Why do you use Help Desk Support Software over a contact form on your site?

14 years ago

1. The main reason for using a helpdesk software is that you can prioritize support queries.

2. Use fantistico to do a quick install of helpdesk software

3. Hesk is very reliable and a good helpdesk solution. I have seen many marketers use it.

Cheers
Reinhardt

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magentawave

14 years ago

You mean "prioritize" based on what the person asking the questions says the priority should be (low, medium, urgent, etc.)?

So I guess you would totally eliminate the contact form from your site after installing the help desk software?

Thanks
Steve

Originally Posted by RGallowitz

1. The main reason for using a helpdesk software is that you can prioritize support queries.

2. Use fantistico to do a quick install of helpdesk software

3. Hesk is very reliable and a good helpdesk solution. I have seen many marketers use it.

Cheers
Reinhardt

Thanks

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dvduval

14 years ago

I'm not completely against help desk software but I still prefer to use things like email and a support forum simply because time can be used more efficiently. We do offer phone support but we charge for it. Just like in hosting there is "managed" that is more premium in nature, a lot of it has to do with your business model and what it will support.

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magentawave

14 years ago

Do you find that a support forum is more efficient because others can often answer questions for you or at least see the answers to the questions a person has may have already been asked by others?

Why do you say that email support is efficient?

Thanks again.
Steve

Originally Posted by dvduval

I'm not completely against help desk software but I still prefer to use things like email and a support forum simply because time can be used more efficiently. We do offer phone support but we charge for it. Just like in hosting there is "managed" that is more premium in nature, a lot of it has to do with your business model and what it will support.

Thanks

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BrianMcLeod

14 years ago

Help desk software centralizes and organizes your customer service communications.

Hesk is a fine solution but be aware - you should ALWAYS TURN OFF the file attachment upload permission that the software leaves ON by default.

Smart hackers can wreak havoc with little backdoors like that.

Trust me on that one...

Brian

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Jeff Usher

14 years ago

Helpdesk systems are far more efficient than general email solutions.

Easier to keep track of things, have FAQs and Knowledge Bases built up over time etc etc You can then add staff to different departments to specialise in specific software etc etc.

Hesk is superb and the only one I recommend every time this question is asked - and hey - it's free.

Jeff

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Online Bliss

14 years ago

Anything that won't expose my email to spammers
is preferred.
I have tried several through the years
and am happy with TicketDesk Pro.

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Scott Ames

14 years ago

Email support is ok for a very small operation, but even then it can get confusing. Help desk software helps you organize, prioritize and process requests more efficiently.

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Peter Olson

14 years ago

I have used Open Atrium before. Its awful pretty and works well, though not as "feature rich" as sum.

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Stefan Vee

14 years ago

I am using osTicket.
It's free as well.
I use a ticket system because:

it's easier to follow up
you can set up pre-made personalized replies
no need to synchronize email settings between different computers
easy to assign Virtual Assistants for specific answers once you have a list of subject-specific pre-made replies
no need to remember what you already answered a couple of weeks/months before. The ticket service shows you a list of previous replies for a specific email address.

Go for it!
Stefan

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Robert Puddy

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Stefan Vee

I am using osTicket.
It's free as well.
I use a ticket system because:

it's easier to follow up
you can set up pre-made personalized replies
no need to synchronize email settings between different computers
easy to assign Virtual Assistants for specific answers once you have a list of subject-specific pre-made replies
no need to remember what you already answered a couple of weeks/months before. The ticket service shows you a list of previous replies for a specific email address.

Go for it!
Stefan

Osticket is free...But it falls apart under pressure

It has an annoying tendancy to screw up the dates and time lines of the support tickets, and it can happen multiple times it really screws things up

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CDarklock

14 years ago

Originally Posted by magentawave

1) Why do you use Help Desk Support software for your site instead of the conventional 'Contact' form?

With help desk software, everything is stored in a database in one location. If the person who is helping you can't fix your problem, he simply turns around and says "Bob, I'm out of my league on this one, so I'm assigning #710649 to you." And he clicks a couple buttons and he's done.

With a contact form, all the emails related to this problem need to be tracked down and organised and forwarded to Bob, and if you miss one Bob might not have critical information.

If you have more than one person handling support, you need help desk software, and you need it yesterday. If you have any chance at all of getting big enough to have more than one person on support, install it now, before you need it.

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Matpro

14 years ago

I agree that you really need a Help Desk Support software. We are using VisionProject, and the good thing about this system is that we can have both the projects and the Help Desk towards our customers here, everything in the same system. Since it also includes a customer portal you can share a lot of information with the customers and they can interact with you from the portal.

