HelpSpace main objective is to assist. If a customer experiences an issue, they can reach out to you via email. Our app converts the email into a ticket for easy management.
Inbox
The inbox is the communication hub with your customers. It shows you all tickets, and it is divided into five categories:
Unassigned is where all new tickets first appear. This is where the support process begins and tickets are automatically assigned to the first agent who responds.
Mine is your personal inbox, displaying all tickets that have been assigned to you. You are responsible for responding to and helping your customers with these tickets.
Watching is the inbox where you can view all tickets that you have been assigned as a watcher on. This means that you will be able to keep an eye on the progress and updates of these tickets, but will not be responsible for actively addressing them.
Assigned is the inbox for all other agents, where they handle customer inquiries.
Closed is the inbox that shows all completed tickets for all agents.
Spam is the inbox for unwanted tickets.
Trash is the bin for all deleted tickets. Tickets will be permanently deleted after 30 days. The admin can move them to another inbox.
From each inbox, you can reply to a message, change its status, add tags, or assign it to another agent.
Each inbox also displays a number next to the name, indicating the number of open and escalated tickets (not waiting tickets). This helps you easily identify where your assistance is needed. If no number is displayed, then there are no tickets awaiting a reply.
Below the individual inboxes, you will find team inboxes, if you have created teams within the platform. Teams are a useful feature, as they allow you to organize and assign tickets to specific groups of agents who share responsibility for a certain product or role.
Status
Each ticket has a status that describes its current situation. Only an agent can change the status, and it partially corresponds to the inbox name. Customer cannot change the status.
Open is the status for tickets that are currently being processed by an agent. This is indicated by a digit next to the inbox title. Open tickets are at the top of the list. Once an agent replies, the status changes to Waiting. Open tickets can be found in the Unassigned, Mine, and Assigned inboxes.
Escalated is similar to Open, but has a higher priority. Escalated tickets are at the very top of the list.
Waiting means that the ticket is awaiting a customer response. These tickets are shown in grayed out and at the bottom of the list. Once the customer replies, the ticket's status changes back to its original status (Open or Escalated).
Closed means that the ticket is completed and can be only found in the Closed inbox.
Spam denotes tickets that are unwanted and can be only found in the Spam inbox.
Assignment
You can assign a ticket to an individual agent or a team, allowing for collaboration and sharing of workload. This feature is particularly useful when a customer's request or issue requires a specialist's attention.
Additionally, when you reply to a ticket, you will automatically be assigned ownership of the ticket, indicating that you are responsible for addressing the customer's request or issue.
Reply
The Reply button is a frequently used feature that allows you to open a new message box and respond to your customers. In this message box, you can for example adjust the text size and color, create lists, add links, attach files, and insert pictures.
When you reply to a ticket, you will automatically be assigned ownership of the ticket.
One feature worth highlighting is Quick Replies. Quick Replies are pre-written responses that can be added to any message. To use this feature, simply write your message, click on the speech bubble icon in the top-right corner, and save it. You can also insert or edit Quick Replies from this same location.
Another useful function is the ability to search in the knowledge base for answers and insert links to relevant articles. This can greatly accelerate the support process and save time.
For further information about the reply box, please refer to the article The reply-box in detail.
Forward
Instead of simply replying to a message, you can also forward it to multiple recipients. This feature allows you to share important information or updates with a group of people. Additionally, you can use the CC (carbon copy) and BCC (blind carbon copy) fields to include additional recipients in the message. This can be useful for keeping certain individuals informed or for hiding the recipient list from certain recipients.
Add Note
You can write internal notes that are only visible to other users within your HelpSpace workspace. This feature allows you to share essential updates and the progress of your work with your colleagues. Additionally, you can mention other users by typing @username within the note. This will automatically add them as a watcher and they will receive a notification. This way, you can easily keep your team updated.
Tags
By adding one or more tags to a ticket, you can easily categorize and organize it. This helps to quickly identify and sort tickets based on specific characteristics, such as the type of request or the department it needs to be forwarded to.
Additionally, you can evaluate the tags in the reports later and see which types of tickets you receive most frequently. This allows you to gain insight into your customers' needs and optimize your support processes.
Add watchers
Add watchers to inform your colleagues and keep them updated on the progress of a ticket. Watchers will receive notifications about updates to the ticket, allowing for easy communication and collaboration within your team. You can also remove watchers from the ticket as needed. This feature allows you to keep your team informed and updated on important customer requests or issues.
Additional information in the right sidebar
The right sidebar displays additional information about the customer, such as their contact information, the channel they used to contact you, and the assigned agent or team. From here, you can directly open or edit the customer's information.
Additionally, you can view the customer's other tickets, which allows you to see any other requests they have made and the status of those requests.
Furthermore, you can create tasks associated with the ticket, which can then be assigned, scheduled, and documented internally. This allows multiple agents to work on a customer's request simultaneously, providing a solution quickly and efficiently.
Optionally, you can also insert a custom sidebar, which can display information from other applications you use, such as a webshop, CRM, or ERP.
