Chat for NTR Cloud Product Guide

Transcription

1 Product Guide

2 Table of Contents Introduction...4 Benefits...4 Secure Chat...4 Modular Setup...4 Administrator s Guide...5 Features...5 Languages...6 System Requirements...6 Getting Started...6 Setting Up Users The first step in setting up your chat environment is to create a user profile for each of your support agents. The user profile will specify the user s name, their primary language (which dictates the screen language of their console), and their date and time preferences. If your company has purchased other NTR Cloud modules it is likely that most of your support agents will already be established as users....7 Assessing Skills...8 Creating Skill Groups...8 Associating Skills to Users...9 Making It Work...10 Channels and Chat Routing...10 Creating Channels...10 Routing Chat Requests...12 Setting Up the Rules List...12 Chat Request Routing and Number of Chat Sessions...14 Making Chat Work for You...15 Standard Chat Buttons...15 Customized Chat Buttons...15 Online and Offline Access Points - Agent Status...16 Integrating Chat to Different Language Sites...16 Integrating Access Point Code...16 Placing a Custom Banner on the Client Chat Window...17 System Messages...18 How to Configure Canned Messages...20 Integration with Other Modules...22 Page 2 of 35

3 Advanced Users Module...22 Tickets Module...22 Reports Module...23 Remote Desktop Module...23 Support Agent Guide...24 The Call Center Chat Function...24 The Chat Window...24 Managing Chat Sessions...25 Answering Chat Request/Initiating Chat Session...25 Accepting a Chat Request...25 Rejecting a Request for a Chat Session...26 Initiating a Chat Request...26 Managing Active Chats...26 Invite Other Users to Join Your Chat...26 Multiple Chat Windows...28 Chat Status...28 Canned Messages...29 Transferring Chat...31 Closing a Chat...31 Viewing the Chat List...31 Chat Transcript...32 Integration with Other Modules...32 Tickets Module...32 Assign Chat to a Ticket...32 Unassign Chat from Ticket...33 Create a Ticket from Chat...33 View Tickets from Chat list...33 Remote Desktop Module...34 Glossary...35 Page 3 of 35

4 Introduction This product guide is intended to describe the setup, installation and operation of. Integrated chat can benefit any business, small to enterprise that needs to assist customers on a realtime basis and wants to provide a cost-effective alternative to phone support. The chat module forms part of the NTR Cloud, a suite of modular cloud-based NTRglobal support services. Benefits provides a secure, two-way instant messaging channel between your customers and your support personnel. Customers receive instant assistance from a support agent with the right skills to handle their request, and avoid complex phone menus and wait queues. Support agents who otherwise would be able to manage only one live phone call at a time can successfully provide service on multiple concurrent chat sessions. Behind-the-scenes routing rules enable the chat to be directed to a support agent with the right skills to answer the customer questions to reduce callbacks and transfers to second- or third-level support. Secure Chat Our commitment to security is at the core of everything we do. Every point in the chat session chain is secured by 128-bit AES encryption, from login authentication to chat closure. NTRglobal also boasts a global network of relays that complies with the strictest international regulations, including Sarbanes- Oxley, HIPAA and other industry-specific policies. NTRglobal has ISO certified facilities and data centers around the world that adhere to Safe Harbor policies. Holder of a TRUSTe privacy seal, we keep your data absolutely secure and private through multiple levels of protection not even NTRglobal can see or access it. Modular Setup allows you to support your customers more effectively and with reduced cost. NTR Cloud modules can each be used stand-alone or purchased together to build a comprehensive remote support management platform to serve your internal and external customers or manage your IT infrastructure. Page 4 of 35