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BrianMcLeod

14 years ago

The other thing that's great about a help desk is the integration of a KnowledgeBase or FAQ section that lets customers get the answers they need for the most commonly asked support questions...

HUGE time save for frequent customer service emails.

And customers almost always prefer being able to look up the answer quickly rather than having to send in a request and wait for someone else to follow up.

Brian

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Brian McLeod

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magentawave

14 years ago

Okay, you've all convinced me that I should be using help desk software, but here's a question...

Do you have yours set up so that your reply goes to them via email and they can reply to that email, or is yours set up so that responses from either party (you and the customer) must be done from the support systems page?

Thanks again.
Steve

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3 replies

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blkfin

14 years ago

Originally Posted by magentawave

Okay, you've all convinced me that I should be using help desk software, but here's a question...

Do you have yours set up so that your reply goes to them via email and they can reply to that email, or is yours set up so that responses from either party (you and the customer) must be done from the support systems page?

Thanks again.
Steve

With HESK, they are sent an email with the ticket number so they can see the response online.

I like this feature, so they can post any follow up questions or comments right in the system.

I use HESK and appreciate the knowledge base feature as BRIAN had stated above. It can be a life saver on repetitive questions.

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magentawave

14 years ago

So your system is set up so customers can never reply via email and have to always go back to the HESK page to see your response and reply?

I'm asking because some are like I just described and some are set up so the user can see the response and reply via email - which I find makes it a heck of a lot easier for me as a customer to do, plus, if its technical stuff, I can save those emails in a folder so I can refer to them later.

Steve

Originally Posted by blkfin

With HESK, they are sent an email with the ticket number so they can see the response online.

I like this feature, so they can post any follow up questions or comments right in the system.

I use HESK and appreciate the knowledge base feature as BRIAN had stated above. It can be a life saver on repetitive questions.

Thanks

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Stefan Vee

14 years ago

Originally Posted by magentawave

Okay, you've all convinced me that I should be using help desk software, but here's a question...

Do you have yours set up so that your reply goes to them via email and they can reply to that email, or is yours set up so that responses from either party (you and the customer) must be done from the support systems page?

Thanks again.
Steve

osTicket allows you to do both (via email or via ticket system)
The term used for that setup is 'email-piping'
From my experience, most customers prefer to use regular email to ask a question or to get support, so don't try to force them to log-in via your ticket system.
The difference/advantage is all on your side as you will see how easy it becomes to follow up.
Go for it!
(BTW, osTicket is free)

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magentawave

14 years ago

I'm pretty sure I would choose the "email-piping" feature because it always pisses me off as a customer or prospect when people make it so you have to login to their system every time.

Are there any disadvantages for you as the admin for selecting the "email-piping feature?

Thanks
Steve

Originally Posted by Stefan Vee

osTicket allows you to do both (via email or via ticket system)
The term used for that setup is 'email-piping'
From my experience, most customers prefer to use regular email to ask a question or to get support, so don't try to force them to log-in via your ticket system.
The difference/advantage is all on your side as you will see how easy it becomes to follow up.
Go for it!
(BTW, osTicket is free)

Thanks

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CDarklock 14 years ago

Originally Posted by magentawave

Do you have yours set up so that your reply goes to them via email and they can reply to that email

This is the only sensible way to do it. It's a bit of a pain to get working, but you do it once and you're done. Copping out with a system-only response process means your customers are bothered and inconvenienced every... single... time.

If you really can't figure it out on the server side, do it manually. Log into the help desk yourself and import the emails by hand. Don't make your customers do it. Because you'll be so pissed off and frustrated by doing this, you WILL figure out how to make the damn server do it for you.
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Vyliss

14 years ago

1) Centralizes and organizes the contacts in one place, and also easier to outsource and keep tabs on who has or doesn't been responded to or if their query was resolved or not. Emails are just harder to manage, especially if you get a lot of these a day.

2) I like and use Kayako eSupport. Good service but it is paid.

3) The one big pet peeve I have with HESK is no email pipping support, which I found to my business was crucial. Even though I use Kayako to organize the tickets, I still use email as a way for people to contact me. This also gives you the flexibility to add a contact form as well on your site and Kayako will forward the ticket to the correct department depending on the email address.

That's my two cents.

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magentawave

14 years ago

Well darn! I was going to use HESK because I like their clean interface but won't if they don't offer email-piping.

Can anyone recommend a FREE easy to use help desk software with a clean interface that has email-piping?

Steve

Originally Posted by Vyliss

3) The one big pet peeve I have with HESK is no email pipping support, which I found to my business was crucial. Even though I use Kayako to organize the tickets, I still use email as a way for people to contact me. This also gives you the flexibility to add a contact form as well on your site and Kayako will forward the ticket to the correct department depending on the email address.

