Live Support Suggestion

[gobbly2100]

Hello,

I would just like to say that HostGator is great but I think it would really pay for you to make live support more useful, most of the time they tell you to submit a ticket and it really gets frustrating for us clients when the people who reply to the emails is the same people in the live support department.

It seems that some live support staff are able to perform certain requests wher as others would tell you to submit a ticket for the same question.

That is all I have to say so please look into making the live chat service more useful.

Thank you for your time and I hope this post gets read.

[Serra]

Chat support is the most inefficient way for Hostgator to supply support. It takes a huge amount of time and resources to offer it. To help cut costs, the best support people are busy fixing problems while those with lesser skills/in training are answering chat requests.

That is the only system possible for the cost. The solution to the problem that chat support can't answer your questions or gets answers wrong is simple. Use the ticket system. Use chat support for pre-sales questions and simple, quick questions.

It would be great if HG could afford to staff chat support with top shelf techs, but you nor I could afford $80.00 a month shared hosting to pay for it.

[Sam]

Why dont you take charge of live chat Serra? Who needs support tickets when you have Serra on live chat.

[gtgeorge]

We already have him for forum tech support To upgrade to chat, I don't think they could afford him especially since forum support is free!

Sorry I have to disagree with using chat support for pre-sales questions as they made a mess of supplying info via chat for my pre-sales questions. I have found them useful to check on the status of tickets before though.....other than that, no thanks.

[Pitrow]

Originally Posted by gtgeorge

I have found them useful to check on the status of tickets before though.....other than that, no thanks.

I agree, pretty much the only thing I use chat for is to ask simple things like "I can't access my website on xxxxxx, can you confirm if it's down or not?" or to check on tickets. Everything else goes through a ticket.

[charlesgan]

i personally wil use live chat if found out my site is running slow or down.
by this, i can get the problem fix right the way, and the support usually ask me to test again, when they made certain changes.

its good for interactive troubleshooting.

and ... if email support when downtime, the time they read it, the site might be back again and running as normal. so they cant catch the problem.

pro and cons. and yes, it took many human resource for offering live chat. so, i... will use it when i get connected..

[Hostalot]

Live chat can give you a fast response if you have a server status query for everything else just submit a ticket.

[GatorJess]

Originally Posted by gobbly2100

Hello,

It seems that some live support staff are able to perform certain requests wher as others would tell you to submit a ticket for the same question.

That is all I have to say so please look into making the live chat service more useful.

We're actually pretty useful for most people!

Yes, based on the level of knowledge and access, some of us can do things that others cannot. Please know this when going in to LiveChat. (Most chat reps do NOT have access to do certain server-side things that a few reps can/will do, so if you are escalated to a ticket, there is a reason for it and most of the time, it's not at all because the rep simply does not wish to help.) Reps who do things other reps do not are honestly simply going above and beyond the call of duty and most of the time, doing things via chat that should usually only be done via a ticket. They're being nice and trying to help you avoid the ticket if possible.

Serra is correct in saying that those with the skills to assist with basic issues are placed on the front-line service so we can assist with basic questions, comments, concerns, troubleshooting, etc. By providing LiveChat, we help keep tickets lower and provide quick, efficient service for customers who need more basic troubleshooting. We truly do fix a multitude of issues in chat, including email issues, database issues, providing walk-throughs for customers who need assistance, etc. And it really does require a lot of knowledge to be a good Chat rep.

I apologize to anyone who feels like every time they come into chat, they get sent to a ticket. (We can't help it if you're too smart to need us any other time except when there's a server-side issue. )

Please understand that if you are sent to a ticket, there is good reason. Usually, ticketed issues require server-side access allowed only by admins -- qualified professionals who have the knowledge not to mess up your entire box just to fix a server-side permissions issue, for example.

It is best to not place Admins in LiveChat so when tickets come in, they can be handled promptly and get the full attention they need and deserve. If Admins spent all day in LiveChat walking a customer through how to log in to FTP, major server-side issues would never be addressed, leaving your tickets to sit longer and upsetting you and your customers/visitors more.

Honestly, there is simply no way to please everyone, but we do our best!

Jess
HG LiveChat Support