Changes to our Support structure

[Jeremy_M]

Hey Community,

In order to best assist you, we are making some customer support changes in the coming days.

Presently, we support customers through social media, web forms, and the Community. Having multiple support channels has given customers more flexibility but it has also led to longer response times, delays in our service, and confusion for our customers.

In order to continuously deliver the best possible customer experience, we are simplifying how you can reach out to one single place: our Community. It’s easy - plus, you’ll never have to wonder if you should Facebook message us and post on our Community. On our end, it will streamline all your questions and make it easier to get back to you.

Here’s how this breaks down:

Today	July 13th
Support Channels: Social Media: Facebook, Twitter Web Forms Community	Support Channels: Community

Part of making this work is also changing how you connect with our Moderators. In the past, every moderator has had their own account to help you. In our new support model, all the Moderators will share one account so you get help as soon as any Moderator is available to help - first come, first served!

Finally, since the Community will now be the only way to get in touch with our support team, we will be disabling our web form queues and direct messages via social media.

We are really excited for this change because we know it will get you help and answers faster than before.

FAQ:

I’m used to sending web forms for support. Why have you changed this?	Great question! A couple of reasons why we decided to make the change: Very few customers were using web forms Most of the web form questions we received were general inquiries; with answers that can be found in our Community. And yet, we still had to have a team checking web forms, taking time away from the Community (where most of our customers are)! By streamlining how to get help, we make sure that you get help faster!
With the new support model, will I need to have a registered Community Profile to directly communicate with your support team, In addition to my Self Serve account?	Yes. Register for a Community Profile by clicking here
When should I reach out to the support team?	When you can’t find the answer you’re looking for in the Community, or a fellow Community member advises you to reach out to our support team
How do I contact support?	Follow these instructions here
Who is Simon? Not referring to our awesome 'mod' @Simon_O	Simon, is a ‘ChatBot’ that can help answer any general inquiries you might have about our products or services. More info on Simon can be found here
What are the Contact Support’s hours of operation?	Monday - Friday 9AM (EDT) - 9PM (EDT) Saturday - Sunday 9AM (EDT) - 7:30PM (EDT)
What is the average wait time to get account assistance from the Support Team?	During business hours, we strive to answer all customer messages/inquiries as soon as possible. Usually, that is within an hour, but in peak periods, it could be as much as within 48 hours of receiving the message.
What/Who are Oracles?	The Oracles are a small group of Community members who really know their stuff. Find out more about our Oracles by clicking here
How do I post a question to the Community?	Sign-in to the Community (by clicking ‘Sign-In’ close to the top of your webpage) Choose a category that would best suit your question On your right-hand side click on ‘Start a topic’ Type your question and click on ‘Post’ For detailed instructions click here
How do I know if the Support Team has answered my question?	If your email notifications are enabled, you will get an email notifying you that we responded to you.
How do I enable email notifications?	This function should be automatically enabled. You can check here to make sure ‘Receive email notifications for new private messages’ is checked.
How do I contact support? How will I know who a Moderator is?	There are two ways that you are able to contact our Community Moderators: Private Messaging: You can do this by ‘searching’ for our unique Community Moderator’s profile (as shown below) then, once on the moderator profile, on the right-side click on “Send this user a private message”.  The unique blue square with ‘MOD’ is how you identify our Moderators. Tagging: If you would like a Moderator to weigh-in on a discussion, simply tag the Moderator profile to the post you created i.e @Moderator_Team
If I’m a Legacy customer will I still have access to the Call Center?	Yes, if you activated before January 27th, 2015, you will still  have access to the call centre
Will I get a ticket # for reference when contacting the Support Teams?	Working on it! We should have this functionality implemented soon!

[MK78]

---

@TheOldVR wrote:

---

@MK78 wrote:

I can't say I agree with this. You're basically removing even more ways of support.

What you needed to do is to create a proper online support ticket system. It's been suggested 100x over since the massive support overload during oct/nov 2016 after the big promo.

---

^^ This.

The ticket system is more important than any other change that's being done.

@MK78... in case it's not clear, I'm agreeing with you 

---

The support ticket system should be in the My Account, where all the other account relevant bits are. And the user already has an access once they sign up. Support tickets should be opened and closed in there, along with the relevant notifications via email or even via SMS that a ticket has been updated or needs user attention.

How hard could it be? This is what flusters me... Everyone who's ever used web hosting knows a system like that works very well.

Granted, I've only had an issue when initially signing up, due to PM not being able to process my credit card because it had a secondary address (it was on file). I tried to no avail to post message on the forums and PM mods, with no response. This was of course during the last year Fall Promo. I had to figure it out myself.

I'm still wondering regarding the "legality" of a communications service such as cellphone service, that they can have this hard to access technical and billing support. Not sure how this is explained during the signup process, i don't recall to be honest.

