Batch Responses from the Workspace

August 3, 2009 — Rebecca

HelpSpot’s Batch Response/Edit Request feature saves time and increases productivity by using a single response to reply to multiple requests and/or making Request Detail changes on multiple request at once.

Batch Responses can be preformed from any filter including the Inbox and My Queue. Let’s look at My Queue as an example:

In My Queue, there are three request I can answer with one response, so I first must select the appropriate request and then select Batch Respond/Edit Request from the drop down menu.  Once these options have been selected, complete this step by clicking the Submit button.

Batch Response from the Workspace

Moving to the next screen we see the four areas for working:

  • Section 1 -  Notes
    In this section the response is added to the notes.  Typed and/or Appended responses can be used in this section.
    The additional note options functions the same here as in responding to a single request.  The note can be changed from public to private, staffers can be notified, the send email from can be changed to a specific mailbox, etc.
  • Section 2 – Request In Batch
    This section shows the request that the note will be added too and or edited.  You can remove any request from this section by clicking on the red X in the right column.

batch_request2

  • Section 3 – Batch Information & Request Details
    The Batch information section,when the generate filter checkbox is selected,  creates a filter which contains all the requests used in the batch, so if  a follow up is required at a later time, the batch can be based off that filter to update the exact same group of people.  This is particularly useful if for instance, you are an IT group and a server goes down and 50 people email you about it all at once. You could respond to all of them at one time with this feature.

    The Request Details is where custom fields, category and assignment changes will be made globally for the selected request if you select any options here.  Leave custom fields empty to maintain each requests existing values.

  • Section 4 – Begin Batch
    There are two options with Batch Responses.  You can either choose to begin the batch response and have the request update, or you can choose to Begin the batch response and close the request at once.   Once a selection has been made the Process Batch Request process will begin.  It is important not to leave this page until all processes have been completed.

batch_request3

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Out of Office Setting (Individual Staff)

July 24, 2009 — Rebecca

With summer comes vacations, which makes it a great time to discuss HelpSpot’s Out of Office feature.

Let’s start by going into the Staffer’s Preferences, by clicking on the Preference link located in the upper right corner of HelpSpot. pref

In the communications area, staff can define what happens to their requests which are assigned to them while they’re “out of office”.  Request can either go back in to the Inbox for reassignment or to a specific staffer by clicking on the Out of Office drop down box and saving their settings.

OOO

What’s important to note here is that any request that are in the staffer’s queue, will not be moved out unless an update has been made.  At that point the request will be reassigned to the Inbox or to the staffer designated in the preference settings. Also, when staffers set this option,  an “Out of Office” is placed next to their name in the assignment box so other staffers can see they’re out.

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Overridding Default Email Templates

April 29, 2009 — Rebecca
In my last post I discussed HelpSpot’s default Email Templates, when they are used and how to modify them.  With the release of version 2.6.0,  it is now possible to override these default templates providing further customization and flexibility to your organization.  This is particularly useful for companies that have multiple domains or mailboxes that are managed in a single HelpSpot installation.

Practical Application

You may be wondering, why would you want to over-ride your default templates.   Let’s say you had one mailbox for servers@yourcompany.com and one for help@yourcompany.com.  Keeping your clients informed of server changes is important to your customer service, so you might want to have an auto reply for servers@yourcompany.com, which contained links to the network up time, & traffic reports.  On the other hand, help@yourcompany.com needs to include the support hours and links to your Knowledge Books & password resets,  to promote customer self-service.

Let’s take a look at how resolve the above scenario.

