The importance of using a ticketing system.

September 28, 2017 by
The importance of using a ticketing system.
Lighthouse IT Solutions, Matthew Almendinger

Printer not working? Computer frozen up? Is the WI-FI down? Whenever our clients have a tech problem, the help-desk has always been there to help. Harmony's help desk has made it easy for them to simply fill out a ticket with us describing their problem, email us, or even call in for quick assistance.

How is it we do not get overwhelmed?

There is an issue that we (and most other IT companies) face... When people run into a problem and they need us to fix it, they may submit their problems to the help-desk, but when everyone stops using the help-desk portal we lose traction from the oscillate of problems that are not automatically being tracked. Emails to personal accounts, calling cell phones or even just stopping a technician in the hallway to express their VoIP concerns can all get lost in the void.

Does this sound familiar? Well there are a few tips that everyone should know about IT to get quicker help:

Writing a ticket subject that matches what your issue is can help immensely. Say the problem is that phones have gone down around the office; simply saying in the subject line, “Help, needs fixed ASAP!” only gets this ticket pushed further down the funnel since we cannot assess the situation. Saying, “Phones down!” or “The phone system has stopped working.” Will let us instantly know that this is critical and can know precisely how to start working on the problem.

A detailed description allows us to fully understand what needs to be done to resolve the problem. It can also help us know whose computer, where the issue is located, and sometimes even know the solution right away. A detailed ticket description can also allow us to see where you are in the resolution process. Say you are trying to connect a device to your computer. If you include in the ticket description that you have already restarted the computer, we can skip that step and get right into the heart of the problem. Take a moment to describe the issue in-depth, because more information is the key to faster help.

Responding to a ticket being completed is not necessary. As nice as it seems, saying, “Thanks!” to an email letting you know that the issue has been resolved just opens the ticket back up on our side. If we try and close it again, you will receive an email saying that it's been completed again, which either leads to confusion or another “Thanks!” email and the cycle continues. Another point to make is that you should always submit a ticket per issue you face. This helps us keep track of the individual issues all at once.

Here are some things to NOT do:

  • Don't email personal accounts of the technicians.
  • Don't call or leave messages (text/voice-mail) on a tech's personal cell phone
  • Don't tell them in person in hopes that they will remember

Here are some things to do:

Remember, if you want to be in our face with your critical issue, use the helpdesk. Email us or simply call in, we can help create the ticket for you!

Want some reasons why the ticketing system is great?

These are several reasons why using the help-desk ticket system helps us out (and in turn helps you.)

Instant feedback - Once your ticket is in our system, an automated reply goes out to you saying that we have received and are working on the issue. Soon after a tech will respond to you saying that it has been assigned.

Multiple people helping - The ticket system allows for the entire office to work on the problem, not just one tech. Once you send in a ticket, everyone in the office receives a notification allowing for others to help take the load.

Better tracking for us and you - While your ticket is in our system it won't be buried by other emails or texts. From there we're able to research, make notes, and reply to you until your ticket is complete.

Want to submit a ticket or become a client?

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