V2 Preview #2 - New and Improved Ticket Management Features

One of our key goals with version 2 was to significantly improve the functionality available with tickets, the most important component of the application. Every element has been carefully redesigned and reengineered to make managing tickets as powerful as possible. Below we have described some of these changes and also share a first glimpse of the new version.

Automation

Automation is a wonderful thing, it leads to better efficiency and subsequently should increase customer satisfaction. With this in mind, version 2 introduces two new features so you can worry less about carrying out repetitive tasks.

Macros

Ticket macros enable you to both manually and automatically perform a set of actions on tickets. A flexible conditions system gives you the control to pick and choose under what scenarios a macro should apply and run.

Follow Ups

Often you may need to follow up with a customer at a later date, but writing reminders for yourself can be tedious. Ticket follow ups enable you to schedule a series of actions that should automatically occur on a ticket at some point in the future.

For example, you may wish to ask a customer how they are getting on a couple of weeks after completing a purchase. Another example may be if you are working on a ticket that will take some time, you can set it to another status temporarily and push it back to the main inbox later.

SLA Plans

Service-level agreements (SLA) are a great way to guarantee a level of service you will provide to customers and also set targets for your team. In version 2, we've vastly improved our SLA support, giving you much more control over which tickets fall under each plan and a wider array of escalation actions.

Due Times

SLA plans now support a combination of work schedules, which are considered when calculating the due time of a ticket. This can be useful if a department is covered by different people working different shifts. The due times have also been split into operator first response time and the final resolution time (when the ticket status is changed to closed).

Escalation Rules

Escalation rules can be carried out when the ticket becomes overdue or a certain number of hours beforehand. For example, it may be helpful to notify your staff about a ticket that is about to become overdue.



Whilst this improved feature set is extremely useful to many, it is not for everyone. If SLA plans aren't something that your organisation needs, you can simply hide the due time column on the ticket grid and you won't even know it exists.

Email Commands

As mobiles have become smarter, more work is carried out while on the go. While it was possible to reply to tickets directly by email in version 1, that was about all you could do. In version 2, we introduce email commands that let you complete certain actions on the ticket. For example, adding a ticket note or changing the ticket status without needing to use the operator panel.
 
We hope you have enjoyed reading and are looking forward to the changes in version 2 mentioned today. In our next preview, we'll be looking at improvements to the self-service section. As a reminder, we've set up a website where we'll be posting each preview and you can join our mailing list for v2 updates. Don't forget to also follow us on Twitter if you haven't already!