Support forums?

[GalaxyMan]

Most web hosts offer both live chat and ticket based support, however, not all of them have support forums similar to one that eUKhost offers. I find that such a feature is probably one of the best forms of support available as you can get help from not only staff but from other customers as well.

One thing to keep in mind is that their forum must be active though as unfortunately I've seen several hosts with a forum but hardly anyone posts there, including their staff which is just a waste in my opinion as why have a forum if you're not going to support it?

So, is this a vital support feature for you?

[jennifer]

Certainly! I would say that the one trait that makes our company very different is our excellent customer service.

Customers and members of the forums can get direct support from technicians and managers (including sales, support and billing) via the forums. We're staffed 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year and offer the best support programs.

The members and staff here is top notch and always willing to help - I am sure you might have already figured that out by now

(I would like to add, the phone and live chat support solution provides an instant support whenever you need it.)

Thanks for being part of the community!

[VPWhat]

Live support is great of course but only if you are on the right time zone. Forums instead can give 24/7 support and although the conversation is more drawn out you have a much better chance of getting an answer. I like the feature.

[compserv]

Originally Posted by GalaxyMan

So, is this a vital support feature for you?

I wouldn't call it vital in the case of eUKhost, as they provide other 24/7 support, but it is certainly useful and interesting.

Originally Posted by VPWhat

Live support is great of course but only if you are on the right time zone. Forums instead can give 24/7 support and although the conversation is more drawn out you have a much better chance of getting an answer. I like the feature.

If there was limited other support I would agree, but eUKhost provide 24/7 support by phone & email, so not a problem.

[piniella]

I think these support forums are vital. I am on the go a lot, and I find that I would rather leave a message on a board and respond to the answer later than sit through a live chat session.

[mitchell]

Like compserv says, eUKhost does provide 24/7 support via multiple methods like email, chat, phone, and support tickets. For in-depth support needs, those methods are better than using a forum. However, a forum is still very useful because it provides a public venue where customers can interact with the host and with other customers in ways that aren't available in other support methods. A forum is used more as a way to build relationships with the customers rather than for support purposes.

[bytemaster]

However you have to have a fine balance between relevant content and the support forum being active.

I think it's a great idea having a support forum, it does give a more "human face" than just filling out support tickets and reading knowledgebases.

[jcmental]

I've just signed up with eukhost. The main reason I have is because of the brilliant Forum.
there was so much info posted and helpful advice that I bit the bullet and joined in.
One of the problems I had on my old server was I could only get in touch with the support / guy through MSN and he was only on at night "If he wasn't watching the football on TV" but for the last few weeks he hasn't been on at all.

Sorry going off topic there.
any how. The deciding factor for me was the fact (from what I could see) was they have tried to hide nothing even some of the customers complaint threads are still on here as written. you don't get that often on a forum.

Good job guys.

[Ryan]

Hi JC,

Our aim is to provide technical support to our customers through as many different avenues as possible and our forum is one of them. We do not believe in filtering negative comments on our forum, unlike a lot of other companies who just sweep them under the carpet. In such instances, we investigate the issue thoroughly, try to learn and improvise.

[walterburke]

Hi !
I liked the idea.
Live support is great of course but only if you are on the right time zone but if eUKhost would manage to keep it 24/7, there is nothing better that can be done.

I am looking forward to watch it happening.
Thanks for sharing.


Regards
Walter

[eUKhost.com]

Originally Posted by walterburke

Hi !
I liked the idea.
Live support is great of course but only if you are on the right time zone but if eUKhost would manage to keep it 24/7, there is nothing better that can be done.

I am looking forward to watch it happening.
Thanks for sharing.


Regards
Walter

Thanks Walter

You have managed to reopen a nice thread. This thread has some honest and highly soothing posts from our genuine customers.

For your information, it is not at all easy to manage a support forum like we do. One needs to be highly disciplined to answer customers every day on a public forum. You need to ensure good response time for the threads opened by customers, if your staff fails to respond on time then the potential customers will simply assume poor response time for their tickets as well as chats.

Initially there was too much hatred for our forum amongst our staff, hardly 2 - 3 guys took initiative to post regularly. Things have changed now and we have many staff members posting here regularly.

It takes long time to build a proper support forum, but support people start loving the forums once they get appreciated from the customers on the forum itself.

We are now enjoying benefits of a good support forum. Our staff knows what can happen if they screwup a ticket or chat. They are also aware of the fact that their name may shine in a Testimonial thread on the forum if they give good support to customers.

I hope more number of customers understand the importance of our forum. Your suggestions and feedback's on this forum helps us to bring further improvement in our service.

[DPS Computing]

Originally Posted by eUKhost.com

Thanks Walter

You have managed to reopen a nice thread. This thread has some honest and highly soothing posts from our genuine customers.

For your information, it is not at all easy to manage a support forum like we do. One needs to be highly disciplined to answer customers every day on a public forum. You need to ensure good response time for the threads opened by customers, if your staff fails to respond on time then the potential customers will simply assume poor response time for their tickets as well as chats.

Initially there was too much hatred for our forum amongst our staff, hardly 2 - 3 guys took initiative to post regularly. Things have changed now and we have many staff members posting here regularly.

It takes long time to build a proper support forum, but support people start loving the forums once they get appreciated from the customers on the forum itself.

We are now enjoying benefits of a good support forum. Our staff knows what can happen if they screwup a ticket or chat. They are also aware of the fact that their name may shine in a Testimonial thread on the forum if they give good support to customers.

I hope more number of customers understand the importance of our forum. Your suggestions and feedback's on this forum helps us to bring further improvement in our service.

Well said Mark. I definitely second your points. You're all doing great work (as per usual!) .