Host Excellence Client Helpdesk Version 1.0 1
Table of Contents 1 Accessing the Helpdesk... 3 2 What Is A Helpdesk Ticket?... 3 3 Ticket Overview... 3 3.1 Ticket Status... 4 3.2 Ticket Category... 4 3.3 Explanation of Ticket Fields... 5 4 Create a New Ticket... 6 5 Viewing Your Open Tickets... 9 6 Updating an Open Ticket... 10 7 Closing an Open Ticket... 11 7.1 Viewing Your Closed Tickets... 11 7.2 Reopening a Closed Ticket... 13 8 Rating (Optional)... 13 9 Searching For Tickets... 14 10 Showing More Tickets... 14 Introduction The purpose of the helpdesk is to provide a central location for you to interact with company employees to resolve any problems, ask questions, and / or discuss any concerns you may have. Using this new helpdesk Host Excellence provides a gateway to many different areas of support; Affiliate, Billing, Comment, Sales, and Technical support. It is the one stop for all your questions and concerns and will eliminate all kinds of run-arounds. 2
1 Accessing the Helpdesk In order to access the helpdesk you must first login to your control panel by visiting http://manage.hostexcellence.com/. Once you are logged into this area you will notice an image on the top left of your screen which says 24/7 Helpdesk. Clicking on this link will bring you to your helpdesk account. 2 What Is A Helpdesk Ticket? A helpdesk ticket is an electronically created task which is sent from you to our customer support representatives. Through this ticket you can ask any questions, express your concerns, and / or submit any comments you may have. They allow us to track issues of concern for customers. At any time you may review old tickets and refer to them as needed. When a ticket has been submitted you will receive a ticket identification number. This is a unique number which will never be duplicated. This ticket identification number, otherwise known as TID, can be given to any customer service representative at anytime and they will be able to search by this number to find the ticket. 3 Ticket Overview Once you are logged into the helpdesk you will be presented with a menu of options. On this screen you will also be shown how many tickets you have which are Open, Waiting, On-Hold, or Resolved. If there are no tickets for a specific ticket status type, then it is not shown. 3
3.1 Ticket Status Each ticket has a certain status. You can find a description of all possible settings for the ticket status below: 1) Open: When a new ticket has been created it will show open. This tells you the ticket is currently pending action to be taken from our customer support department. 2) On-Hold: When a customer service representative reviews your ticket, they may place the ticket in an On-Hold status. The ticket may require more time or a response from our administrators to complete your inquiry. 3) Waiting: This signifies that a customer service representative needs further information on a ticket from you. Once we receive your reply we will be able to continue working on your inquiry. 4) Resolved: A resolved status means we have completed your inquiry. At this point in time we recommend reviewing the contents of the ticket, perform any additional testing that is necessary on your part, and if the ticket was in fact resolved, please close the ticket. 5) Closed: The ticket can only be closed by you. It is recommended after your ticket has been resolved to please close the ticket immediately. The ticket will not be lost, but we will archive it. You can review it at any later point of time via the Helpdesk in your control panel. 3.2 Ticket Category Each ticket belongs to a specific category. You can find a description of all possible settings for the ticket category below: 1) Technical: If you are having technical difficulties or to request technical assistance for a situation you are encountering. 4
2) Billing: For any billing questions or concerns. If you are requesting a credit, refund, or cancellation of your account you should select this option. You can also choose this option if you have a question regarding the billing aspects of your account. 3) Sales: Sales related questions, regardless if you are a new or existing account holder. If you would like to inquire about our services such as upgrading / downgrading or what we offer please choose this option. 4) Affiliate: Choose this option if your inquiry concerns our affiliate program. If you are an affiliate and have any outstanding commissions, you can post your inquiry to this category. 5) Comment: General comments, suggestions or concerns should use this category. Please only use this category for inquiries that do not fall into any other category. 3.3 Explanation of Ticket Fields Whether you are viewing open or closed tickets you will always be presented with a list of fields. Below is a definition guide: 1) TID: This is your unique ticket identification. 2) Category: This is a group that helps us determine the best department to handle your inquiry. 3) Subject: The title of the ticket. 4) Account Link: If applicable, the affected domain name or all domain names listed on your account. If this is a general inquiry you will only see General Inquiry. 5) Created: The date of the initial ticket submission. 6) Time Passed: The length of time which your ticket has been waiting since it was last updated. If the ticket is on the Resolved status, this column will ask you to review the proposed solution. In case we need further information from you this column will ask you to Please Respond. 7) Verification: If you have emailed a ticket to the helpdesk or you have replied to a ticket via email, you must verify that it was you who sent this email. If the 5
