Freshdesk – the all-in-one support centre.
September 19, 2014
Freshdesk – the all-in-one support centre.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Software Version
Estate
Modules Used
- Tickets
- Solutions
- Forums
- Reports
Overall Satisfaction with Freshdesk
Freshdesk is used by the support team within the organisation. It was implemented to replace the use of a group mailbox as the support team grew. The centralised management of support emails very quickly proved it's value. Since then we have also implemented the Solutions (Knowledge Base) tool as a core repository of guides for our user base, to complement the training resources we offer. The Forums section is being rolled out to major customers.
- Freshdesk's primary role as a central support email tool is it's key strength. One particular reason why I chose this over some other software was the fact that replies still looked like email and were not overloaded with 'Case Numbers' and 'Support details'.
- The Solutions pages are very easy to create and enable a considerable wealth of information to be made available to your user base. If you already have user guides these can be managed within the Solutions page to give you a core knowledge base.
- As we have grown, we have upgraded and now make use of the multiple email and multi-country features. This makes routing of support queries to the right members of the team very easy.
- While handling support emails is the primary strength of Freshdesk, there are a couple of things that can be frustrating. An email reply can have cc and bcc but if you need to reply to a different primary person, the only way to do this is to change the Original Requestor of the support. This is not ideal and a way to have email communications within the Support Ticket with someone else would be a major improvement.
- Similar to the first point, but to communicate with a third party concerning a ticket is not easy. This could be improved.
- There is multi-language support for auto generated emails, but it would be good if this could be extended to the Solutions pages.
- Freshdesk started out as purely a way to control support emails and ensure the team were able to track issues and see if a ticket had been responded to. Since implementation it has become much more with the Solutions and Forum parts of the system. This has saved on further user guides and training.
- Zendesk,HelpScout,TeamSupport,Desk.com,GoToAssist
Before choosing Freshdesk I reviewed and trialled several alternatives. The obvious key player is ZenDesk but besides the obvious cost benefit of FreshDesk I also found ZenDesk to be too corporate in its approach. The same problem arose from Desk.com and GoToAssist with the replies seeming to focus more on information relating to the support ticket, instead of the support. As such the reply email was very messy and hard for the user to actually find the response.
TeamSupport was highly flexible but it did not seem very 'fluid' in operation, where FreshDesk seems to flow well like a proper mail client.
HelpScout is the only alternative that I trialled and felt handled emails better than FreshDesk. However, as I had some ideas in my mind to use Knowledge Base tools, these are better provided by FreshDesk. If you are looking for nothing more than group email support I recommend you try HelpScout as well as FreshDesk to see what you think.
TeamSupport was highly flexible but it did not seem very 'fluid' in operation, where FreshDesk seems to flow well like a proper mail client.
HelpScout is the only alternative that I trialled and felt handled emails better than FreshDesk. However, as I had some ideas in my mind to use Knowledge Base tools, these are better provided by FreshDesk. If you are looking for nothing more than group email support I recommend you try HelpScout as well as FreshDesk to see what you think.
Evaluating and Competitors
- Price
- Product Features
- Product Usability
The key factor when reviewing options was to find a support tool for a reasonable price that enabled us to manage our customers efficiently, while looking professional.
Having kept abreast of the major players since choosing FreshDesk, I do not think I would have done anything differently or made a different choice.
Support
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Quick Resolution Good followup Knowledgeable team Problems get solved Kept well informed No escalation required Immediate help available Support understands my problem Support cares about my success Quick Initial Response | None |
No - Support included in the package is perfectly good enough.
Yes - Yes, the issue was quickly identified and resolved.
Using
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
Like to use Relatively simple Easy to use Technical support not required Well integrated Consistent Quick to learn Convenient Feel confident using Familiar | None |
- Email support is easy to provide and the Tickets are easy to manage within the team.
- The Solutions pages are easy to create and the Customer Portal presents them in a professional way.
- If you have a complex ticket requiring input from several sources and third parties, it is almost impossible to manage this within a single ticket. This is the only real failing in the whole FreshDesk operation.
Yes - FreshDesk on iOS works really well and allows you to reply to Support Tickets anywhere you have your mobile. All the key tools to handle a ticket are available.