You really should have a Help Desk folks

Scott Ames · 08-25-2009, 11:07 AM

Not everyone does it, but the smart ones do. Help Desk software. If you sell anything, there will be problems. People won't be able to download, a payment will not go through, someone wants a refund, etc etc.

What can Help Desk software do? Basically the customer creates a ticket and its stored in a database viewable by you and the customer in the Help Desk System. The ticket has a
Status ie: Opened, Pending, Resolved , etc.

Why not just use email? Several reasons.

1. Email is a conversation and it gets mixed in with other conversations. Even if you have a dedicated email account for help, you can get things all mixed up. Did you complete that person's request? Don't know, you have to look through the thread. If they reply multiple times that thread could be all over the place with different dates.

2. Email is harder to farm out to virtual assistants. It can be done, but they will have the same sorting problem and it will be harder for you to monitor which issues are solved and those that are not.

3. Email is hard to create reports from. Need a report on all the open issues? A help desk system can do that easily, not so with email.

4. Email doesn't allow the customer to see what is being done on their issue.With a help desk a customer can log in at will, see any comments, see the status, and feel good. With email they must send another email asking what the status of the issue is.

The good news is that most hosting has Fantastico and free help desk systems to choose from. A few clicks and its on your server. With a help desk you look and feel like a real business. Customers love it. They can check on their issue anytime.

Voasi · 08-25-2009, 11:32 AM

I recently set up mine because I want one central location to log into and check for "business stuff". Plus, it makes it extremely easy to give an employee access to and have them manage the customer support issues.

I have to say, if you're AT ALL taking this business seriously, you need to have something in place. Customer Support is your "reputation management". How many times have you gone to RipOff Report and seen comments like...

- "No customer support"
- "I wanted 2 months to cancel and no response"
- "Customer support stinks"

If you want a business with clients singing your praises, having an AMAZING customer support system in place is KEY. The last thing you want is people typing in your name only to find out there is not good support.

A lot of the big marketers all seem to use: SupportSuite - Kayako helpdesk software and live support software

Asher · 08-25-2009, 11:41 AM

I agree... if anyone is on a budget and has cPanel,
under Fantastico, this can be done for free...

It's under:

Customer Relationship

and I recommend osTicket. Here's how mine looks:
osTicket :

It's working pretty fine... and if for some reason
you can't get yours to work, contact your hosting
support - they'll be able to help you out (or ask
them to ask the higher support staff/developers to
help you).

Asher

08-25-2009, 11:07 AM	#1
Scott Ames Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: West of Rockies Posts: 5,556 Thanks: 363 Thanked 665 Times in 325 Posts	You really should have a Help Desk folks Not everyone does it, but the smart ones do. Help Desk software. If you sell anything, there will be problems. People won't be able to download, a payment will not go through, someone wants a refund, etc etc. What can Help Desk software do? Basically the customer creates a ticket and its stored in a database viewable by you and the customer in the Help Desk System. The ticket has a Status ie: Opened, Pending, Resolved , etc. Why not just use email? Several reasons. 1. Email is a conversation and it gets mixed in with other conversations. Even if you have a dedicated email account for help, you can get things all mixed up. Did you complete that person's request? Don't know, you have to look through the thread. If they reply multiple times that thread could be all over the place with different dates. 2. Email is harder to farm out to virtual assistants. It can be done, but they will have the same sorting problem and it will be harder for you to monitor which issues are solved and those that are not. 3. Email is hard to create reports from. Need a report on all the open issues? A help desk system can do that easily, not so with email. 4. Email doesn't allow the customer to see what is being done on their issue.With a help desk a customer can log in at will, see any comments, see the status, and feel good. With email they must send another email asking what the status of the issue is. The good news is that most hosting has Fantastico and free help desk systems to choose from. A few clicks and its on your server. With a help desk you look and feel like a real business. Customers love it. They can check on their issue anytime.
	Action is the foundational key to all success. - Pablo Picasso

08-25-2009, 11:32 AM	#2
Voasi AKA: Adam Maywald War Room Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Orange County, CA, USA Posts: 1,053 Thanks: 56 Thanked 215 Times in 138 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: You really should have a Help Desk folks I recently set up mine because I want one central location to log into and check for "business stuff". Plus, it makes it extremely easy to give an employee access to and have them manage the customer support issues. I have to say, if you're AT ALL taking this business seriously, you need to have something in place. Customer Support is your "reputation management". How many times have you gone to RipOff Report and seen comments like... - "No customer support" - "I wanted 2 months to cancel and no response" - "Customer support stinks" If you want a business with clients singing your praises, having an AMAZING customer support system in place is KEY. The last thing you want is people typing in your name only to find out there is not good support. A lot of the big marketers all seem to use: SupportSuite - Kayako helpdesk software and live support software
	I Make $31,811 (Now $55,756) a Month! FREE 1-hour MP3 Reveals Secrets of $20mil Offline Marketing Expert - Click Here Free Tool to Find Exact Match Domains That Rank Quick in Google! - Click Here

08-25-2009, 11:41 AM	#3
Asher SG Lurker Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Singapore. Posts: 1,714 Blog Entries: 68 Thanks: 487 Thanked 280 Times in 159 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: You really should have a Help Desk folks I agree... if anyone is on a budget and has cPanel, under Fantastico, this can be done for free... It's under: Customer Relationship and I recommend osTicket. Here's how mine looks: osTicket : It's working pretty fine... and if for some reason you can't get yours to work, contact your hosting support - they'll be able to help you out (or ask them to ask the higher support staff/developers to help you). Asher
	AsherAw.com \| How To Make Your First $1,000 In Online Income Cash