5 Administrator s Guide The Administrator s Guide will describe the configurable features and functions of the NTR Cloud chat module and provide easy-to-follow, detailed steps on how to set up and take advantage of each feature. This section is designed for users who are responsible for configuring and maintaining the chat infrastructure for the organization, including setting up new users, assigning skills to users and determining what skills are needed to manage each incoming chat request. If you prefer to use the chat features out of the box with little to no company branding, the responsible user(s) need have no IT or technical knowledge. If you have an extensive, branded website presence however, you may prefer to change the look-and-feel of the chat module and, in this case, find it more convenient to choose an administrative resource that is familiar with HTML, scripting and design. Note that if you have purchased the Advanced Users module integrated with NTR Cloud chat, you must be set up as an Administrator User to perform all the functions described in this part of the manual. If you have not taken advantage of this module, all users are able to perform all these functions. Features The NTR Cloud chat module has a robust feature set that will allow you to reduce support costs and increase customer satisfaction. One-Click Access to Support Customizable live chat buttons at multiple access points; support can be offered anywhere it is needed Online and offline chat buttons to accurately inform the customer of support availability Automatic offline form provides backup for the customer to communicate their request Intelligent Chat Features Chat session sharing for collaborative troubleshooting and resolution Support Agent chat initiation Pre-defined messages to accelerate the support process Integration of html links to enrich the support solution Customizable Solution Personalized web buttons and chat window to reflect your brand Immediate support in five languages Personalized privacy policy and terms and conditions Agent console in a choice of screen language Administrative Management Support agent organization by primary language, areas of expertise and level of experience Definition of criteria to enable superior, intelligent chat routing technology Automatic generation of code to embed chat access points Page 5 of 35

6 Advanced Reporting Reports generated by user, client and time Online console reports help manage workload Statistics provided on a wide range of metrics Languages The chat window can be displayed in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. System Requirements Secure remote customer support is offered across Windows, Mac and Linux. To view the most current system requirements please visit Getting Started The NTR Cloud chat module is quick and easy to implement. Companies will maximize the benefits of integrated chat by mapping the solution to their business and customer interfaces, thus providing reinforcement for the process and allowing support agents to optimize their time and skills. As with all software implementations, preparation is fundamental to accomplishing module integration that works well, first time. Primary areas of preparation are the following: Set up support agents/users and their profiles List and assign relevant skills to each of your support agents Create Channels representing specific skills required to support requests Assign rules to the channels to route chat requests to the agents with the right skills Determine where the chat links (Access Points) will reside (which screens in your application) Choose or create Access Points (links or buttons) based on language, branding and support agent status Assign each link to a channel to ensure each chat session is routed effectively Page 6 of 35

7 Figure 1- Overview of Chat Environment Setting Up Users The first step in setting up your chat environment is to create a user profile for each of your support agents. The user profile will specify the user s name, their primary language (which dictates the screen language of their console), and their date and time preferences. If your company has purchased other NTR Cloud modules it is likely that most of your support agents will already be established as users. User characteristics are defined within the default user function included in NTR Cloud. If the Advanced User Module has been purchased, the settings section within advanced users will provide this feature. Figure 2 - Add New User 1. Access the User or Advanced User menu and click on Create User. 2. Add the support agent s first and last name. Page 7 of 35

8 3. Specify the language in which this agent prefers to work. This will not play a role in directing calls to the agent, but it will determine the language displayed on their screen. 4. Provide the support agent s address and a password. This information will be used by the support agent to access the chat console. Check the box if the user is to be enabled. If the user is not enabled they will not be able to logon and use the chat function. You may want to utilize this option if you prefer to set up all your users at one time, but only enable them once they have taken training and are ready to be assigned chat requests. 5. You can also specify here if the user is an administrator. Only a few persons will normally be set up as administrator, since this role gives access to all the functions described in this portion of the manual. 6. An icon will be shown next to each user that shows their status and user type. Figure 3 - User icons 7. Last, fill out the box that determines how many concurrent chat sessions this user can reasonably manage. This number may be edited over time as the user becomes more competent or if you find that your call center agent workloads are not balanced. Assessing Skills Creating Skill Groups Skill groups define the different areas in which your customers could request help and in which your support agents are not all equally skilled or knowledgeable. In other words, skill groups allow you to differentiate one chat request from the next and characterize it by the skills required to satisfy the customer s support need. For example, you may want to define a group of language skills so that your customers can always receive help in a language in which they feel comfortable. Or, if your company provides technical support for a number of different product lines and not all agents are knowledgeable on each product, you would probably want to define a skill group of product line. Once you have listed the skill groups and the skills that each one contains, you can set up the groups in the chat interface. The example below shows the set up of a language skill group. 1. Access the chat module and select the Skill Groups option from the left navigation. 2. Click on the Create Skill Group button. 3. Enter the skill group name (Language) and a description for this group and click Add. Page 8 of 35