Mailboxes and their templates are found under Admin ->Mailboxes.
  1. The first step is to configure or modify the mailbox for the email address servers@yourcompany.com.
    Once the account is established and tested, we’ll can configure our mailbox specific templates.
  2. Scrolling down to the Email Templates section.   You’ll notice that here again we have four configurable
    templates associated with this email account.    We’re going to configure the Auto Reply to meet the requirements above.email_1
  3. Click on the arrow to the left of the Auto Reply option.
    email_2
  4. Add the content & placeholders to both the HTML and the Text version of the automatic response.
  5. Optional: Make additional content changes to any or all of the other templates in this area.
  6. Click on the save edits button, to save changes.
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Email Templates

March 19, 2009 — Rebecca

HelpSpot was designed to with the intention to give users full control over how you communicate with your customers, by giving you the ability to fully customize email templates to include the information specific to your organization.

HelpSpot includes 10 default templates found in the Admin -> Tools -> Modify Email Templates Section.  They are available in both plain text and HTML formats,  to ensure users without HTML email support can view emails in their mail client. Because of this, both versions of the templates should be edited when modifying them for consistency.  Additionally, HelpSpot provides dynamic placeholders which can be inserted into the templates to provide specific information.

Let’s take a closer look at these templates and their uses.

  • Public Notes to Customers -  Emails to customers use this template. This is a great place for a unified footer or to brand with your organizations design.
  • External Notes – Used when staff select the “External Note” option under the note box on the request page. External notes are notes which are usually sent to someone other than the customer (such as a vendor), but where the response is threaded privately back into the request.
  • Request Created by Portal Form- When a customer submits a request via the portal form this template is automatically sent to them as an acknowledgment email.
  • Notify Staff on A Request - is used when you choose to notify a staff member from a specific request.
  • Staff Notifications – Any emails to staff members about events like reassignment, customer replies, and new unassigned requests use this template.
  • Reminders-This template is used for reminder emails to staff.
  • Forum Topic Subscriber -When a forum thread is updated this template is used to send all thread subscribers an email.
  • New Staff Welcome – When a new staff member is created in Admin ->Staff this template is automatically sent to them with their credentials and instructions for logging into HelpSpot.
  • Retrieve Portal Password – When customers clicks “Retrieve My Password Link” from the Portal’s Request Check page, this email template is sent with the password included.
  • SMS Messages – This template is used for the body of SMS messages the system generates.

Placeholders

Placeholders are specially designed code blocks that are replaced with specific chunks of information such as a the Email Subject, the URL address to check a request, the customers first and last name, etc.

Placeholders start and end with two pound signs, which must remain in this syntax for them to function correctly.

Example:  ##MESSAGE##

email_templates

Email Templates and placeholders.

Placeholders can be added to both the text and HTML templates and the template’s subject line, by simply clicking on the Insert Template Tag drop down menu and selecting one from the list.

email_placeholders2

Practical Use

Frequently we get request from organizations who want their Pubic Notes to Customer template to function like a “normal” email, where the history of all the previous correspondence is included, instead of the note.

This can be accomplished easily by adding  the “last email by customer” placeholder to customers email template.  So then when you send a public response, an email is sent to the user. If the user replies by email, the previous correspondence is included in that email. This continues for the duration of the correspondence.

lebc

Last Email By Customer

Another common request we get is from organizations is the ability to filter request notifications in their mail client, such as Outlook.  One way this can be achieved is by adding the “Category” placeholder directly into the subject line.  Email notifications can then be arranged by category.

cat_subject_fin

Sorted by Category in Email Client

Finally, some organization prefers to inform your customers of the status of the request, letting them know if their request is active, closed or pending.    This is simple to accomplish by adding the “Status” placeholder within the body of the Pubic Notes to Customers template.

Status Placeholder

Status Placeholder

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Sending Attachments From The Portal.

