Behold the dreaded “Waiting Client” Ticket Status. Here’s a fix
Key takeaways:
The frustration of “Waiting Client” ticket status
To call…or not to call
Maybe a 3-strikes & you’re out policy?
A smarter way: the Hybrid, “Waiting Client” SOP
Leverage automation to close those tickets
Saying that “Waiting Client” is our favorite ticket status might be a bit tongue-in-cheek. Actually, tickets in that status can be quite frustrating, as you may know.
Not necessarily the waiting part, because we really don’t care. But it does get pretty embarrassing when we’ve been waiting on a Client for an entire year, and the ticket still isn’t closed (at least one Service Coordinator we know has baked birthday cakes for tickets and brought them into the office).
You Could Call the Client Every Day…
Trouble is, if we send a Ticket Close notification, we get egg all over our faces because we did not reach out and poke them. Of course, the Tech could be calling them every day, but in reality – who has time for that? A Tech could spend all day reaching out to Waiting Clients and never turn in a single billable hour.
I mean…it is unfair to turn in a time entry for a 2-3 minute voice mail, right? – Or is it? We feel it is unfair to bill them for 15 minutes leaving a voicemail, yet we waste a Tech’s whole day chasing them. If we billed them an hour for every voicemail, we probably would need to leave a whole lot fewer voicemails.
Or Try a 3-Strikes & You’re Out Policy…
What about a 3-strikes and you’re out (ticket closed) mechanism? We let the Client know we are waiting on them, and then 48 hours later, we let them know that if we do not hear from them, we will close the ticket. Boom, done.
Then after 48 hours, we close the ticket and notify them. Of course, we might still get egg on our face, but at least we can justify it with a 3-strikes, and you’re out rule.
If only there were a better way. One that delivers a better Client experience is much more efficient and (bonus!) prevents us from getting egg on our face.
A Smarter Way: Enter the Hybrid, “Waiting Client” SOP:
1) Tech notifies the Client that we are waiting on them:
a. Notification is appealing, eye-catching, and simple to read.
b. Messaging says in bold letters why they are being notified.
c. Verbiage is nice but ensures Action Items are called out in Bold.
d. SLA is marked resolved, but the ticket remains open.
2) If Client responds, make it easy to say Yes, No, or Maybe:
a. Hint: Use the 3-faces survey.
b. Yes, it completes the ticket and drops the automation.
c. No, returns to Triage for investigation.
d. Maybe ( MSP’s choice) complete or return to Triage
3) If no response within 48 hours, send a nice Pending Close notification
a. Use another eye-appealing, simple-to-read notification using bold letters to say why they are being notified.
b. Use simple, descriptive language and make sure Action Items are called out in Bold.
c. The ticket remains open.
4) For Client response, make it easy to say Yes, No, or Maybe
a. Hint: Use the 3-faces survey.
b. Yes, it completes the ticket and drops the automation.
c. No, returns to Triage for investigation.
d. Maybe, (MSPs choice), complete or return to Triage.
5) If there is no response within 24 hours, flag it as no response and return to Triage.
6) The Service Coordinator (you do have one of those, right?) picks up the phone, informs the Client of the 3-strike you’re out rule, and closes the ticket if there is no response in 24 hours.
Close that Ticket 60-80% of the Time
This way, we leverage the automation, and our experience shows this completes the ticket 60-80% of the time. Then rather than sending a cold “We Closed the Ticket on You” message, they get a nice warm voicemail. If there is still no response, well, we have no choice, and now we feel comfortable that we have done our best.
Hopefully, the above will help you take a bit of the Chaos out of your Service Delivery operation and allow your team to be less frustrated looking at the “Waiting Customer” status.
But what if all the stress is in scheduling your Techs? No worries – check out TimeZest as an automated solution to Tech scheduling. Or give us a call…we’re always here to help.
The elephant in the room:
Who is Advanced Global, and why should we listen to them?
Recently someone we’ve been in communication with since DattoCon 2018, who was faithfully reading our articles, commented that up until a few months ago, “I really did not know what Advanced Global does.” So here are a few bullet points to let anyone interested know who we are and what we do:
1) We Are – the Autotask Global Service Delivery Authority
2) We Help – MSPs thrive
3) We Solve – Service Delivery issues, inefficiencies, and challenges by making sure:
a. Techs know what to work on next
b. Someone is managing all open tickets and driving them to completion
c. The staffing levels are correct, and the workload is balanced
d. Real-Time Time Entry is a cultural habit
e. The Client has a great client experience
f. Profit is maximized
g. Autotask is being fully leveraged
h. The historical data that is in the Autotask software is accessible to benchmark, track & USE effectively
i. The Service Delivery operations can scale
j. Projects are completed On-Time and On-Budget
k. The Company can grow
l. MSPs know what they don’t know
4) Our Tools:
a. Autotask “Best in Class” standard build
b. Our MSP robust Service Delivery SOP library
c. Advanced Live Reports
d. Expertise in providing a transformational experience
Note: We are not philosophers; we are doers with 31+ years of Service Delivery experience, bringing real Service Delivery Improvement change, profitability, and Best in Class performance.
We start by offering a FREE No-Obligation PSA Configuration Evaluation.
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