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Comments
Detailed, formalish.
I'd like to know this too. I always wonder about this everytime I write a ticket.
For a client, as long as they're polite, detailed in what they want accomplished, and detailed in the troubleshooting attempts they've done, then I'm fine.
Support tickets that are simple "This doesn't work fix it now!" and then 10 seconds later another ticket saying "Why isn't this fixed?!" isn't really that helpful.
Honestly, formality or informal I don't care. Just help me help you.
Hi/Hello,
-description of problem-
^ My personal favorite
Well, it's different to every host. I prefer speaking in a proper language with Hetzner, but @Will and @UGVPS are more familial so I'm always like "Hey there" etc.
This one time, I responded to a support ticket with one word.
And that word was.
Fishsticks.
It was a glorious day.
I try to stay professional with hosts, yet I sometimes wonder if its just me :P
Yeah, this helps with foreign hosts so they can use google translate somewhat properly.
Honestly, all I care about is getting the details. If it's in your native tongue, I can get it translated myself and get a better gist of it.
I just do both by asking politely but also including foul language
I'll usually make new tickets like this:
(Sometimes include Hello,)
I have been having a problem with ___. I have tried ___ and it still doesn't seem to work. Could you take a look at it?
Thanks.
I stay professional.
Always
Here's how I think the ideal ticket is structured:
Other than that, feel free to chat. It can be a formal business exchange or whatever else.
Certainly only one way to offend me in a ticket, and Ryan will vouch for it. Never ticket me with "It's slow" or "This isn't as advertised" after what I know to be a flawless period where the node and network have been performing well above expectations. Especially if you're rude about it. I'll get downright mean. It's like walking into a room I've spent 6 months cleaning every speck of dust from and saying "This is disgusting." I'll probably beat you with the mop :P
in the end? i don't care.
I hate large useless signatures with lots of useless infos more.
I always start out fairly formally, but if after I've gotten several responses that seemed more laid back, I'll go with that style with that host.
One thing I always wonder is how to say thank you once the issue is resolved. My approach has usually been to respond with a thank you message and immediately close the ticket. If they want to be thanked, the cordial response is there, otherwise that's the end of it. For the hosters out there, is this a good way to do this?
The problem.
The expectation.
What you've done
Slightly different order :P
I like tickets I can comprehend. I don't care if it's in leet speak or is a giant run-on sentence, as long as I know what they are trying to say. Tickets like "no serves?" are not valid in my opinion and I specifically put them on hold for a few hours before replying so I can invest my time on reading a 6 paragraph ticket asking about the differences of Debian and CentOS.
I personally prefer informal, however I always try to match my tone/level to the person who opens the ticket.
THIS^^^
And "is down"
This makes let out a long sigh... and when it is up and nothing was down I die a little on the inside.
Overall I feel that they should keep professional, as it just turns me away if I'm more proper than the host themselves. Last week I spoke with one company via their live chat and I got "Hi, what you need?" almost gave me the impression of a kid almost and just left.
I've began to wonder that, I don't like to annoy the hosts by creating yet another pointless ticket notification. Yet on the other hand it might be good to show you appreciate their support.
Something to consider here is that some customers may be used to addressing companies in a casual tone but always receive replies in a professional tone. It might be off-putting to some customers to receive casual-sounding ticket replies.
Many (larger) companies - irrespective of industry - have formalized how their CS staff is supposed to interact with the customer specifically to avoid this problem and other problems.
Sometimes it's good to explain what have you done to solve issue before you contacted support. It may spare you from useless "it's everything OK at our side" and save you some time with additional ticketing.
Me, and I expect my staff to, always reply to tickets in a formal manner. Honestly, as long as I can understand the client, it doesn't really matter.
How do you address the customer? I've never addressed a customer by their first name unless I have them on Skype and we talk about other things too.
I was actually shocked, when I signed up to some hosts and they call me by first name (in tickets & in setup email). I don't care, but if you have a client IRL you don't address them this way.
I think there might be some misunderstanding in this thread as to whether or not casual is unprofessional. Casual and professional can coexist. In this world we live in filled with large corporations, we've mistaken "impersonal" for "professional" and that is simply not true.
Modern idea of a professional response: "Your call will be answered in the order it was received."
Unprofessional response: "I don't have time for this, I'll deal with it later."
Personal response: "I'm on my way to the office, as soon as I get settled in I'll get right on this for you."
You can be personal, friendly, casual, and yet professional. The key is to focus on the client and what they need, but making it impersonal is not necessarily adding professionalism. In fact, people appreciate it more when they are treated as human beings. The "personal response" above is designed to let you know that I am not some kind of corporate robot, I am just a person like you. It also lets you know that you are important to me, you are next on my agenda, and I'm not putting you off for some vague reason that leaves you wondering if I'm just being lazy.
I disagree. I want a company to address me, not my father.
We always address by their first name.
@William
So true. People who have large-ass signatures also seem to be technically/mentally challenged.
I think signatures are good. All of our staff have a standardised one:
Connor Lynch
Cheif Technical Officer
NitroHost Solutions
Obviously replaced with name and title.
I just use the first name on file.
It's more of a comfortable "Hey @superilesos, This is re-iterating the problem you have (so you can correct me if I have misunderstood the problem). I've fixed it/not-fixed it. If not fixed I continue to write about who's taking care of it and how it's being taken care of or other alternatives to fix it. If fixed I write down how it was fixed. If additional notes are required (e.g. passwords for the customer to access it) I'll write it down here. Then a little note about thanks for contacting support. Then my name."
I cut to the chase more often then not, if you make my life simple and co-operate pleasantly then I will do so in return.