Decoding Help Desk Tickets: Understanding Their Role and Impact in Customer Support

Help desks play a crucial role in enabling seamless customer support for businesses.

One of the main ways they do this is by converting every customer query or request into a help desk ticket and routing it to a support agent.

A help desk ticket is used to keep track of customer issues, ensuring that each concern gets timely resolution and attention.

Help desk tickets are also crucial to getting insights into a customer’s experience with your business. They can help you build a continuous cycle of improvement based on real feedback from your customers.

In this article, we talk about help desks, explain what they are, and why they are important in customer support.

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What is A Help Desk Ticket?

A help desk ticket is a record of a customer’s request for assistance, typically with a technical issue or any other problem associated with a product or service they are using. It is created when a customer contacts a brand via email, phone, or any other communication channel.

Once the customer contacts the brand, then the request comes into a help desk where it gets converted into a ticket.

Here’s a breakdown of how it usually works:

Initiation

When a user encounters an issue or has a question, they might contact the brand via phone, email, or a web portal. The ticketing system then creates a new ticket to record the user’s request.

The ticket typically contains a variety of details about the request such as:

• Ticket ID/Number: A unique identifier to track the ticket.
• User Information: Details about the person making the request, such as their name, email address, phone number, and sometimes location or department.
• Problem Description: A detailed account of the problem or question, including any error messages or steps to reproduce the issue.
• Priority Level: Some systems allow for prioritization (e.g., low, medium, high, urgent) based on the severity or impact of the issue.
• Status: This indicates the ticket’s current state, such as “Open,” “Pending,” “Resolved,” or “Closed.”
• Timestamps: These indicate when the ticket was created, modified, or closed.

Ticket Assignment

Once a help desk ticket has been created, it is then assigned to an agent who has the expertise to resolve the customer’s issue. They can update the status of the ticket as it progresses towards resolution and also document how the issue was resolved.

Agents can also continuously communicate with customers and update them about the progress of the ticket and also give them an ETA on when the issue can be resolved.

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Escalation

If a customer query cannot be addressed by the agent or team which first receives the ticket, it is then escalated to a higher level of support.

Resolution and Closure

Once the issue is addressed, the ticket’s status is changed to “Resolved” or “Closed,” and a resolution summary is often provided. The user might be asked to confirm if the solution is satisfactory, and in some systems, they might also be asked to complete a customer satisfaction survey.

Reporting and Analysis

Ticketing systems often have reporting tools that allow managers to analyze data, such as the volume of tickets, resolution time, common issues, and user feedback. This information can be used to identify patterns and trends in customer issues, enabling support teams to understand and proactively address customer concerns.

The Importance of A Help Desk Ticket

Help desk tickets play a crucial role in the effective operation of customer support functions. It can transform a chaotic flow of support requests into a well-organized, efficient, and user-friendly process, ultimately leading to better outcomes for both support staff and end-customers.

Here are some of the most important uses of help desk tickets:

• Organization and Prioritization: It is essential to have a system in place to organize any and all customer requests coming in. Tickets can be prioritized based on their urgency, ensuring that critical issues are addressed promptly.
• Accountability: Each ticket typically has an assigned technician or support agent. This ensures someone is responsible for addressing the issue and provides a clear chain of accountability.
• Documentation: Tickets provide a historical record of issues and their solutions. This can be invaluable for training new staff or for referring back to previously resolved issues.
• Resource Allocation: By analyzing ticket trends, managers can identify areas that might need additional resources or training. For instance, if a new software release results in a spike in tickets, additional training or patches might be required.

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The Different Types of Help Desk Tickets

Help desk tickets can be categorized in various ways depending on the nature of the issues reported and the department in which the help desk operates (e.g., IT, customer service, facilities management).

Here are some common types of help desk tickets:

1. Technical Issues

• Hardware: Related to physical devices such as computers, printers, phones, or other peripherals malfunctioning.
• Software: Issues with specific software applications. For instance, if they’re not functioning correctly, producing errors, or causing system crashes.
• Network: Concerning connectivity problems, slow network speed, or issues accessing network resources.

2. Account and Access Management

• Password Resets: Requests for password changes or resets.
• Permission Issues: When a user can’t access a specific resource or file due to permissions.
• Account Creation/Deletion: Requests to create new user accounts or remove existing ones.

3. Service Requests

• Software Installation: When a user needs a specific software application installed.
• Hardware Upgrades: Requests for newer or more powerful hardware components.
• Resource Allocation: In cloud environments, this could be requests for more storage or computing power.

4. Inquiries and Information

• How-to Questions: Users seeking guidance on using a particular software or hardware.
• General Inquiries: Questions about company policies, software licensing, etc.

5. Incident Reports

• Outages: Users reaching out when a service, application, or network goes down.
• Security Incidents: Any perceived breach or vulnerability.

6. Feedback and Complaints

• Bug Reports: Users reporting flaws or issues with software applications.
• Feature Requests: Suggestions for new features or improvements.
• User Complaints: Discontent with a service or product.

