Ticket Management

The Ticket Lifecycle

Understanding the lifecycle of a support ticket helps you manage customer inquiries effectively. In AchieveApex, tickets typically follow this journey:

1. Creation: A ticket is created when a customer sends an email or message
2. Triage: The ticket is categorized, prioritized, and assigned
3. Work in Progress: Your team works on resolving the issue
4. Customer Communication: Updates are sent to the customer
5. Resolution: The issue is resolved and the ticket is closed

Working with the Ticket List

The ticket list view is your central hub for managing all customer support inquiries. This section shows you how to navigate and use this view effectively.

Understanding the Ticket List

The ticket list displays all active tickets with essential information:

• Subject and reference number
• Customer name and email
• Current status and priority
• Assigned agent
• Tags
• Last update time
• Unread message indicators

Filtering and Sorting Tickets

To find specific tickets quickly, use the filtering and sorting options:

• Status Filter: View only Open, Pending, Closed, or Waiting for Customer tickets
• Priority Filter: Filter by Low, Medium, High, or Urgent priority
• Assignment Filter: Show tickets assigned to specific agents or unassigned tickets
• Tag Filter: Filter tickets by specific tags
• Sort Options: Sort by creation date, last update, priority, or status

Bulk Actions

For efficient ticket management, you can perform actions on multiple tickets at once:

1. Select tickets by checking the boxes next to them
2. Use the bulk actions menu to perform actions like:
   • Assign to an agent
   • Change status
   • Update priority
   • Add or remove tags
   • Delete tickets (use with caution)

Managing Individual Tickets

When you open a specific ticket, you'll access the ticket detail view where you can manage all aspects of the customer interaction.

Ticket Detail View

The ticket detail view consists of several key sections:

• Message Thread: The chronological conversation with the customer
• Reply Area: Where you can compose responses
• Ticket Properties: Status, priority, assignment, and other settings
• Customer Information: Details about the customer who submitted the ticket

Updating Ticket Status

To change a ticket's status:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Locate the status dropdown in the ticket properties panel
3. Select the appropriate status:
   • Open: The ticket is new or still needs attention
   • Pending: Your team is working on the issue
   • Waiting for Customer: You've replied and are waiting for the customer's response
   • Closed: The issue has been resolved

Status changes are automatically logged in the ticket history, making it easy to track the progression of each issue.

Setting Ticket Priority

To set or change a ticket's priority:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Find the priority selector in the ticket properties panel
3. Choose the appropriate priority level:
   • Low: Non-urgent issues that can be addressed when time permits
   • Medium: Standard issues requiring normal attention
   • High: Important issues that should be addressed promptly
   • Urgent: Critical issues requiring immediate attention

Assigning Tickets

To assign a ticket to a team member:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Locate the assignment section in the ticket properties panel
3. Select a team member from the dropdown list

You can also assign tickets to AI assistants for automated handling of certain types of inquiries. To do this, use the AI assistant assignment option in the properties panel.

Adding Tags

Tags help categorize tickets and make them easier to find:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Find the tags section in the ticket properties panel
3. Add existing tags or create new tags as needed

Common tag categories include:

• Issue type (e.g., "billing", "technical", "feature-request")
• Product or service area (e.g., "mobile-app", "website", "subscription")
• Process stage (e.g., "needs-review", "in-development", "escalated")

Adding a Reference Number

For better organization, especially when connecting support tickets to other systems:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Locate the reference number field in the properties panel
3. Enter a reference number that follows your organization's conventions

Communicating with Customers

Effective communication is central to good customer service. AchieveApex provides several tools to help you communicate clearly and efficiently.

Replying to Tickets

To reply to a customer:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Click the "Reply" button below the message thread
3. Compose your message in the editor that appears
4. Add attachments if needed
5. Click "Send" to deliver your response

Using Response Templates

For consistent and efficient responses:

1. Start a reply to a ticket
2. Click the Templates button in the editor toolbar
3. Select an appropriate template from the list
4. Customize the templated response as needed
5. Send your response

Adding Internal Notes

Internal notes allow team members to share information about a ticket without the customer seeing it:

1. Open the ticket detail view
2. Click the "Add Note" button
3. Type your internal note
4. Click "Save" to add the note to the ticket timeline

Internal notes are visible only to your team and are clearly distinguished from customer communications in the ticket timeline.

Handling Attachments

To send or view attachments:

• Viewing received attachments: Click on the attachment in the message where it appears
• Sending attachments: Click the attachment icon in the reply editor and select files from your computer

Resolving and Closing Tickets

The ultimate goal of ticket management is to resolve customer issues efficiently.

When to Close a Ticket

A ticket should be closed when:

• The customer's issue has been fully resolved
• The customer has confirmed their satisfaction with the resolution
• No further action is required from your team
• You've provided all necessary information and the customer hasn't responded after a defined waiting period

Closing a Ticket

To close a resolved ticket:

1. Ensure that all customer questions have been answered
2. Set the ticket status to "Closed" in the properties panel
3. Add a final internal note summarizing the resolution if helpful

Reopening Closed Tickets

If a customer responds to a closed ticket, or if the issue reoccurs:

1. The system will automatically reopen the ticket if the customer responds to a closed ticket
2. To manually reopen a ticket, find it in your closed tickets list and change its status to "Open"

Best Practices for Ticket Management

• Response Time: Aim to respond to all new tickets within a defined timeframe based on priority
• Clear Communication: Use clear, jargon-free language when communicating with customers
• Thorough Documentation: Document all actions and decisions related to a ticket using internal notes
• Consistent Categorization: Use tags consistently to enable better reporting and analysis
• Proactive Updates: Keep customers informed about progress, especially for complex issues
• Follow-up: For critical issues, consider following up after resolution to ensure customer satisfaction
• Knowledge Base Creation: Use common ticket issues to identify topics for your knowledge base

Next Steps

Now that you understand how to manage tickets, you may want to learn about:

• Setting up an email channel to connect your support inbox
• Creating automated workflows for ticket routing and assignment
• Generating reports to analyze support performance
• Building a knowledge base to reduce common support inquiries