We have been using PHPLiveSupport for at least 2.5 years. The product was so good and they were making it better every day but since last 3-5 months we have been loosing clients due to this software. Client initiates chat and receives "other party has quit" while we think we are in chat session. This is a serious bug and has not been fixed. We are therefore quiting and i am now searching for a better option to nicely handle our increasing website traffic.

http://livehelp.stardevelop.com is worth? Which live chat software you recommend?

Check out CCS - http://clickchatsold.com ! Its mindblowing !

CCS http://clickchatsold.com is pretty good. If you have more chat traffic I will suggest http://liveperson.com (But it's expensive).

Thanks for the answers.

http://livehelp.stardevelop.com looks good. Anyone experienced with this product?

Me as a customer likes to see host with livehelp

I think you should go for it

Wow, we've been a long time PHPLive usign company, since it came out actually, but LiveHelp looks fantastic, we may have to try it out :) We get the dropped chats as well with PHPLive :(

We have been using PHP Live! Support (http://www.phplivesupport.com/) for some time (with some minor kinks and problems here and there) but I personally have only heard good things about Live Help Messenger. I don't remember hearing about a single person that was not happy with them, so I'm sure they are doing something right. :) Let us know how it goes if you choose to use them.

I just purchased LiveHelp license and going to install it now. I will let everyone know how it goes.

PHPLiveSupport actually sucks. Keep away from it if you don't want to loose business and reputation.

I've got a license for Stardevelop Live Help, and its 'alright'.

Help Center Live is a good one too. It's free , and available in Fantastico.

Has anyone used PHPLive and LiveHelp and had time to compare them? LiveHelp looks great, I am inclined to try it, PHPLive drops a dozen clients on me per day. I aure there are other factors involved, and we use it heavily, but it is certainly not reliable by any means. But I don't know if any others are either :(

I like HelpCenterLive for being free.

I personally like helpcenterlive it's got a full ticketing system, e-mail piping, as well as the live help part
And it's totally free, and for 20$ more(around that) you can get a desktop application to warn you when you get a chat request, a nice bit of software i say :D

I like Star Develop Live Chat, its what I use.

I am thinking of switching, just tell me this, does it ever drop a chat for no apparent reason?

StarDevelop hasn't for me - I handle 5-10 chat sessions a day, and have used their system for 4 months now.

HumanClick is another one, but it is expensive.

I am testing StarDevelop LiveHelp. So far it seems very slow may be because it is full of graphics. I will post my final words later.

Please do, I am lookign forward to it, if you hadn't said it was slow I might have bought it today :)

We've done a lot of research into this and can't say we like any of them very much.

We have, however, settled on BoldChat (www.boldchat.com ) for some time now.

HTH

Simon

It's priced cheap enough. Price isn't really a factor for us, we just want one that actually works, and works well. There seems to be a lot more choices now, as there was once just PHPLive if you wanted to host it yourself, which is why we chose it at the time. They all seem to have the same basic features though.

Does Bold Chat ever drop chats? Do you use it heavily?

StarDevelop PHPLive is operationally not as good as graphically it looks. The chat latency is high and messenger application almost freezes when we send message to visitor. The visitor engage feature is pathetic and works only when it wants.

Our search for better/cost effective chat solution continues.

Originally posted by UnionDatacom
Does Bold Chat ever drop chats? Do you use it heavily?

Rarely; their server seems to go off for an hour or so a month but not a big deal.

We get about 30-40 chats a day and one of the best features is if you log out or get disconnected somehow, the chat is still there when you log back in!

Great Windows software available and we also pay for the visitor monitoring feature.

I would advise, however, forgetting about the boldcentre package - very complicated, expensive and not worth it.

Also note that the free version of boldchat is pretty good too!

HTH

Simon

It's a hosted solution? (i.e. not run on your server)?

Originally posted by UnionDatacom
It's a hosted solution? (i.e. not run on your server)?
That's correct.

Why not give the free trial a try?! (I'm not on commission btw!)

Simon

Due to both privacy and reliability concerns I really have to use something hosted from my own network. If I lost a sale, or upset a client, due to my network failure (not that it has ever happened) but I’d have no one to complain to :)

If it was their server, I’d be quite upset. The fact that they are hosted with a competitor really doesn’t make that a viable option for me, especially considering how I feel about their network compared to my own ;)

The visitor engage feature is pathetic and works only when it wants.
This isn't true.

