On 01/04/2010, at 5:35 AM, Markus Müller wrote: > I‚m curious, how are you handling support? Via a simple email inbox, do you > have some kind of email ticket system (I think fogbugs comes with one) or are > you using a web app like GetSatisfaction, TenderApp,∑?
We use FogBugz, which handles project management, bug tracking and support incident management. It's great. Using Mail to handle support becomes unmanageable once the number of support incidents get to a certain level, and of course can't work if more than one person is handling support. Some sort of support incident management system is required. It means you have a history of support incidents per customer and can generate reports on support performance etc. We used Cerberus for years but then it failed spectacularly when we did an upgrade and dumped 8GB of random data onto our server. We now use hosted FogBugz which means that we don't need to manage the server ourselves. > Which leads me to my second question: How are you handling support when you > are on vacation? Do you make sure every hotel you stay in has WiFi or do you > hire a support person for the duration of your trip? We make sure we have access to the Internet pretty much everywhere we go, as much as is practicable. It's a lot easier these days, I used to have to use an acoustic coupler and dialup to be able to access the net from anywhere: http://emberapp.com/irsk/images/phone-booth We have hired a support person on occasion, but there are some support queries that they won't be able to answer. The longest I've gone without Internet access since the early 2000s is about a week, which is about the maximum tolerance level of most customers before they get upset. If we know we'll be slow to respond, we make sure the support system's autoresponder tells the customer. I would very much like to be able to have someone answer support queries, as although being completely independent is nice, it would be great not to have to tote the laptop around on vacation. -- Rob Keniger
