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Best Customer Support System

by BlueGalt
9 replies
Hey Guys,

I'm getting ready to do a launch and am needing some advice.

To better deal with customer inquires, refunds, and service issues I'm needing to setup a customer support system.

In your opinion, factoring in costs, ease of use, and effectiveness, which is best and why?

I've looked at Zendesk and it seems to be very popular but I'm interested in real-world experience here in the forum.

I think this would benefit everyone in the forum to get some ideas going.

Thanks in advance!
#customer #customer support system #support #system
  • Profile picture of the author Steve B
    Honestly, I would start out just doing my own customer support. It will save you money in the early phases of your business . . . but more importantly,

    It will give you first hand experience in understanding the issues and needs for support that you are going to have. I have done this in the early stages of my businesses and it is an eye-opener. You get to see your own business from the customer's viewpoint and it will wake you up to the types of problems and needs your customers want help with.

    Of course, if you are doing heavy business (lots of customers) right out of the gate . . . then you will quickly need some help.

    But for most small businesses just starting out . . . doing your own support (up to an hour or so a day) is an invaluable perspective to have so you understand the issues and can modify your web site or business model so as to decrease the need for support in various areas.

    Good luck to you,

    Steve
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    • Profile picture of the author BlueGalt
      Originally Posted by Steve B View Post

      Honestly, I would start out just doing my own customer support. It will save you money in the early phases of your business . . . but more importantly,

      It will give you first hand experience in understanding the issues and needs for support that you are going to have. I have done this in the early stages of my businesses and it is an eye-opener. You get to see your own business from the customer's viewpoint and it will wake you up to the types of problems and needs your customers want help with.

      Of course, if you are doing heavy business (lots of customers) right out of the gate . . . then you will quickly need some help.

      But for most small businesses just starting out . . . doing your own support (up to an hour or so a day) is an invaluable perspective to have so you understand the issues and can modify your web site or business model so as to decrease the need for support in various areas.

      Good luck to you,

      Steve
      I really appreciate this answer and I agree 100%.

      The only reason I am about querying this thread is because I am expecting 1,000's of people on this launch and to remain sane I am looking at stepping up my customer support.

      That said, its my hope that when someone gets ready to make a breakthrough in their business that they will be able to use the comments on this thread to boost up their customer support system.

      Thanks again for your insight.

      Best, -B-
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  • Profile picture of the author Affiliatebuddy
    You know the best already. Zendesk is best. However i am fan of WHMCS support system. However it is a web hosting billing system but have an inbuilt support desk.
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  • Profile picture of the author nizamkhan
    The one good one I know is osTicket :: Support Ticket System | osTicket

    You can download self-hosted version for free.


    - Nizam
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    • Profile picture of the author dana67
      Zendesk is excellent, but there are cheaper alternatives. Maybe as volume increases and your business grows, you could look at Zendesk. I agree with the others though, that a less expensive or free alternative may be the best way to start.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tyler Pratt
        I use both of these systems and they work great. Both are Free to start

        helpscout.net

        freshdesk.com
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  • Profile picture of the author MoneyDan
    Banned
    Zendesk gets my vote.
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  • Profile picture of the author vincentseo
    A neat alternative is Keeping - it turns your Gmail or Google App account into a helpdesk.
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