It seems a mystery to all in the consumer world: how companies can spend a fortune developing a product or providing a service, build a team of people to manage and run the company, market their products/services extensively to reach customers and build a loyal following. Yet the moment customers have an issue with their products or services; they tear down all that they have built so meticulously by offering sub-par customer support. This self-immolating behaviour of companies has led to numerous consumers exclaiming. “What are these companies thinking; don’t they want us to be repeat customers and recommend them to our friends and family?” It is no urban legend; poor customer support is everywhere these days, and consumers are no longer as disempowered as they used to be. It is for this very reason that the issue of good customer service, and in particular, how the help desk fits into that equation, should be addressed with the urgency and diligence it deserves.
The industry seems almost equally divided over which side of the SaaS (Software as a Service) fence to take a stance. Many are touting ‘cloud computing’ to be the next ‘giant leap’ in the computer technology industry, while others purely focus on the negative aspects, and contribute their fair share of scaremongering to the mix. The goal of this article is to reach those who are not tech fundies and to give some much needed clarity on the subject of SaaS and cloud computing in particular. If you find yourself confronted with the concept of the SaaS as an option for your business, then I trust the information presented in this article will help you decide if you are going to board the train, or rather take the cab.
Post a request for advice regarding which help desk system to use and you will most likely find a lot of nagging complaints, and outright abhorrence accompanying recommendations. This is down to a simple reality: many companies have tried help desk systems at some time in the past and simply did not enjoy the experience one bit. Many either reverted to what they were using, or simply hopped on to the next system (often repeating this process a few times) before finding a suitable solution.
Before talking about help desk systems it is important to take a look at one of the main reasons why help desks have gone from something only big enterprises had use for, to something even small businesses and start-up companies are starting to invest in. As more and more businesses are using the internet to promote, sell and conduct their business, it has also become critical for them to manage the deluge of customer enquiries and requests which stream in over mostly digital communication mediums such as email, SMS & social media.
Many of today’s best performing companies manage and exceed their customers’ expectations by defining, measuring and adhering to Service Level Agreements (SLAs). Regardless of whether an SLA might be simple or complicated, FocalScope has designed the ability to incorporate your SLA requirements into its email and collaboration management systems.
SLAs are typically dependent on time references. For example, a company may commit to reply to a service ticket within 48 hours of receipt of email. Or, alternatively, the SLA might promise a reply within 48 business hours. Naturally, these two commitments, though similar in appearance, require vastly different time calculations. FocalScope has the built-in capability to set office hours for one or more helpdesk ticketboxes, also factoring in any number of pre-scheduled company events, holidays and time-zones. By attributing SLAs to a ticketbox, FocalScope is able to customize your calculations no matter how complicated your working hours are.
In many organizations, a large portion of inquiries from customers is typically commonly-asked-questions. In such cases, a Standard Response is an easy way for helpdesk agents to communicate with or reply to customers with highly-individualized replies, using only several clicks.
FocalScope allows you to easily create an unlimited amount of Standard Responses and store them in a similarly unlimited number of shared libraries. For example, you can create one Standard Response “master” library in the main Shared Folder and/or create separate libraries specifically for certain ticketboxes. FocalScope users can access the Standard Responses either from within an already-open email with a drop-down menu or directly from the library by right-clicking on the selected Standard Response.
Leverage your website and email as an even more interactive resource to your customers and end-users with FocalScope’s Live Chat. Live Chat functionality allows you to extend full instant messaging to customers through buttons on your website and/or through links inserted into emails. This feature comes as standard and your customers need only a web-browser to utilize it. And since Live Chat is fully integrated within FocalScope ecosystem, all chats are logged and searchable at any time.
For example, if your customer cannot find the help they need on your website, they simply click on a “Live Chat” button or tab that you can place anywhere on your website. This opens a window and starts a live online chat with an assigned or available helpdesk agent. Additionally, a helpdesk agent can insert a Live Chat link into an already ticketed email and encourage a customer to chat in real-time through Live Chat. Inserting the Live Chat link into an email is simply a click away. When/if the customer does chose to Live Chat with a helpdesk agent, the link contains “smart” features which will direct the Live Chat to the correct helpdesk agent and present him/her with all background information.
In today’s fast-paced business, your helpdesk agents need technology to get the job done as quickly as possible. FocalScope’s integrated Jabber client gives you and your team the tools to instantly communicate, share information, improve teamwork and maintain FocalScope’s ticket tracking and logging capabilities.
Until recently, if there was an issue that required a helpdesk agent to work with a colleague, he/she would need to make a phone call, lean over the cubicle, walk down the hall to have a one-on-one conversation or write a potentially lengthy email. Discussions between colleagues, however useful, could not be tracked and, if there were any concerns about the progress of a specific issue, supervisors or managers might have little information to review. Writing an email to explain the situation accurately, though properly logged, can require too much time. Instant messaging, built into the FocalScope solution, is an innovative solution to these dilemmas.
Empower your helpdesk team by providing a quick, easily customizable way to boost productivity with Global Hotkeys! FocalScope’s core functionality allows you to set up an unlimited variety of key combinations which allow your helpdesk agents to open webpages, accelerators, new emails, search queries or dynamically use data saved to the clipboard by pressing.
It’s truly a time-saver. Instead of scrolling through FocalScope’s already quick and convenient menus and buttons, for example you could simply type [CTRL] + [SHIFT] + [E] to open a new email. Or you can set up another Global Hot Key to use data save to the Window OS clipboard and insert it into a website.
Bringing on and training a new employee can be a daunting task for colleagues, supervisors and managers alike. Typically, a new employee must be trained on the organization, the product or services, the corporate message and vision, policies and procedures and at times just good ol’ fashioned customer service.
First and foremost, FocalScope is designed to be an intuitive and familiar as possible to new and experienced users, to ensure quick uptake and adoption of the tool. Any new user already acquainted with many of the world’s most popular email clients will instantly understand many of the basic functionality and features of FocalScope. That means new employees will be up and helping customers in a minimal amount of time.