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Support Solutions: Growing a Customer Base with a Lean Support Staff
Technology Category
- Functional Applications - Remote Monitoring & Control Systems
- Functional Applications - Enterprise Resource Planning Systems (ERP)
Applicable Industries
- Professional Service
- Software
Applicable Functions
- Business Operation
Use Cases
- Remote Collaboration
- Remote Control
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
- System Integration
The Challenge
When Support Solutions began providing support, training, and implementation services to Ireland’s office supply companies in 2001, the company handled 95 percent of trouble tickets by phone. Customers appreciated the ability to talk through technical challenges with an agent. However, closing a support ticket often required several days, as it sometimes took multiple phone calls just to reach the customer to inform them that their issue had been resolved. Support Solutions aimed to close support tickets faster without compromising its personalized service, but its outdated help desk software couldn’t support highly efficient online communication.
About The Customer
Support Solutions was founded in 2001 in response to a critical need when Integrity Software announced it would no longer support Legerdemain distribution software. Legerdemain dealers throughout Ireland and the United Kingdom needed an alternative. Alan Conroy and Betty McGivern formed Support Solutions to service these dealers. The company now maintains systems for some of Ireland’s largest office products dealers and has formed key partnerships with BlueSky System Solutions and Net Junction. Over the years, Support Solutions has grown its customer base significantly, providing support, training, and implementation services to Ireland’s office supply companies.
The Solution
Everything changed when Alan Conroy saw an online ad for Zendesk help desk software. He signed up for a free 30-day trial and quickly became a believer. After just one week, the improvement in efficiency was so great that Support Solutions shut down its old help desk and moved all tickets to Zendesk. Moving customers from phone to Zendesk ticket support was relatively easy. When a call comes in with a support issue, the support agent sends the resolution by email using Zendesk. Today, when a customer emails a support request, they receive an immediate confirmation and an email with the name of the customer support agent working on the case. With Zendesk’s customer service software, Support Solutions has dramatically increased its responsiveness without losing its personal touch. Additionally, Support Solutions implemented Zendesk’s LogMeIn Rescue integration, allowing agents to engage in remote support sessions with their customers. This integration has significantly diminished ticket resolution time, enabling agents to see what their customers see during support calls.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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