That's my two cents.

Thanks
1 reply

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Stefan Vee

14 years ago

Originally Posted by magentawave

Well darn! I was going to use HESK because I like their clean interface but won't if they don't offer email-piping.

Can anyone recommend a FREE easy to use help desk software with a clean interface that has email-piping?

Steve

Like I said, osTicket is free and offers all that.

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2 replies

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magentawave 14 years ago

I'll check osTicket out and thanks!

Originally Posted by Stefan Vee

Like I said, osTicket is free and offers all that.
- Thanks
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jazbo 14 years ago

trellis desk. Helpdesk with piping and a knowledgebase.

Originally Posted by Stefan Vee

Like I said, osTicket is free and offers all that.
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ankur sharma

14 years ago

maian helpdesk is one another good helpdesk. But you will need a techie to install it on your server.

Personally, i like emails more. They are quick,easy, works on any smartphone.

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Online Bliss

14 years ago

The other thing that's great about a help desk is the integration of a KnowledgeBase

Exactly Brian,
It would save a lot of hassle if they would just check out
the facts database. It's not like a newbie hasn't seen one before
and hopefully the question will be resolved before they create a ticket.

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Jeff Usher

14 years ago

it always pisses me off as a customer or prospect when people make it so you have to loginto their system every time

I have to disagree with that point. I use HESK specifically because it makes people logon to the Helpdesk to update their tickets. Emails can get lost, systems can fail, mail may not get through - but if a person has to go to the site to update the ticket then it's all done locally.

That's just the way I like it.

Jeff

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magentawave

14 years ago

I'm just saying I have been through countless "help" desk software systems where it was a major pain in the ass because it was never set up properly or its just not good software to begin with.

Steve

Originally Posted by Jeff Usher

I have to disagree with that point. I use HESK specifically because it makes people logon to the Helpdesk to update their tickets. Emails can get lost, systems can fail, mail may not get through - but if a person has to go to the site to update the ticket then it's all done locally.

That's just the way I like it.

Jeff

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Robert Puddy

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Jeff Usher

I have to disagree with that point. I use HESK specifically because it makes people logon to the Helpdesk to update their tickets. Emails can get lost, systems can fail, mail may not get through - but if a person has to go to the site to update the ticket then it's all done locally.

That's just the way I like it.

Jeff

I have to say a support desk is critical, for all the reasons above, but mostly for your sanity

Jeff helped me organise and install my support desk system and if you want to know more Jeff has a really good product in his sig file which gives a lot of good advice on how to set one properly the first time

So if you really want to get to know all the little tricks, and gizmos to set up your support desk properly click on Jeffs sig file

He is also frugal

So while he will tell you how to do it right, he will also tell you how to do it for the least cost.

Robert

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dbarnum 14 years ago

The more open channels you have to help your clients, the better. You are not just selling a product or service, you are selling yourself, your business - i.e. that you are there and truly care that your client makes the most of the purchase.

We use:

- Contact Us forms
- Email
- Local and toll free numbers with people answering, not machines), cell phone, too, and text
- chat (Skype, Gmail, Yahoo)
- Kayako support desk (Hosted, so they upgrade it regularly)

It can depend upon your product / service and pricing of them, too. Grow accordingly so communications don't slip through the cracks as much as possible.

On a personal note: if I purchase something, I like support - and that's NOT a phone system that picks up and offers like 20 menus and canned commercials while I'm trying to hook up with someone, then after all that hassel get automation telling me to go online and sort through a forum or website of book-length + material. No thanks. Cancel time ;(
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jazbo

14 years ago

Helpdesks are trackable and accessible from anywhere while keeping everything logged in one place to refer to.

You can queue stuff, reallocate, write notes.

You can use piping to allow responses via email while still tracking and logging them in the helpdesk.

Most helpdesks have knowledgebases that offer contextual solutions before submitting a ticket.

Hesk is great, so is trellis desk.

Why would anyone running a site requiring communication NOT use one?

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Steve Sanchez

14 years ago

They are only as good as you and your support staff. If you don't answer the queries, which a lot of programs don't, then you don't even need it.

If you do then you have use the system that best utilizes your time.

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NickMST

14 years ago

Maybe if you're going to outsource email support then one of those packages is a good idea. I just use Machform to whip up contact and other forms and let that manage it. It sends an email plus stores it in a database so anyone else can go into there and see them. Maybe if you have a lot of requests and several people to assign the different tickets it makes sense.

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Quentin

14 years ago

I use Hesk and think it is great. Mainly I use it because I have a liot of sites and it makes it easy to keep everything in one place.

Q

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Why do you use Help Desk Support Software over a contact form on your site?

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