February 27, 2009 — Rebecca

A question recently sent to me by a customer asked how they can accept attachments via the request form.  Which reminded me that customers often aren’t aware of these 2 settings:

  1. Admin -> Settings -> Portal -> Allow file attachments: yes/no
  2. Admin -> Settings -> Portal -> Do Not Allow Attachments with These Extensions:

portal_file_attachmentsSetting, “Allow File Attachments” to yes, will provide an upload text box to your Portal’s Request Form page allowing customers to send attachments with their request.  However it’s important for the security of your server,  that you define attachment extensions that are not allowed.  For example: executable (exe) files or Visual Basic (vb) scripts.   You can put as many different file extensions in the “Do Not Allow Attachments with These Extensions” box, but make certain that you separate them with a comma.

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Reopening A Request

February 25, 2009 — Rebecca

This weeks setting exploration is on  Reopening a Request located in  Admin ->Settings->Email Integration.

We found that many customers like to save request notification emails for months on end, which can be problematic if they respond to an old request with a new issue.  Help Desk staffers end up wasting time researching historical information and manually creating new requests.   So, this setting was developed to control how many days a reply will automatically cause the request to be reopened.

In most installations this will be set for 30 days.  However, if normally your requests are wrapped up in 2-3 days moving this setting to 10 days may be more appropriate and decrease the number of re-opened requests. Some of our customers always want closed request to be reopened, which can be achieved by setting  Days to zero (0).

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History Search

January 29, 2009 — Rebecca

When I’m working on request, it’s often useful to go back and view previous request from the same customer or company.   The History Search feature, allows me to do just that without leaving the Request Note’s page.  Using this feature, I can preform a general search or specify the search by: email address, email domain, customer Id, or by the full first/last name.

An In Depth Look

When a Request Note is open, the History Search tab is displayed above the Customer Information Area.   I’ll click on this tab to begin my search. history_search1
  1. The Search Results are displayed in the Search Grid.   To view the results, click on the Request ID link.  The request will open with the viewing pane.  When  finished,  click “Return To Search”, or proceed with managing the request.
  2. By default, the search type is set to General Search, however by clicking on the drop down arrow, I can restrict my search.
  3. The Customer section, displays the information on the customer I am searching for.
 history_search2
history_search3

Customizing the History Search

Remember I said, by default the Search Type is set to a General Search, however I find that in our company it’s more efficient to search by Customer ID more times than not.  I can change the History Search settings to make Customer ID my default search.

To Change the Default Search Type:

  1. Go to Admin -> Settings -> System.
  2. Find the control labeled “Default History Search Type in Request Form“.
  3. Click on the drop-down arrow and select the preferred search method.
  4. Click on the Save Settings button located at the bottom of the page.

Now that I have saved these changes, the Search will default to the preferred method, saving me an additional step in my research process.

 history_search4
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Time Tracking

January 15, 2009 — Rebecca

The Time Tracker feature allows individuals the ability to log time spent on request.  This can be used for the purpose of billing or for organizations who are concerned with their “time to resolution” speed.    The Time Tracker feature must be enabled in  Admin ->Settings ->Time Tracker,  in order for it to appear across the Request page.

Using the Time Tracker

To begin using the Time Tracker, click on the header.  The log timing fields will be displayed.

Time Tracker Enabled

Time Tracker Enabled

time_tracker2

Time Tracker

Time can be entered either manually or by using the stop-clock feature.

Staffers that use this feature often have the option to make the Time Tracker display open by default.

To have Time Tracker open by default:

  • Click on Preferences from the top right corner of HelpSpot
  • In the Preferences section,  place a check mark in the box next to “Default the time tracker to open on the request page“.
  • Click on the Save button.
User Preferences

User Preferences

To enter time manually:

  • Use either decimal or standard time format in the hours/minutes box.
    Example: 1.5 or 1:30
  • Add a description for the logged entry.
  • Optionally, you can change the date and staffer by clicking on the drop down arrows.
  • Click the Log Time button.

To enter time using the stop-clock:

  • Click the arrow to when work begins on the request.
  • Click the arrow again when work pauses or stops on the request.
  • Add a description for the logged entry.
  • Optionally, you can change the date and staffer by clicking on the drop down arrows.
  • Click the Log Time button.