9 Figure 4 Create Skill Groups Now, add the skills that are a part of this group. 1. Select the Skills option from the left navigation. 2. Click on Create Skill. 3. Create the name and description of the skill and select the skill group to which it belongs, then click add. For example, for your European support group you may create English, French, German, Italian and Spanish language skills within your Language Skill Group. Continue by creating the remaining Skill Groups and the skills contained within them, until you have listed all those relevant for your support team and customer enquiries. Figure 5 - Add Skills to a Skill Group Figure 6 List of Skills Associated to Skill Groups Associating Skills to Users Skills and users have to be matched to enable effective chat routing. To associate relevant skills to each of your users, in the chat module: Page 9 of 35

10 1. Select User Skills from the left navigation 2. Select a user from the list or, if the list is long, use the search function and select from the resulting filtered list. 3. If you have just added a user and you don t see them in this list, click the refresh button and search again. 4. If the user is already associated to skills, those skills and skill groups will be shown to the right of the user name. In the Add a Skill section in the lower section of the screen, all possible skills are shown. To add a new skill to the user, simply select the skill from the list and click the Add button. 5. If a skill is added by mistake, or the user no longer has a particular skill you can delete it by clicking on the X button next to the skill in the user profile. Figure 7 - Add User Skills Making It Work Channels and Chat Routing Chat requests are routed to suitable support agents through the creation of Channels. Each channel forms a pipe between the chat request button or link and the group of agents who have the skills to answer the request. The agent skills sets are selected based on a set of rules that are associated with the Channel. To enable the effective routing of chat requests, the next step is to set up the Channels and then the rules for each channel. Creating Channels Channels are used to group access points, which are the different places from which customers can access the chat function. As a convenience, each installation of chat is already set up with a default channel in which all the available, out-of-the-box access points are defined. You can use the Default channel or create a new one. To create a new one: 1. Access the chat module, and select the Channels option from the left navigation. 2. Click the Create Channel button. Page 10 of 35

11 3. Fill in the title and the channel description fields. 4. If your website supports multiple languages, it is helpful to specify the language in the title of your channel so that you can easily see which channel is defined for each language. Access points (what the customer sees) and rules (guiding which support agent receives the request) will also be defined based on the supported language. Figure 8 - Add a Channel 5. Create the access points for this channel. Each access point can be either a button or a link. Typically a button is used in a website or a supported application and a link is used either in a website, in a social media posting, or as part of a digital signature in an . Click the Add Access Point button from the list. Figure 9 - Setting Up Access Points i. Give a title to the access point that describes which pages or functionality of your website it is designed to support. ii. iii. Choose the language for this access point. Select the buttons or links that the customer will see, both for online and offline. Online will be displayed when you have agents available to take chat requests. Offline will be displayed to the customer when there are no agents available with the skills to support requests from this access point. When the offline button or link is displayed, the customer will be given an opportunity to send an request for help (or to create a Ticket if the Page 11 of 35

