ODL Freshdesk
Response Etiquette
When
responding to tickets in Freshdesk, there are a few guidelines to follow that
will help make all of our solutions have a consistent ODL feel. Please read and
follow the guidelines below to help you better respond to tickets in Freshdesk.
1.
Make sure you have been assigned to the
ticket. Before replying to a ticket, make sure
you are assigned to it. As a rule, don’t respond to a ticket that someone
else has been working on unless they assign it to you or notify you in a note
within the ticket. This creates unnecessary confusion all around. If no one
has been assigned yet, assign yourself. This is important because of the
template response (your name will appear in the sign-off if you are assigned to
the ticket).
2.
Begin each response with a greeting. There used to be a default greeting in place, but this has
been removed. When you begin your response, you will need to decide what an
appropriate greeting will be. For students, this can be their first name. For
almost all faculty, this should be Dr. so-and-so (the exceptions to this are
when a faculty member only goes by their first name or has explicitlytold
you that you can call them by their first name). Better to be a bit more formal
just in case! (Example greetings: “Hi Sarah,” “Hi Dr. Raffety,” “Hey Deborah”)
3.
Thank them for reaching out (or another
kind word). This is applicable to a first reply.
It’s nice to start off on a cordial foot before jumping right into
problem-solving. This could be as simple as starting with “Thank you for
reaching out.” Feel free to change this up a bit if you would say it differently.
Another kind word works in place of this, depending on the content of their
email (e.g. If they said something like, “I hope you’re holding up with all
that’s going on!” you could respond in kind at the beginning of the email.).
4.
Add your response. This will obviously vary depending on the question. Perhaps
you are able to resolve it right away, or perhaps you need more information
from them. Perhaps you want to send them links to a few solutions and ask if
they need further assistance after viewing them. This is all up to you! Make
sure your response keeps a balance between overly formal, distance
robot-language and overly casual buddy-buddy language. We want to sound kind
and professional.
5.
Send the message. To the right of the “Send” button, you will see a small arrow.
If you select this, you will be able to send the message and change the status
of the message at the same time. If you are confident that the question has
been resolved and think that it’s unlikely the recipient will reply again,
select “Send and set as resolved.” If you are anticipating as response (even if
it’s a quick “Thank you!”), select “Send and set as Waiting on Customer.” If
you are planning on doing a bit more related to the question, select “Send and
set as pending.”
6.
Pat yourself on the back. You’re doing the Lord’s work. I’m not kidding.