7. Routine Maintenance

• Scheduled Upgrades: Pre-planned upgrades to software or hardware.
• Routine Checkups: Periodic reviews or audits of systems or accounts.

8. Purchase or Procurement

• Hardware Purchase: Request for buying new equipment.
• Software Licensing: Obtaining or renewing software licenses.

9. External Support

• Third-party Vendor Issues: If an organization uses third-party services, issues related to these services may need to be coordinated through the help desk.

10. Training and Education

• Training Requests: Users asking for training sessions on specific tools or platforms.
• Resource Inquiries: Asking for manuals, how-to guides, or tutorial videos.

11. Escalation Tickets

• Issues that couldn’t be resolved at the first level of support and require attention from senior or specialized staff.

Different organizations might categorize and prioritize these tickets based on their unique needs, but the overarching goal remains the same: to efficiently address and resolve the reported issues or requests.

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How Does Efficient Ticket Handling Boost Customer Satisfaction?

Help desk tickets play an important role in helping resolve customer queries in an efficient and timely manner. This, in turn, creates positive customer experiences which leads to increased loyalty and better brand perception.

Here’s a more in-depth look at how efficient ticket handling can boost customer satisfaction.

• Quick Response Time: One of the primary factors influencing customer satisfaction is how quickly issues are addressed. Efficient ticket handling ensures that users don’t have to wait long before their concerns are acknowledged and resolved.
• Clear Communication: When tickets are managed efficiently, support teams can keep customers informed about the progress of their issues, potential solutions, and estimated resolution times. Transparency and open communication build trust.
• Personalization: Efficient ticket systems can track past interactions, preferences, and solutions provided to a specific customer. This information can be used to offer personalized service, making customers feel valued.
• Reduced Repeated Issues: Help desks tickets are key to identifying patterns in customer issues. Recognizing these patterns can result in proactive measures, preventing the recurrence of the same problems, and hence, reducing customer frustration.
• Building Trust: When customers see that their issues are handled efficiently, systematically, and with care, it builds trust. They’re more likely to believe that the company values their business and is committed to their satisfaction.

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Best Practices for Managing Help Desk Tickets

Effectively managing help desk tickets is pivotal for ensuring customer satisfaction and streamlining internal operations. 

Here are some best practices for managing help desk tickets:

• Prioritize Tickets: Not all tickets are of equal importance. Use a system to categorize tickets based on urgency and impact. For instance, issues that affect many users or critical business functions should get priority.
• Categorize and Tag: Clearly categorize and tag tickets based on their nature (e.g., software, hardware, network) to streamline the resolution process and to make it easier to assign to the right technician or team.
• Automate Where Possible: Use automated workflows to handle standard requests like password resets or common queries. This speeds up resolution and reduces the load on human agents.
• Clear Communication: Always keep the user informed about the status of their ticket, especially if there are delays. This includes setting clear expectations about resolution times.
• Use a Knowledge Base: Maintain an updated knowledge base or FAQ section. It can help in quickly resolving common issues and can empower users to find solutions on their own. This is also a great way to reduce the volume of support tickets and improving the productivity of agents.
• Set Clear SLAs (Service Level Agreements): Define and communicate clear SLAs. These are commitments regarding response times, resolution times, and other aspects of service.
• Assign Ownership: Every ticket should have a clear owner responsible for its resolution. This ensures accountability and reduces the chances of tickets getting lost or overlooked.
• Escalate Appropriately: Have a clear escalation process for tickets that can’t be resolved at the first level or require higher expertise.
• Track and Measure: Use metrics and analytics to gauge the performance of your help desk. Monitor metrics like First Call Resolution (FCR),Average Handle Time (AHT),and Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores.
• Consistent Training: Ensure that your support staff is regularly trained on new products, software updates, and best practices in customer service.
• Review and Learn: Regularly review challenging tickets or those that took longer to resolve. This can be an opportunity to learn and find areas for improvement.

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Hiver – A Robust Help Desk Ticketing Systems to Streamline Customer Support

Effective ticket management requires a robust help desk system. One that is user-friendly, customizable, and capable of generating reports for analysis.

This is where a powerful multi-channel help desk like Hiver comes in handy. The platform is built for teams on Google Workspace and enables you to offer customer support across email, live chat, knowledge base, and phone.

Aside from this, Hiver has a number of features that allow you to manage customer support with ease.

• Easy-to-use interface: Hiver works right out of Gmail. This means your teams can get started with using it right away. No extensive training required.
• Internal collaboration features: You no longer need to rely on endless CCs and Forwards to get your team’s inputs. Simply @mention your colleague right next to a customer conversation and they will be notified immediately.
• Smart automations: Hiver allows your agents to work smarter by automating repetitive tasks and enabling them to focus on complex issues that require their attention.
• Insightful reporting and analytics: You can track your team’s performance and identify bottlenecks in the support process by analyzing in-depth reports and key metrics

Beyond its comprehensive features and its capability to enhance the customer journey, teams also love Hiver because of the impeccable 24/7 support it offers its customers.

If you are curious to know more, simply sign up for a free 7 day trial and learn how Hiver can help your business amp up the support experience.