12 tickets module has been purchased). There are three choices of access point display (see later in this document for a complete description of these): o A predefined button. o A custom button that reflects your brand (specify the URL where the button image is stored). o A text string that will be displayed to the customer as a link. iv. Last, specify if this access point will route requests to support agents who possess the skills defined by the rules of the channel (see next step) or if every request should be routed to just one individual. When you are finished, you will see that each of your access points is listed with a button that allows you to retrieve the code to integrate the access point into your website, social media, application or . See later in this document for integrating the access point. Figure 10 - Access Points Routing Chat Requests Chat sessions are routed based on a list of rules coupled with support agent workload. The rules reside with the channel and define the characteristics of a group of support agents. The channel links the place from where the customer requested the chat (access point) to the agents who have the skills and are available to answer the request. The next step is to set up the list of rules for each channel. That is, bundle the user skills that will be needed to solve the chat request. Setting Up the Rules List 1. Within the chat module, select the Channels option from the left navigation. 2. Select the channel for which you wish to create rules, and click the Edit button. 3. The lower portion of the screen will show the rules list for the channel. By default there will be no rules listed and the checkbox will be marked indicating that the next chat request will be routed to the first available agent. Page 12 of 35

13 To add a new rule, click the Add Rule button. 1. Select a skill from the list and click the Add to list button. You can add as many skills as you need to the same rule but you have also to keep in mind the skill sets of the support agents. From time to time you may need to compromise a little if you have no support agents who own the list of skills that you have just specified. Once the skills are added to the list, click the Add button to add the rule to the channel. 2. If you have a large support team with a lot of differentiation, it is a good practice to create more than one rule for each channel. If there are no support people available who fulfill the skills in the first rule, the request can still be routed to a knowledgeable person by seeking available agents with the skills defined in the second rule, etc. 3. Give each rule a priority to enable more effective routing. For example, if it is more important that the support agent be a tier 1 agent, than that he or she knows the Linux Operating System, select tier 1 as the higher priority. You can move the rules up or down in the rules list as needed, using the up and down arrows to the right of the rule. Figure 11 - Channel Rules in Order of Priority Once you have defined the rules, you may also choose to check the box below which specifies If none of these rules apply, direct chat to the first available support agent. This option works well if all your agents could help any customer even when they don t have the perfect match of skills and knowledge. When you have set the rules for the channel, click the Save button, or Add button if this is a new channel, to save your changes and leave the page. Page 13 of 35

14 Chat Request Routing and Number of Chat Sessions Figure 12 - How Rules Route Chat Requests When an access point is clicked, the NTR Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) function determines the channel for the access point and will select the rule with the highest priority (the rule with priority 1). 1. The ACD searches to determine if there are agents online whose skills match the current rule. Once an agent with the right skills is found, the ACD will ascertain if the agent s concurrent active chat sessions are less than the maximum specified. If so, the agent will receive the incoming chat. 2. If there are a number of agents whose skills match the rule, who are online and who have less than the maximum concurrent chat sessions, the chat will be assigned to the agent with the fewest active conversations. 3. If the agents have the same number of active conversations, the chat will be assigned to the agent for whom the most time has elapsed since the last chat finished. 4. When there are no available agents whose skills match those of the rule, the ACD will search to see if there are agents whose skills match the next rule in the list of priorities. If there are no more rules to check, one of two options will apply: 1. If the box If none of these rules apply is marked, the ACD will check if there are any users online with fewer conversations than the maximum allowed for that user. Page 14 of 35

15 i. If there are no users of this type, the offline form is shown. ii. If there are users who meet these criteria, the chat will be assigned to the user with the least active conversations. iii. If multiple users have the same number of active conversations, the chat will be assigned to the user who has the greatest elapsed time since the last chat finished. 2. If the box is not marked, the offline form is shown. Making Chat Work for You Standard Chat Buttons As described in the portion of this document addressing Access Points, there are a number of ways in which you can show your customers the availability of online chat assistance. First, let s address the standard icons that are included in the chat module. Online and offline chat icons are offered in five languages and in a choice of black, white or gray. Each of the standard icons is provided with Javascript, html and direct link code that you will embed in your web site, social media or . If you simply need to integrate an invite to chat link into an , choose the option to create a text string and, from the integrate code selection, choose the direct chat URL option. Customized Chat Buttons Use of your own custom icons, however, is as easy as using those provided and enables you to reinforce your branding throughout the support experience. This option requires that you have created at least one offline and one online version of the chat icon. Place all image files in a folder on your server from where they can be accessed by your website. Specify the URL of each icon in the appropriate field in the Add Access Point function within channel creation. Page 15 of 35