[Jamar_so_far]

Panic is the big problem and if you give customers too many options then it'll just be redundancy. A person where their service doesn't instantly work will probably PM every mod (that's changed), send and email, and go on twitter. It just creates a huge amount of work for the tech support to wade through the exact same message, just different avenues.

If you have mods all doing the same job, having one pipeline is easier. The big issue I see is that there isn't adequate information explaining how tech support works. Here's my idea. When you sign up for an account and receive an activation email, here's what you receive:

Hello,

We’re excited to have you as a new Public Mobile customer.  Here’s some important information about your account:

- Your 4-digit PIN has been successfully registered. You may need it to make changes to your account.

- Your Self Serve account has been successfully created. You will need your email address when logging in to Self Serve.

Here is a summary of your plan and any selected add-ons:

etc etc.

Why not put in a short description about the community as well as a link to a thread sticky that is step by step how to open a support request ticket, if they are having account issues. @Jeremy_M This can't be too hard to update right?

[TheOldVR]

---

@MK78 wrote:

I can't say I agree with this. You're basically removing even more ways of support.

What you needed to do is to create a proper online support ticket system. It's been suggested 100x over since the massive support overload during oct/nov 2016 after the big promo.

---

^^ This.

The ticket system is more important than any other change that's being done.

@MK78... in case it's not clear, I'm agreeing with you 

[Jamar_so_far]

@Luddite @TheOldVR

Hmm...the last 3 posts that I thought I posted haven't been showing up. weird. I'll try again:

Panic is the big problem and if you give customers too many options then it'll just be redundancy. A person where their service doesn't instantly work will probably PM every mod (that's changed), send and email, and go on twitter. It just creates a huge amount of work for the tech support to wade through the exact same message, just different avenues. 

If you have mods all doing the same job, having one pipeline is easier. The big issue I see is that there isn't adequate information explaining how tech support works. Here's my idea. When you sign up for an account and receive an activation email, here's what you receive: 

Hello,

We’re excited to have you as a new Public Mobile customer.  Here’s some important information about your account: 
 
- Your 4-digit PIN has been successfully registered. You may need it to make changes to your account.
- Your Self Serve account has been successfully created. You will need your email address when logging in to Self Serve.

Here is a summary of your plan and any selected add-ons:

etc etc. 

Why not put in a short description about the community as well as a link to a thread sticky that is step by step how to open a support request ticket, if they are having account issues. @Jeremy_M This can't be too hard to update right? 

[Luddite]

That's another reason I prefer my idea for the Contact Us button: https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Public-Lab/Moderator-Contact/idi-p/168241. 

[Jamar_so_far]

@TheOldVR

But that's exactly it. Panic. you have someone not sure what to do, so it's better to hit triple redundancy and clogs the system. 

An ordered ticket system (hopefully coming as promised) and one pipeline removes the ability for people to mess this up. 

I do agree though that you should have to sign up with a username for the community at the same time as activating you PM account, this would make it much easier to funnel people into the community. 

For example, my vision is how to make this work more efficiently is as soon as you sign up for an account and receive the confirmation email, there is either a link that takes you right to a sticky that tells you exactly how to begin a service requests, or it's embedded right into that email. Would this be that difficult to change @Jeremy_M

[TheOldVR]

@Jamar_so_far.... that's the exact scenario that causes problems.

We all have accounts in the Community so we're good.

MANY others don't... they just signed up and things worked out. So one day their phone stops work and and they are in panic without service.

So they hit the website, then figure out that they need to join the community and learn how to make a request - then learn that it could take up to 48 hours to hear back. We already see many people new to the community complaining about this exact scenario.

Today, customers without service or knowledge of the support structure can use a few options to send in a message using a known communication channel and no new community accounts.

I personally would not have made the decision to make all support through a single channel... but that is just me.

[Jamar_so_far]

---

@TheOldVR wrote:

Removing support access via all methods other than the community is an interesting change - I wonder how new customers will accept this.

For example - most of my freinds who have joined have not bothered to join the community, nor will they ever do so. I helped out when they had issues, or they worked off email. This change might see them leaving as they would rather just send a message vs. log in to a forum and either post a topic, or send a PM from there.

I hope usage of all non-Community support requests is very low otherwise you might have some upset peeps out there....

Nice communication though .

---

I hear ya, but in my experiences, once your phone works, how often really are you contacting the support service reps? especially when you are easily able to adjust plans and addons online anyways in the self-serve portal. If you were a new customer and this is the only way to get it fixed, it should funnel people into the system in the same way. 

When I was previously with koodo, it seemed the only times I went in was because my phone broke, which isn't something that PM offers. 

[TheOldVR]

Removing support access via all methods other than the community is an interesting change - I wonder how new customers will accept this.

For example - most of my freinds who have joined have not bothered to join the community, nor will they ever do so. I helped out when they had issues, or they worked off email. This change might see them leaving as they would rather just send a message vs. log in to a forum and either post a topic, or send a PM from there.