Originally, my Star Develop licensed software thing did this but their support team resolved the issue - have you contacted their support?

Originally posted by whatever
This isn't true.


It's TRUE - Like you said you had the same issue. I have contacted their support.

On a side note, as you seem top be using the product, can you give me (us) your feedback. Are you satisfied with product and how many chats you do daily?

Thanks

It's TRUE - Like you said you had the same issue. I have contacted their support.

On a side note, as you seem top be using the product, can you give me (us) your feedback. Are you satisfied with product and how many chats you do daily?
Ok, it is true but is resolvable. But let me be more honest - StarDevelop is missing a LOT of features, inadvertenately lies in their ads - they mention that you can track previous session transcripts, when you can't.

The system (windows application) freezes constantly, always needs confirmation to login and crashes whilst being slow. I handle 5-10 chat sessions a day, and have used their system for 4 months now.

Who knows how many sessions I have lost unknowingly? For the first month and a hald the initiate chat feature did NOT function at all - although it was partly my fault. And whenever you complain about something not working it has to wait for the next edition.

I suppose the only reason I was defending the product was because I paid $89 for crapp.

I hope I'm more honest now (word of advice - never buy software without an online demo, I'm starting to regret not choosing Php Live Support)

Man, it seems like there is not a perfect one, but it sure makes me feel better about the 199.99 I spent on PHPLive, plus the 49.99 for the Windows App. It would even better if PHPLive actually worked like it was supposed to. It's bad when it says "Visitor has left Chat" and they are still there typing. Makes me wonder what it says on their side.

We use most of the live chat software out there on a daily basis for our clients. So far clickchatsold is the best solution. It used to have some server delay issues few months back. Looks like they resolved it and is very good now

I have trashed StarDevelop LiveSupport. I am going after Xigla.com's Absolute Support solution. It looks very nice and is fast. Just purchased it and once I get the software I will let you know how it behaves in real time.

Thanks

Definitely let us know how things turn out. I too had StarDevelop but was able to get it refunded after pointing out there is no policy regarding domains. Beware of using it since in addition to the software being on one domain, they expect to charge you for any addition domains you may run on the same site or even park. Absurd.

Xigla.com looks great but I'm on a unix box and their live support system only runs on Windows boxes.

I've looked through all the support options. I'm not happy about the domain locking and encoding. What a nightmare I could have had at stardevelop if I found out the problem later. The only one I'm left with at the moment is the outright purchase of phplive which is expensive and I'm confirming whether their source is open.

Beaware that phplive costs you many customers because out of 10 chats 8 customers see "other party has left chat". I had so many customers who blamed us of ignoring them.

Anyway, I just got the email from xigla and setting up the solution. Will let you now once setup and we test.

Installed Xingla.com's AbsolueLiveSupport. The testing reveals two obvious problems:

1. It shows user browsing the website even when user has actually left.
2. The pro-active chat (invite) feature doesn't work at all.

I have contacted Xigla for fix. Once these two issues are resolved I think I will be satisfied with it considering the price I paid for it.

In the meanwhile if somebody know a good live chat solution at affordable price please let me know.

Thanks.

Php Live is good

Originally posted by HostBreak
Beaware that phplive costs you many customers because out of 10 chats 8 customers see "other party has left chat". I had so many customers who blamed us of ignoring them.

Anyway, I just got the email from xigla and setting up the solution. Will let you now once setup and we test.


Are you talking about PHP Live! thats available at
phplivesupport.com?

Originally posted by Bill-zilonhost
Help Center Live is a good one too. It's free , and available in Fantastico.
We also use Help Center Live, it was easy to install and use.

I'm surprised about phplivesupport.com's phplive. Their purchased software is far more expensive than the others. $400 NOT including the windows client. To have it not work is of concern. Do others have this problem?

Help Center Live is fantastic for free and the few visitors that actually need the help but I'm having issues with the windows client. It's also not the easiest to customize.

Originally posted by Martie
Are you talking about PHP Live! thats available at
phplivesupport.com?

Yes.