16 Online and Offline Access Points - Agent Status You will notice that options are provided to display different chat icons or links to the customer depending on whether there is an available support agent or not. If an agent is available, the online chat icon will show. If there are no agents who could receive the chat request, the offline icon will be shown to the customer and an will be created from the customer need (or a ticket will be created within the Ticketing system if your company has purchased the Tickets module). An agent will normally be shown as online when they are working at their PC and offline during their non-working hours, when they are logged out. However, the offline icon will also be shown when all agents who could receive a request are already busy with the maximum number of other chat sessions. With the Users Module (or Advanced Users Module if it is purchased), you can set whether a user is online or offline at login and the user can alter their status to offline even while they are still logged into the chat module. Integrating Chat to Different Language Sites As you will have seen from the standard icons provided, access points can be created in different languages for integration into your global sites. If you have a website that will be displayed to your French-speaking customers, for example, you would choose French access points to associate to the channels for those pages. Similarly, the rules of the channels for the French website will specify French as a required skill so that chat requests from these access points are directed to a French speaking support agent. Integrating Access Point Code Once you have chosen your access point icons and have specified these for each of your channels, you will need to obtain the code for each one to integrate it at the point on your webpage or social media site that you want it to appear. This is simple to accomplish: 1. Select Channels from the chat module navigation. 2. Choose the channel that has been set up for the website you are working on and select Edit Channel. 3. Go to the entry point for the web page and click the integrate button. You will see a list of alternate code snippets to use: JavaScript, HTML or a Direct Chat URL Page 16 of 35

17 . Figure 13 - Access Point Integration Code 4. Choose the code appropriate for your purpose and enter it into your web page, social media site or . Placing a Custom Banner on the Client Chat Window After a chat request has been accepted by a support agent, a chat window will appear on the customer s screen. A default window layout is supplied with the chat module but you can also customize this to be consistent with the look and feel of your site or to accentuate your brand. To accomplish this, go to Channels Edit Channel and scroll to the bottom of the screen. In the field labelled Banner Customization, enter the https URL of an accessible image on your server that will form a banner on the customer chat window. It will also be displayed on the offline form, should there be no support agents to receive the customer s online chat request. As displayed on the example below, the image will be automatically sized to fit the window if necessary. A better result will be obtained if the image is already created in this size (382x49 pixels) so that the logo or other elements of the image are not distorted. When the URL above is entered on the NTRglobal site channel, for example, the effect is as shown below: Page 17 of 35

18 System Messages The NTR Cloud chat module provides system messages to enable companies to show customers their terms and conditions (T&Cs) and privacy policy. These messages may be shown or hidden for each channel as appropriate. The message that appears to customers is defined in the System Messages portion of the chat module. Two messages are provided as default; one for T&Cs and one for Privacy Policy. These messages are always available and cannot be edited. To create the T&Cs or Privacy Policy specific to your company, simply select one of the provided default messages and click on the Duplicate System Message button. When you click on the duplicate you will have the option to edit and delete. When editing, give the message an appropriate title and make sure that you provide the message in all languages that you need to support your chat sessions. Each system message contains five rows, one associated to each language of the chat window interface that can be defined in the entry point (English, Spanish, French, Italian and German). Page 18 of 35