The time and descriptions will be logged for the entry and will be available for use on time tracking reports.     Finally, to delete or cancel a logged entry, click on the red cancel icon.

time-tracker-3

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Using Reminders

January 2, 2009 — Rebecca

Reminders Setup dialog box

When I’m  busy, it’s easy for me to forget follow-ups or task I need do.  Post-it Notes clutter the desk and are easily ignored.  Thankfully, HelpSpot has a built-in Reminders feature that keeps me on task!

When your working on a request that requires actions at a later date,  follow these simple tasks!

To create reminders:

  1. Click on the “Set Reminder“  located in the right-side Options menu.
  2. From the   “Set Reminders” dialog box, you can;
    • Write information pertaining to the reminder.
    • Select the date and time.
    • Select additional staffers that should be notified of this reminder.
  3. When completed, click on the Create Reminder” button.

When  when the date for the reminder is reached you (and any selected to be notified) will be sent a reminder email.
Note: Reminders will continue to be active even when the request it’s associated with is closed.

To view reminders:

  • Click on the Reminders,  located in the WorkSpace navigation tree.

reminder_list

To Delete reminders:

  • Click on the Reminders, located in the WorkSpace navigation tree.
  • Click on the Request Id Link.
  • Re-open the ticket (if applicable).
  • The reminder note will be displayed above the Options Menu, click on delete to remove.
Delete Reminders

Delete Reminders

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Using Filters to Create A Group Inbox

December 31, 2008 — Rebecca

Sometimes companies have a need for multiple Inboxes to efficiently manage their requests.  This is especially useful for a company with multiple departments using one installation of HelpSpot.

Adding Categories

Adding Categories

Let’s take a closer look at this scenario.

International Consulting Group’s Sales and IT department use the same installation of HelpSpot to manage their daily requests.  Each department would like to have their own Inbox so that they do not have to share the one global Inbox and see each others requests.

Solution:

This can easily be achieved by using categories and filters to create a customized group Inbox.

1. Here’s what they will want to do:

  • Go to Admin -> Categories.
  • From within the “Add A New Category” dialog box,  assign the new category name of  “Sales”
  • Assigned staff members that are associated with the Sales department. Optional: Auto assignments of request can be setup so that request are assigned based on the default staff member, a random staffer, a member with the least number of request or a “round robin” (even distribution) approach.
  • Click the “Add Category” button.
  • Now repeat this process for the second category “IT”

2. Create Filter Conditions  for the Sales Department.

Conditions

Conditions

  • Go To  Workspace -> Filter Request:
  • Set the conditions:
    • Open/Closed is Open
    • Category  is “Sales“
    • Assigned to is Unassigned
  • From the Save Filter Box,
    • Give the filter a name: ex. Sales Inbox
    • Place the filter in the Global Filters folder – This will ensure that the filter is accessible to all staffers on a global basis.
    • Click on the “Select a Column to Add” drop down list and select the “take it“.   This will add the “Take It” button column, give the staffers the ability to take request.Optional: There are many ways you can have the requests grouped and ordered within the request grid.  Additionally, you can choose to have the request count displayed to the right of the Inbox link or not.  Try playing with these settings.grp_filter_opt

3. Create the Filter for the IT Department

Create Filter Conditions  for the Sales Department.

  • Go To  Workspace -> Filter Request:
  • Set the conditions:
    • Open/Closed is Open
    • Category  is “IT “
    • Status is Unassigned,
  • From the Save Filter Box,
    • Give the filter a name: ex. IT Inbox
    • Place the filter in the Global Filters folder
    • Click on the “Select a Column to Add” drop down list and select the “take it“.

Creating category based inbox has resulted in two customized inboxes listed in the Workspace Navigation:

grouped_ws

Customized Inboxes

One specifically for the Sales Department and the other for IT.
Now both groups can work through their own designated inboxes without viewing the other’s request.

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