I have decided that I'm probably going with Kayako. I was originally going to go with Cerberus but after all the install issues I experienced just trying to get it to work (with help desk) and finding out the chat was locked too, I backed out of a purchase to rethink. I blinked and the same package is now about $400 more and the chat portion looks like it is $400 now! WOW!

Kayako has a very good help desk and live support solution. The cost for the equivalent package is about $250 less and doesn't have the limitation with the email domain pipe. It's a very sharp looking product but it's priced out of my league and I find it confusing and moreso for my users. So, Kayako it is....

. I was originally going to go with Cerberus but after all the install issues I experienced just trying to get it to work (with help desk) and finding out the chat was locked too, I backed out of a purchase to rethink.

Hey Slinky,

Best of luck to you! And I'm sorry to hear about your troubles in evaluating Cerberus Helpdesk.

I completely agree that things are a lot more complex than they need to be -- as our original (flawed) philosophy was creating a system that was all things to all people. With over 3 years of constant development behind us on the project, we have a system that's incredibly powerful and flexible -- but also a bit challenging to master.

same package is now about $400 more

Occasionally we bump up prices as our team grows, as we did for Q2 2005. It's not cheap keeping a growing team of programmers and support guys going. You must have been looking at the unlimited domain license -- that was really the only significant increase.

The plan is to give the ability to add new domains to a license for a lot cheaper without making the jump to unlimited. Our previous price for unlimited domains was the same as 1.5 single domains. That didn't make much business sense, and couldn't go on forever. :)

It's a very sharp looking product but it's priced out of my league and I find it confusing

You're welcome to contact me by PM, IM or e-mail to get a peek at the next generation of what we're working on. I'm really interested in your feedback, as you've had quite an ongoing evaluation documented in the forums here.

I'm definitely not here to twist your arm. I just want you to have all the information. Use whatever works best for you!

Thanks.

I am finally settled with Timpani (AKA HumanClick.com). It is expensive but very stable and reliable chat software. My ROI is 300% at least.

ProvideSupport.Com (http://www.providesupport.com) works really well.

I would recommend them.

We have been using LiveResponse from Kayako, it has been great for our Pre-Sales and Tech Support departments, however, it can get kind of annoying after a while because whenever a client enters your site you will get a pop-up window notifying you.

If you want a cheaper option, check out Instant Helper from WebUmake. It's great value although I'm not sure without checking whether it competes feature-for-feature with things like Kayako.

http://www.webumake.com/wih/index.htm

The price is US$79 one-off.

I've bought it but haven't yet implemented it on our website; the tests have all looked good though.

The best one available in market --> LivePerson.com ( Timpany )

http://www.liveperson.com/

Every time I try to visit www.providesupport.com, I get redirected to this URL: www.providesupport.com/error/maintenance.html

Been happening for a week or more for me now. So I have never been able to review their service. Too bad, because I signed up for something else instead.

LivePerson is probably the best one on the market, but there are still a ton of bugs with it too. (like getting past even the most basic pop-up blockers, etc.)

We love its reporting and visitor information functionality...it's interesting to where our visitors are coming from. On any given night, we may have visitors from Russia, Portugal, Indonesia, Costa Rica, and Iceland all viewing the site at the same time.

Good luck,

I agree. I love the reporting feature and let me tell you there are plenty of good features which makes it perfect.

Question: Do Liveperson and Kayako have to be set up on your server/network, or is it hosted from their servers?

I would say it's far from perfect. Pop-up blockers are used by almost everyone, which decreases the effectiveness of the program.

Liveperson does NOT have to be setup on your network/server. Hosted by them, which has its benefits and drawbacks as well. Definitely some latency issues at times....

Best,

for realtime tracking like humanclick, but free:
http://frogpal.aviseitor.com/

Originally posted by CSDesk
The best one available in market --> LivePerson.com ( Timpany )

http://www.liveperson.com/

 

I will second that , we have 15 seats running it , and it does not cost us money , it makes us money.

Does anybody know which one of these Live Chat applications provide open source or a simple API to check for pending chats? I'd like to integrate the live chat application into our monitoring system so that if a user is pending for live chat, we know about it right away.

thanks!

