Live-chat support or usual email support? What's your choice?

Uladzislau Rymasheuski
6 replies
I've seen many products that bring live-chat support widget at their product, but in my opinion it works well only if you can handle SLA of 1-3 minutes while user can wait for response, otherwise it's better to use usual mail support to manage users' expectations right. What do you think?

Replies

Hariz Maloy
Agreed Uladzislau, my previous company (a NASDAQ listed Proptech Company) had an SLA of under a minute when responding to inquiries from all sources. We had a team of CSR and 2 managers. Now at Vidiofy, we don't have the luxury to do that, so we have to rely on email supports and some automations to make sure no one drops the ball.
Romio
For new users (not free, but pro) maybe live chat, for others depending on the urgency.
Uladzislau Rymasheuski
@romiojoseph And do you provide chat support 24h a day or there is some time gap when chat is unavailable?
Romio
@rimash Never 24x7, that is for corporates. When it is a small team or a one-man army, a reply within 12-24 hours is what I prefer. But as soon as I receive that chat notification on my mobile, I decide when to reply. Some might be angry customers who just want to yell, so if we don't reply to them, they might post negative reviews somewhere, right? It all depends on the urgency and matter.
Richard Maxwell
We are challenged in this space as we are based in NZ - time zones are against us. If anyone knows of some awesome chatbots that could fill the gap for us please let me know! I think live chat always trumps email though as you get a chance to learn more about your customers and connect with them