We’ve been around for a long time and have collected some of the best minds from across several industries, and we think it’s high time they got their day in the spotlight. In this series of blogs we’ll be unearthing some of the technology and talent that power our hosted communications platform.
Jeff Weinstein, Director of Operations & Pizza Afficionado
We live in an age where, not only can you order an item off of Amazon and get it the same day, but you can also track it’s location and progress along the way. Our visibility into the inner workings of the services that we rely on isn’t limited to just the large, multi-billion dollar technology companies. Domino’s Pizza even has a live Domino’s Tracker that allows you to watch the progress of your recent orders. Perhaps it’s because we here are just so accustomed to trackers like these or perhaps because we just get most of our inspiration from pizza, but either way it was with this inspiration that we introduced our first Customer Support Tracking System into our support arsenal. And it is because of that new technology that we’ve decided to sit down with Jeff Weinstein, VirtualPBX Director of Operations, to discuss it.
Let’s just start from the top and let me ask, what exactly is the new Customer Support Ticketing System all about?
First off, to explain the system I think that the concept of tracking a package for a delivery or like you mentioned, a pizza, is a good way to describe the new platform to those who may be unfamiliar with it. So when a customer of ours has an item they want to discuss with us, the moment they contact a member of our Support Team, a ticket is automatically created. This isn’t unheard of in itself as it’s common for support teams to track the progress of their open issues, but we’ve integrated some slick technology so that the progress is visible to the customer who initiated the contact as well. This way, there’s no guessing involved in if their issue is being addressed or not, and it’s a practice that’s very much aligned with our values of transparency. Of course, as much as it’s satisfying to see your issue is being resolved and not falling through the cracks, it sure doesn’t beat a fresh pizza, either!
Okay that makes sense, but if our Support Team is already getting recognized for great service, why introduce this now?
Essentially, this is all about constantly improving upon our foundation of providing award-winning support to all of our customers. So on one hand, we’re introducing an entirely new platform for our customers to follow along in the progress of any issue’s resolution, but on the other, it’s actually just much more of the same for our team. Just like when we launched Dash and were lucky enough for it to have made such a splash when people first saw it, that didn’t mean that we weren’t still unrolling new features and building upon it after the fact. Because we’re always adding more options to our product line, our Support Team has more to become experts on. Fortunately, we’re on top of it all for now, but we’re positive that we can always improve and adding a transparent tracking and ticketing system is the best way to ensure we’re positioned for continued success.
Well tracking the progress is neat, but is there anything else that the new system does for users?
I’m glad you asked, yes! So one of the neat things about this new system is that it’s more than just the tracker and improved ticketing system, it’s also like having an automated assistant help out between steps. What happens is that we have designed the system to, immediately following the submission of a new support issue, respond to the customer with confirmation and with suggested support articles that may help in the interim. We have a vast library of content on tutorials, how-to’s, and even a comprehensive YouTube channel to lean on, so there’s a good chance we can offer some assistance even before we offer assistance, so to speak. Also, back to the process improvement motivation that drives everything we do, customers can even up-vote or down-vote the suggested articles we share based on how helpful they were to addressing their problems. This was the system is designed to both shorten the distance between problems and solutions but also it helps improve the accuracy with which we address them over time.
So Jeff, is there anything from your experience has made introducing a Customer Support Ticketing System easier or more difficult?
Well it’s never easy to be the best, but we try to stay at the top of our game all the time. Fortunately, though, there are some situations from my past that have helped make this integration go more smoothly. Specifically, when I worked with government agencies like at the Department of Homeland Security, the process was obviously a massive priority. We had to introduce all manner of new procedures and policies to an organization that already had systems in place, and more importantly, we had to ensure that there was no interruption along the way. This was good practice for VirtualPBX. Our customers rely on our products to keep their businesses running, so it was absolutely essential that our Customer Support Team was fully accessible to them as we designed, tested, and integrated our new Customer Support Tracking System. It took a lot of late nights and after hours efforts to get it done, but so far our customers’ initial reactions assure me that it was well worth the effort.
Okay one more thing, because there’s a bit of a common thread going here, what’s your favorite pizza?
I’ve got to go with the classic supreame. I like it all.
To learn more about the VirtualPBX Support Team, our new support tracking system, or to contact them yourself to try it our, check out the VirtualPBX Support page. Also, you can find us for more Tech Talks and join the conversation by following us on Twitter and liking us on Facebook. And for the record, nothing beats a classic pepperoni in my book.