ticket is not verified, we will not be able to assist in any irreversible account changes. By clicking on the name of each field you can sort by ascending or descending information. 4 Create a New Ticket To create a new trouble ticket click on the Create new ticket link found at the top of your screen. From the dropdown list choose your type of inquiry. Based on the type of inquiry you have selected, you may have additional options. Below is a guide which will explain what will happen: 1) General Inquiry: By choosing this option you will be taken to an area where you can submit your inquiry. Example 1: You would choose this option if you do not yet have an account. Example 2: You would choose this option if you already have a hosting account but you would not like to associate your inquiry to your existing account. Possibly you are inquiring about opening a new account or purchasing a new domain name. 2) Existing Account: By choosing this option you will be given several new options before you are able to submit your inquiry. Example: You would choose this option if you already have a hosting account and would like to inquire about a specific situation with your account. Possibly you have a billing dispute or a technical situation. After selecting Existing Account you must select an account link: 6
If your inquiry concerns your web-hosting service, please choose the option my web-hosting service. If your inquiry concerns a domain name we registered for you, please choose the option registration of my domain(s). By choosing an account link you assist us in determining the area of support you are inquiring about and ensuring a faster response and resolution to your problem. After selecting the type of account link you must now choose the domain name your inquiry concerns. If your inquiry is based on two or more domains, please choose the option All or Several Sites. If you have selected the All or Several Sites option, please list the individual domains in your inquiry. After you have completed the new ticket phase you will be taken to an area where you can submit your inquiry. Below is a guide which will explain each part of the helpdesk ticket: Please note: All fields marked with a blue * are required. 1) The author text field is where you will place your first and last name. 2) The reply-to text field is used for returning an email once the ticket has been updated. Please double check that the email address is valid and confirm the email address in the confirmation text field. 3) Choose a category from the dropdown list. 7
You will be presented with Affiliate, Billing, Comment, Sales, and Technical support options. It is important that you direct your inquiry to the correct department as this will ensure you receive a reply as quickly as possible. 4) Enter a subject in the text field. This will also be used to easily and quickly identify your inquiry. For example: Domain registration. 5) Enter your inquiry in the large reply text box. Please be as descriptive as possible. Also be certain to include any example links. If there is a problem please explain how to replicate the situation. If the area is password protected please list a username / password combination so we may access the area immediately, and any other detailed information you feel would be useful to add in your inquiry. If you need more or less viewing space please click on the Increase Size or Decrease Size links under the large text box. 6) If it is necessary to add an attachment to better explain or visualize the issue, please use the attachment option. 8
By clicking on the browse button it will open a new window which will enable you to find a specific file on your computer. If you need to upload more than one file, please click on the link above the attachment option that states Click here to add additional upload fields. It will prompt you to state how many attachment fields are needed. For example: Screenshots, SSL certificates, or program documentation may be a few of the items you would attach to assist us with your inquiry. 7) At the bottom of the screen you will find a button named Create Ticket. Clicking on this button will submit your ticket to our customer service representatives and will be serviced as soon as possible. When the ticket has been submitted you will be presented with the following information in the example below. The ticket ID can be used at anytime as a reference when contacting our support representatives. 5 Viewing Your Open Tickets Once you have accessed the helpdesk you will be presented with any open tickets. An open ticket is considered any ticket which status is set to Open, On-Hold, Waiting, and Resolved, in other words, all tickets that have not been closed yet. A resolved ticket is shown in your open ticket category and will remain there until you close the ticket. You can read the contents of a ticket by clicking on the ticket identification number. When reading the history of the ticket, you will find the oldest information on the top and the newest at the bottom; just like a book. 9
