What level of support?

BlackStorm

New member
What level of support do you provide to your customers?
Do you only provide support for anything server related, eg. a problem with a script on the server, if they arent able to use something already installed on the server, like webmail for example.
Or do you try your best to provide support for anything server related as well as any other problems encountered, like having trouble installing a forum and getting it setup.

I think most hosts, at first anyway, would offer as much support to their customers as they can. As they grow it becomes harder to do this and they might refer them directly to the site for the script for support.
 
I offer support for any ?s they have with there website also with the features on the Cpanel and scripts. We offer e-mail support, phone, and live chat.
 
I like to offer as much help to the client as I possibly can, especially when it is something server related.
 
<!--QuoteBegin-GordyMac+Nov 8 2003, 01:33 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (GordyMac @ Nov 8 2003, 01:33 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> I like to offer as much help to the client as I possibly can, especially when it is something server related. [/b][/quote]
Me to I like to help my client
 
Well for now we offer 24/7 TRUE technical support with a response time under 15 mins through our online helpdesk system not to mention we have a live chat system with it as well...thats why I like EdgePanel :) but I am considering to offer telephone support within a couple of months
 

<< What level of support do you provide to your customers? Do you only provide support for anything server related, eg. a problem with a script on the server, if they arent able to use something already installed on the server, like webmail for example. Or do you try your best to provide support for anything server related as well as any other problems encountered, like having trouble installing a forum and getting it setup. I think most hosts, at first anyway, would offer as much support to their customers as they can. As they grow it becomes harder to do this and they might refer them directly to the site for the script for support. >>

Well, this is a very large and depending question. To our shared hosting clients, we help them as much as we can - if they have questions, we answer them, if they have requests, we try our best to fulfill those requests, if they request something install, we'll install it free of charge as long as the script is free or they have a license - if we see it will benefit everyone, we may install it on the whole server if it's a free script or we may even purchase a license to install it on everyones account.
For dedicated server clients, we offer fully managed services - so if they request the kernel upgraded or the os upgraded or changed or even requested to install a script or something like that, we'd do it due to it being a fully managed service.
Consultancy clients... well it's very difficult there. We answer all their questions, show them how to do things, what not to do, how it's best to handle things. With them, a lot of the time we do "plays" where I act as if I'm their client. This helps them see where their faults are, how they can improve and it also helps my understand where their faults are and let's me explain to them fully and more in detail how and where they can improve.
As a company grows, they should have no trouble keeping the same standard of support - if they do, this shows bad managing. My company, over the years, has grown and I've kept it to the same standard of support. Some of my consultancy clients have been with me since 2001, and comment on how they find the service is just as good now as it was then, possible even better - but my company has still grown. I agree, some companies may not care when they get $6 per month from their clients, but consultancy clients pay from $10 per half hour to $100 per half hour - those aren't my prices though. ;) Although mine are well priced and are very competitive - now, when you pay something like that, you don't expect service to decrease or go down the toilet!


<< I just bought some flash tutorials, i think my clients will like them >>

Lots of clients do like flash tutorials. They are a very good way to keep web hosting support tickets down. This way, giving the owner of the company - if he has no support teams - lots of extra time for other tasks. The flash tutorials from companies such as DemoDemo are very good, and really any web hosting company should have them to keep down costs and tickets - remember: the less you pay for support, the more you make to put back into the comany to improve it.


<< I offer support via MSN >>

Again, lots of companies do this. It is becoming a lot more popular in the hosting industry, or really for any company on the internet to offer support via live chat - whether it be through a live chat program such as Kayako LiveResponse or PHPLive! or whether it be via another product such as MSNIM, AIM, YIM or even ICQ, Jabber or GadduGaddu. This is becoming increasingly popular on boths ends of web host and client - they feel more relaxed because there is always a support rep on (if there is) and that their issue can be resolved very quickly, but what a lot of hosts find difficult to manage, is to what extent do you offer support via live chat on. Plenty of companies only have low level techs on live chat, while higher level techs on tickets - also on live chat, you can find lots of chatters who want to make general chit chat which can slow down support, and also many people complain that you do not respond instantly because maybe you are logging into ModernBill or cPanel/WHM to check out the issue.
These are also very important issues to take into note when looking at offering live support.
 
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