and having had to resort to the IT help desk on more than a few occasions, I knew how lucky I had been. My IT guy was a positive gem in a sewer full of crud. Given that one's chances of finding another such diamond are very slim, what advice is there on dealing with the IT support team? Try this.