If at anytime a ticket contains an attachment, you will find the properties of the attachment contained within the message history. As seen below: By clicking on the name of the file it will ask you to download the file to your computer. The File Type shows you what type of file it is. 6 Updating an Open Ticket By clicking on the ticket identification number you will be presented with the information contained within the ticket. From this area you can change several aspects of the ticket. 1) Account Link: By clicking the Change button next to the Account Link you can change several different options. a. Type; General Inquiry, Existing Account. b. Account Link; my web-hosting services, registration of my domain(s). c. Domain: Choose one domain, All or Several Domains. 2) Author: This text field is where you place your first and last name. 3) Reply-To: The reply-to text field is used for returning an email once the ticket has been updated. Please be certain the email address is valid and confirm the email address in the confirmation text field. 4) Category: You will be presented with Affiliate, Billing, Comment, Sales, and Technical support. It is important you direct your inquiry to the correct department as this will ensure you receive a reply as quickly as possible. 5) Subject: Enter a subject in the text field. This will also be used to easily and quickly identify your inquiry. 6) Reply: Enter your inquiry in the large reply text box labeled Reply to this ticket. Please be as descriptive as possible when updating your ticket. By supplying us with as much information as possible we will be able to quickly resolve your inquiry. 10
7) Attachments: If it is necessary to add an attachment to better explain or visualize the issue, please use the attachment option. Once you have completed all the necessary information press the Save button. You should notice the following information once updated: 7 Closing an Open Ticket By clicking on the ticket identification number you will be presented with the information contained within the ticket. At the top of your screen you will find a link called Close Ticket. By clicking this link you will be closing the ticket and it will no longer be serviced by a support representative. You may also click on the closed ticket icon shown above in the ticket overview screen that is automatically displayed when you click on 24 / 7 Helpdesk. You can also close multiple tickets that have been set to resolved by selecting the check boxes next to them and then clicking on the button labeled Close as shown in the above picture. Closed tickets are archived and can be searched for at any time. 7.1 Viewing Your Closed Tickets If you would like to view your closed tickets use the link at the top of the page which says View closed tickets. 11
You can read the contents of a ticket by clicking on the ticket identification number. 12
7.2 Reopening a Closed Ticket Once a ticket has been closed, you may only reopen it within 7 days of it being closed. Please note that for new issues new tickets should be created in order to avoid confusion and ensure faster resolution to your new inquiry. You may always refer to an old closed ticket in any new ticket by including the TID number and how it relates to the new inquiry. To reopen a ticket, make any updates needed to let us know what area you are still concerned with in the textbox. Click on the Re-Open this ticket button when you are done. We will review the ticket and act accordingly to resolve the outstanding issue. 8 Rating (Optional) You will be able to rate each reply given by a customer service representative. This rating is optional. We will use this information to improve our level of service by finding where we are lacking in customer support. Once a rating has been added it cannot be changed anymore by yourself or by our customer support representatives. You may also disable rating on a ticket at any time by clicking on the button labeled Don t Rate this Ticket. Any rating that have already been made are still saved, however, no new replies will have a rating option. If the rating for a ticket has been disabled, at your discretion it can be enabled again. Use the button labeled Rate this Ticket to allow for ratings of replies to be set once again. Keep in mind that once a rating is chosen for a reply it cannot be undone. The entire 13
rating mechanism is hidden from our customer service staff and they can not assist in modifying them. 9 Searching For Tickets You can search for a ticket at anytime, regardless of its status. If you know of any information which was part of the ticket please type the information into one of the respected text fields or select the option from the appropriate dropdown list. Please note that the information entered into the search criteria does not have to be exact. 10 Showing More Tickets By default only 10 tickets are shown per page. You can easily change this option by entering a larger number in the text field next to the button called Show. 14