19 To edit each one of these rows, select the pencil icon to the right. This will bring up the screen to modify the message in the chosen language. When editing a Privacy Policy message, you will also be able to: Write the plain text that will be shown to the customer in the chat window. Add an external URL. The content of this URL will be shown when selecting the Privacy Policy link. The Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy are enabled within the Channels features as seen below. You can show or hide the system messages in each channel. Additionally, the choice of which system message is shown is determined by channel; that is, it can be different for each. As displayed in the screen image above, customer acceptance of terms and conditions can be required or not: When the acceptance of the end user is required option is selected for the channel, the chat window will be displayed to the customer but the chat session will not start until the customer accepts the terms and conditions. Page 19 of 35

20 While the customer is reading the terms and conditions, the support agent will receive the new chat request. When the chat request is opened, the system shows that the customer is reading the terms and conditions. If the customer presses the Cancel button, the chat is finished. If the customer presses the Accept button, the chat session is initiated as usual. If the channel option is selected that does not require acceptance of the terms and conditions, they are still displayed to the customer but the chat session is initiated without further action on the customer s part. The customer can read the system message, but it is not required. If the show Privacy Policy option has been selected, the following link will be shown to the customer in the Chat window: The same Privacy Policy link is shown in the offline form, whenever there are no support agents available to answer the chat. When the customer clicks on the privacy policy link, a new window will be shown. This window will contain the text of the privacy policy or the URL, depending on the option selected when defining the system message. How to Configure Canned Messages Canned, or predefined, messages are common phrases that are available to all support agents of an account and that enable fast and accurate responses to common situations. These messages can be created by all support agents or by administrators (if the Advanced Users module is being used). To create canned messages and configure them for use, access the Chat module and select the Canned Messages option. Canned messages are structured in a multi-hierarchical fashion that can be likened to a tree where the levels are the branches and the answers are the leaves of the tree. In the example below, the tree is composed of: - A root: Canned Messages is the default root. - Four levels (or branches): Assistance, Greeting, Language Expert and Request info messages. - Multiple answers (or leaves): Two answers shown for Greeting and three answers shown for Request info. Page 20 of 35

21 To define a level, select the root or another level, and click the Add Level button (or right click over a level and select the Add Level button). Type the name of the level and click the Add button. To define an answer, select the root or another level, and click the Add Answer button (or right click over a level and select the Add Answer button). Fill out the following fields: Answer Label: This is the description of the answer that will be displayed to the agent in the chat window when searching for a canned answer. Answer Text: This is the text that will be sent to the customer when the canned answer is selected. You can insert the shortcut text [USER] within your answer and it will be replaced by the agent s name when that answer is selected from the chat window. See the support agent section on How to send canned messages for more detail and examples. Language: Answers are associated to a language. This makes it easy for the agent to filter answers by language and quickly find the one needed. Page 21 of 35

22 To modify an answer or a level, or to delete an answer or a level, just select the level or the answer and press the Modify or the Delete button. A level can only be deleted when it contains no other answers or other levels inside. Therefore the sub-levels and associated answers must be deleted first. 1. To filter the answers by language, click the quick links at top of the page. 2. To expand or collapse a level, double click over the text of the level in the tree of canned answers, or click on the left icon: This completes the Canned Messages setup. Integration with Other Modules The NTR Chat module is one of several modules available to optimize your support environment and enhance your customers experience. Within the NTR Cloud suite, chat is integrated as follows: Advanced Users Module If the Advanced Users module is active for your account, you will be able to define administrator and non-administrator users. This enables separation and specialization of duties within the organization. Administrators will set up and configure system and canned messages, new users, skills and skill groups, chat access points and channels. In addition, administrators will be able to see all chats, while non-administrator users will be able to see only the chats in which they have participated. Tickets Module The tickets module allows support agents to create a new ticket for a chat session, or link it to an existing ticket. Also, a ticket will automatically be created if the customer fills out the offline form. Tickets Page 22 of 35

