Chat shift
When you are scheduled to be on chat, ensure your status is "Online". This can be found from the top right hand corner of your ZenDesk screen:
"Away" should only be used if you are away from your desk for a few minutes.
"Invisible" should be used at all other times when you are not on the chat shift. Eg when you are on a break, or are in a meeting. Setting yourself "Away" during these times instead, will prohibit the chat lines from being closed if need be. Chats can still come through if agents are set to "Online" or "Away". The only way to completely close the chat lines is to have all agents on "Invisible".
Opening a chat
The "Conversations" button will highlight green when there is a chat waiting to be picked up. The number of waiting chats will be displayed here. Click on "Accept" to start new chat:
Why can't I open a new chat?
We can open maximum three chats at the same time. Incoming chats will still appear on your screen as highlighted below, but you will not be able to open a new chat until you close a current chat:
Ending a chat
Press “End Chat” from the text box and confirm:
Notes:
- Always finish with a closing statement, do not just end the chat without explanation.
- After typing your final statement, e.g. “Enjoy the rest of your day”, keep the chat running for a little while (20-30 seconds). This gives the client a chance to respond, e.g. “you too”. If you have closed the chat and the client responds, their response will create a new conversation. Keeping the chat open for a little while will decrease these chances.
- If using the “/away” shortcut, there is no need to keep the chat open afterwards, it can just be ended. Ensure you have used the “/idle” shortcut before using this, and ensure it has been at least 3 minutes since this has been sent, and you have not seen the client typing a response.
- If you can see the client is typing, do not end the chat or ask if they are still there:
Requesting a CSAT rating
After your closing statement, e.g. “Enjoy the rest of your day”, select the thumbs up icon from the chat box and select "Request Rating". (Leave the chat open for 20-30 seconds before closing, to give the client a chance to write a review).
Using shortcuts
We store shortcut responses to be used in chats for fast response times. Access these by entering a forward slash in the text box and typing in the key words, select the response you wish to send and press "Enter". For example:
Type “/anything” and the auto saved response will come up as “Is there anything else i can help you with at all?”
Type “/Welcome” and shortcut options will be displayed, eg “You're welcome. Have a great day :)", “You're welcome. Enjoy the rest of your day.” or “You're welcome. Have a good afternoon”.
Sending screenshots or files
The file will need to be saved first to your computer.
Using the paperclip icon in the text box, upload the file and press “Enter” (Send):
Notes:
- Send an explanation for the client along with the screenshot, eg “Please see below screenshot:”
- Ensure screenshot does not display sensitive data from other accounts, use the blur function if required
- Ensure functions only available to Superusers are blurred out
How long to wait for a response from client
3 minutes. If there is no response, use the “/idle” shortcut:
If there is no response after another 3 minutes, use the “/away” shortcut to end the chat:
In total, client will have had at least 6 minutes to respond.
Determining when chat may not be suitable for subject matter
If the client would like us to step them through the process or we need to navigate to different screens to fix this issue, it might be easier to schedule a time to call them. Depending on how far you are into the investigations, schedule a time to call them when you are scheduled for phones, alternatively, assign to colleague scheduled on the phones to call and assist.
If the client requires detailed calculations or further investigation/escalation is required, let the client know we will need to get back to them with further details. End the chat first, emailing or escalating ticket.
Checking prior requests sent by the same business or person
You can check and review previous conversations with the client from User Data in ZenDesk:
Navigate to User Data > Click on Pending, Holding, Solved or Closed to check all the tickets raised by this client with different statuses:
Chat statuses
If the chat is showing as inactive, it means the client is away but the chat is still open and they can still reply back or receive our response.
If the client is showing as left, it means the client or we have ended the chat.
If we need to escalate an issue, or get back to the client later with more details, we will need to end the chat first and then proceed with escalation or email.
Searching and linking Knowledge Base (KB) articles to chat
Knowledge Capture is on the right side of the ZenDesk chat screen and can be used to search KB articles. These articles can be linked to the active chat. To search, type the key words of the topic you are looking for in the search box and all the relevant articles will come up:
When you edit the subject line of an open ticket/chat, relevant KB articles for that topic will come up on the right side under the Knowledge Capture:
To link a KB article to chat click on Link Article and the hyperlink will be inserted to the active chat
Chat transcripts
Clients can request the chat transcript be emailed to them before closing the chat window, they click on the three dots at the right side bottom of the screen and click on email transcript. This will be emailed automatically once the chat has been closed:
If the client requests us to send a chat transcript at a later stage, we can access that from the chat history page:
Step 1: Click on the four squares on the right side top of the Zendesk page > Chat > A new Dashboard - Home tab will open:
Step 2: Click on History > Search for the closed chat > Export Transcript:
Step 3: Enter email address > Email transcript.
Important Note: Confirm the email address before sending, ensure that the chat transcript is sent to right person:
Click here for sample video of how client's will use the chat function