Tickets, Please?

The fact that many of you know our entire support department by name is a good thing in my books. It seems rather rare in this day and age to immediately recognize the voice on the other end of the support line, much less recognize it as something other than the computerized voice of an automated switchboard.

For me, the human touch is imperative, and to that end we make great effort to ensure all of our calls are answered by a live person.

All that being said, there are times I call support and I know what my issue is, or have already reported it and am simply looking for a quick status update. In cases such as these, having to listen to Liam chat enthusiastically about his weekend while he searches for my ticket might not be what I want to hear at 6.30am on a Monday morning.

(No offense, Liam!)

So, there has to be balance - and in the same way that I value the ability to speak to the friendly teller, I place equal value on the ability to complete my banking online.

To that end, we have begun thinking about ways in which we can enable and empower you - the loyal customer, and make your interactions with us as pleasant and efficient as possible.

Some of you may have noticed in calling support or corresponding over email the use of 'ticket numbers'. These represent the unique tracking numbers assigned to the issues or features you have reported or requested. Up until now, these numbers have ever only benefited you indirectly, in that they ensured your issue was tracked through our business all the way to resolution.

Based upon customer feedback and internal suggestion, we have decided to begin sending these ticket numbers by email whenever an issue is reported, for quick reference when calling in future, or for managing the ticket online - (Did you know you can add, edit and prioritize tickets online!? I'll be writing about this topic in my next article...)

- The idea being of course being that you get served faster when calling, have better tools for managing your existing support issues, and only have to hear about Liam's weekend if you ask!

So what's the moral of the story? Well, don't be shy about demanding a little more out of our already exceptional service - especially if you know your ticket number.

Cheers