23 include all chat transcripts and session details, and enable customer support agents to easily track all support activity. Reports Module The reporting feature gathers data from other modules (chat, remote desktop and tickets) and transforms it into graphical reports which can be exported to standard industry formats, including XML, PDF, Word and Excel. Remote Desktop Module has been designed to leverage remote desktop functionality, which can be purchased for integration with the chat module. If both modules are active within your account, users will be able to initiate remote desktop sessions from the chat window. When generating the remote desktop from chat, the session will be of the type control customer s computer, and some fields will be provided by default (name, duration, etc.). Page 23 of 35

24 Support Agent Guide The Call Center Chat Function As a support agent, you may be assigned the responsibility of managing chat sessions with customers. Your NTR Cloud administrator will create a user profile for you based on your particular skill areas and this will ensure that customer chat requests will correspond with your specific knowledge and abilities. Once you are set up in the system, trained on how to use chat, and open the chat console, you are available to be assigned chat requests from customers. The Chat Window The functions you have available to you in the chat window will be guided by the NTR cloud modules that your company has purchased. In the top menu, in addition to Chat you may see the following modules: Tickets: allows you to assign chats to tickets or generate a chat session from a ticket. This also allows a ticket to be created from the offline customer form. Remote Desktop: Allows you to remotely access your customer s desktop in order to better troubleshoot their issue. Page 24 of 35

25 At a minimum you will be able to access the chat module and to: See chat sessions in which you participated. Initiate a new chat session. Receive chat requests. Manage a chat session to customer issue resolution. Managing Chat Sessions Answering Chat Request/Initiating Chat Session Accepting a Chat Request When a customer requests assistance via chat and you are available, have not yet reached the maximum number of chat sessions and have the right skills, the chat may be assigned to you. You will be alerted to a new chat request as follows: Internet Explorer: You will see a blinking window icon at the bottom of your screen and hear a sound. Google Chrome: If you have notifications enabled, you will see a popup at the bottom of your screen. Accept the request as noted below. Chat sessions proceed as follows: 1. To accept the request, click on the blinking box in the bottom bar of the console. 2. Once you accept the request, a new chat window appears on your screen. Page 25 of 35

26 3. If your company chooses to have your customers accept the Terms and Conditions before entering the chat session, you may see an initial message indicating that the customer is reading the T&Cs. Once they are done and click on Accept the chat session can progress. 4. The chat session is now initiated. Rejecting a Request for a Chat Session To reject the request, click on the x icon which appears when you mouse over the chat request window shown in the bottom bar of your chat screen. Initiating a Chat Request From time to time you may find it useful to initiate a chat with your customer. This is accomplished by clicking on the chat icon labeled Create Session in the lower bar of your chat console. This will provide a URL and session number that you can give to your customer. Once the customer has joined the connection you will see the message that the session is active and the chat window will open. Managing Active Chats Invite Other Users to Join Your Chat While you are chatting with a customer, you may also invite other support agents to join your chat session and collaboratively resolve the incident. 1. In the chat window, click the Invite to Chat button: Page 26 of 35

27 2. The following screen will be displayed: Support agents who are currently online will be shown in the list. You can select an agent directly, or you can search for a specific support agent by typing characters of their first or last name in the search box at the top of the window. Any comments entered at this point are optional but help the invited agent understand how best to offer assistance. Invite to chat messages will be shown only to you and the invited support agent, not to the customer. 3. Click on a user in the list, type your comment and press the Invite button. Page 27 of 35