I hope usage of all non-Community support requests is very low otherwise you might have some upset peeps out there....

Nice communication though .

[Someone_here]

Sounds like a good idea 🙂

Will individual moderator accounts still exist? Still possible to contact them individually?

[BCrtr]

@Jamar_so_far , @MK78  ... if you look back at Jeremy_M's post... right at the bottom of the FAQ ...

Will I get a ticket # for reference when contacting the Support Teams?
Working on it! We should have this functionality implemented soon!

[Jamar_so_far]

---

@MK78 wrote:

I can't say I agree with this. You're basically removing even more ways of support.

What you needed to do is to create a proper online support ticket system. It's been suggested 100x over since the massive support overload during oct/nov 2016 after the big promo.

---

@MK78

Yup. This ^. when you go to the deli, you don't all shout at the people working behind the glass. You grab a ticket and wait your turn. And theres a giant counter that shows you where you are. I haven't seen a fight yet over whos getting the next slices of salami! 

[will13am]

It is about time.  With limited resources, the last thing that is needed is multiple connection channels.  KISS!

[shawnie_boy]

Seems like a good plan. 

[MK78]

I can't say I agree with this. You're basically removing even more ways of support.

What you needed to do is to create a proper online support ticket system. It's been suggested 100x over since the massive support overload during oct/nov 2016 after the big promo.

[nishufan]

Hope this change will speed up the waiting progress and improving the customer services. 

[computergeek541]

My opinion on this:

Many times, customers were using the contact us webform or facebook because they didn't want to have to go through the process of the community account sign up process.

Since the Community will soon be the only way to receive official Public Mobile support, I really beleive that step of needing to separately sign up for the community account should be eliminated and it should automatically be done for the customer during the activation and service sign up process.

[SD08]

---

---

@Jeremy_M

Excellent.  Anything that improves efficiency for helping customers is great news.

---

@srlawren wrote:

One thing I might point out about "Simon":  you could mention that "Simon" the bot is not to be confused with "Simon_O" the community moderator.  Just in case that confuses anyone.  I know it confused me a little when I first started seeing Mr. O posting a while back!

---

@srlawren

Agreed.  I had suggested this back when Simon_O was welcomed to the community moderator ranks, but I guess PM missed it back then.

[Jeremy_M]

Thank you @stonechucker + @srlawren - will make the changes shortly 🙂

[srlawren]

@stonechucker agreed on the time zone.  🙂

@Jeremy_M this is VERY well communicated--props to you and your team!  This is a lot clearer than when you presented it to the oracles a few weeks ago.  Nicely done!  One thing I might point out about "Simon":  you could mention that "Simon" the bot is not to be confused with "Simon_O" the community moderator.  Just in case that confuses anyone.  I know it confused me a little when I first started seeing Mr. O posting a while back!

[stonechucker]

@Jeremy_M,

I know it's probably a habit, but list 'EST' during 'EDT' is confusing, as each is actually 1 hour different.

Can the community try to use EASTERN, or Toronto, Montreal "time" refferences, as it will eliminate the confusion.

There are a few parts of the country (I believe) that do not observe Daylight savings, and it could be an issue for some.

Thanks!

Signed, the guy who notices all the "time" :wink:

[Jamar_so_far]

@mimmo I actually just noticed that my bookmarked thread:

https://productioncommunity.publicmobile.ca/t5/Knowledge-Base/Updated-Contacting-our-Community-Moder...

has been edited by Jeremy to only list @CS_Agent so this should send all PM's into 1 large pool. I originally used my bookmarked thread to quickly send a message to one of the 4 mod's. This is much much easier!! 

[mimmo]

Just a quick question. We should only message and tag modeator_team and not individual mods correct? This should be made absolutlty clear. So we can avoid posts with 5 mods tagged.

[BCrtr]

Love the improvement... simplicity ...although it's no fun having to wait for a solution from the moderators, it will be nice knowing that everyone will be treated on a first come first served basis. 

[shartomjam]

This is a huge step in the right direction.  Streamlining and avoiding duplication should greatly improve the response time and more importantly, help the MODS a great deal.  Good job.  

[bryclops]

This is good to hear. My friend had a setup issue last week and i told him to contact for help using twitter and the community. It will help the mods out quite a bit only having one place to go for help

[ShawnC13]

This is great news!!  I think this will increase the response time to better serve the customers.  Now the MODS can be fully focused on one point of access rather then multiple (facebook and twitter).  I agree with the other suggestions of during times of backlog a notice at the top of the page saying what the expected response time is or the ticketing system with a serving ticket # on main screed to let people know how many people are ahead of them before they get served.

[X-Files]

Thanks for updating, the only way should be the best speedup way...

[Acekiller]

hopefully this will speed up the response time

[canucks4life]

Will I get a ticket # for reference when contacting the Support Teams?

Working on it! We should have this functionality implemented soon!

I would certainly hope so Dave promised a proper ticket system over 6 months ago.