28 4. The selected user will receive a new chat request invite in the bottom bar of their console. If the user has achieved the max number of conversations, the chat will appear in the bottom bar anyway. The support agent will join your chat if they choose to accept it. 5. If the support agent accepts your request, both agents can now chat with the customer. If the first agent closes the chat, the invited agent will continue to participate in the chat. If this happens, the chat is transferred to the second agent. Special considerations: The session will be concluded when only one person remains in the chat (the customer or a support agent) because the others have disconnected. Support agents could continue to talk between themselves if the customer has left the chat. There is no limit to the number of support agents who participate in a chat. All of the agents who have participated in the chat will be considered attendees in the list of chats. Multiple Chat Windows Your administrator will limit the maximum number of concurrent chats that can be assigned to you so that you are able to be effective in responding quickly to customers and managing your workload. The number will be set dependent on the complexity of the chat sessions, the number of requests, the number of available support agents, and other considerations. If you have achieved the maximum number of conversations as specified in your profile, you will not be able to receive more chats until one of your active conversations finishes. An exception to this rule is if you are invited to chat by another agent: see the Invite to Chat section. Chat Status As a support agent, you are considered online when you are available to receive new chat requests and offline when you are not available. Typically you would be online during your working hours and offline during your non-working time. However, in some instances you may be permitted to specify if you are offline even during working hours and you will see in your chat console the function to change your status. This may be useful when you need to take extra uninterrupted time to troubleshoot a specific issue, or if your role requires you to answer chat requests only part of the time. Your status is always shown in the upper-left corner of the console next to the settings button. When you are online, your profile image will be shown in color. When you are offline your profile image will be gray: Page 28 of 35

29 If you are able to change your status, click the arrow next to the status image, and select the Online or the Offline status as applicable. Canned Messages As you become used to responding to customer chat requests, you will find yourself using the same phrases over and over again. Typically these types of messages are in the form of a greeting, sign off, explanation of a provided web link, etc. In order to speed up the process and relieve the tedium of typing these messages, chat provides canned messages, allowing you to send predefined answers to customers in various languages. Standard, or canned, messages are typically defined and configured by your administrator. Once defined, you will be able to see and use them from the lower menu bar in your chat window. 1. In the chat window, click the Canned Messages button. Page 29 of 35

30 2. The next screen is displayed: Canned messages are set up in a hierarchy to help you navigate as quickly as possible to the one you need. The first layer is called a Level and could be something like Greetings. Inside the level may be other levels such as Hello and Goodbye. Each of the levels will contain Answers. An answer is the text that will appear in the customer s chat window. Answers also have a language tag so that you can easily select the language appropriate for the customer. Additionally, filters are provided to speed the process even further: - Level: Select a level to show only the phrases that are relevant for your particular situation. - Text filter: If you know the phrase you need contains a certain word, type it here to reduce your list of choices even further. - Language: Select a language to show only the phrases in that language. By default, the language selected is the one associated to your User Settings., but you can choose a different language as needed. The answer labels are shown in the resulting list of answers. As you mouse-over an answer, the full answer text will pop up on the screen to enable you to easily see if that is the phrase for which you are searching. You can scroll up or down. 3. Once you have found the right phrase, click on the answer label. The answer text will be added to the Message field and can be edited before being sent to the customer. If the answer contains the shortcut [USER], this field will be replaced by your name when the message is displayed in the customer s chat window. Modify the text if needed and click the Send button. The chosen message will be sent to your customer. Page 30 of 35

31 Transferring Chat As mentioned earlier in this document, you can invite another support agent to collaborate with you in resolving the customer s issue by inviting the other support agent into the chat session. If you determine that you are no longer adding value and you wish to transfer the session to the invited support agent, simply close the chat. The invited support agent and the customer will continue in the chat session. Closing a Chat To close a chat session, close the chat window or click the x in the filmstrip bar located at the bottom of the page. Viewing the Chat List The system provides a list of all past and present chats and their status. To view the chat list, go to the Chat tab in the top bar and select the All Chats link. The list contains the following columns: Status icons: Displays the current status of the chat conversation as an icon. The chat status icons include: o o o o o o Started: The customer has clicked the chat button but the support agent hasn t responded yet Ongoing: The support agent has answered the customer and the conversation is underway Attended: The conversation has ended correctly Unattended: The support agent didn t respond to the customer s request Abandoned by customer: The support agent answered the request but the customer didn t write anything in the chat window Communication error: A connection error occurred that caused the chat to end Date and time the chat started Page 31 of 35