I personally love StarDevelop Live Help because of the graphics. it makes me feel like I designed it :)

Plus the design of it integrates very well with our website.
I bought it while on BETA, so I have experienced a few problems, and stopped using it for a long period of time.

Now it seems to be a lot better.

I only recommend LivePerson if you never have less then 50 visitors. Otherwise, acquiring a LivePerson license is pretty useless.

Also, keep in mind that LivePerson is LEASED. The application is hosted in their own servers. The best way to find out is to signup for their 15 day trial. :)

Click Chat Sold seems to be nice but cannot be compared against StarDevelop Live Help or LivePerson. At least from what I have seen at their screenshots (http://www.clickchatsold.com/product_scnshots.html)page.

And by the way, one good thing about StartDevelop is their support team. They are efficient, and they reply fast enough, at least for me.

Originally posted by hostingautomagic
Does anybody know which one of these Live Chat applications provide open source or a simple API to check for pending chats? I'd like to integrate the live chat application into our monitoring system so that if a user is pending for live chat, we know about it right away.

thanks!

StarDevelop Live Help has a Windows Application included in the package. Basically it works just like your MSN Messenger Application. You can set it to automatically connect to your Live Help server every time you start Windows, etc. (LivePerson has the same feature too)

I must also remind you also of one of the biggest concerns of most of the people that are reading this, the pricing. So here it goes:

StarDevelop LiveHelp: $89.95 (one time fee)
Includes a license for 1 domain name, Unlimited Operators and Departments. The software is hosted on your own web server.
------------
Timpani LivePerson: $50.00/month (monthly) *
Includes 1 license for 1 domain name, 1 Operator and 1 Department. The software is hosted on Timpani's web servers.
------------
Click Chat Sold: $19.95 (monthly)
Includes 1 license for 1 domain only. Unlimited Operators and Departments. The software is hosted on CCS' web servers

I hope this will give you a good compairison of the 3 applications.


* Timpani does not have fixed prices from what I understood when chatting with their Sales Representative. They "calculate" the best price for you depending on how many employees you have, etc.

So it is probably a good idea to make them know that you are just starting out, if you plan to order it.

Sorry to dig this old thread up.

What are you using these days? I'm going to have one for Customer Support.

I must also remind you also of one of the biggest concerns of most of the people that are reading this, the pricing. So here it goes:

StarDevelop LiveHelp: $89.95 (one time fee)
Includes a license for 1 domain name, Unlimited Operators and Departments. The software is hosted on your own web server.
------------
Timpani LivePerson: $50.00/month (monthly) *
Includes 1 license for 1 domain name, 1 Operator and 1 Department. The software is hosted on Timpani's web servers.
------------
Click Chat Sold: $19.95 (monthly)
Includes 1 license for 1 domain only. Unlimited Operators and Departments. The software is hosted on CCS' web servers

I hope this will give you a good compairison of the 3 applications.


* Timpani does not have fixed prices from what I understood when chatting with their Sales Representative. They "calculate" the best price for you depending on how many employees you have, etc.

So it is probably a good idea to make them know that you are just starting out, if you plan to order it.


One of the thread i read on WHT , someone said they got Liveperson(tympani) for $20 after a LOT of bargaining.

Is the software always hosted on Their servers? -- thanks

I'd say supportsuite is the best. After that Livehelp is the second best. The rest are ok, but don't have winapps etc.

I have decided that I'm probably going with Kayako. I was originally going to go with Cerberus but after all the install issues I experienced just trying to get it to work (with help desk) and finding out the chat was locked too, I backed out of a purchase to rethink. I blinked and the same package is now about $400 more and the chat portion looks like it is $400 now! WOW!

Kayako has a very good help desk and live support solution. The cost for the equivalent package is about $250 less and doesn't have the limitation with the email domain pipe. It's a very sharp looking product but it's priced out of my league and I find it confusing and moreso for my users. So, Kayako it is....
You should contact them. I got supportsuite for $420, and that does tickets and live support.

I can echo the frustrations with phplive and the "your party has left the chat session". Happens very, very often, on both ends (i.e. the customer will see that you have left the session when you really didn't, and you will see that the customer has left the session when he really didn't). Other than that it has some great options, but that's a major bug.

Also, I thought I remember some vulnerabilities in help center live a while back. Where those corrected?

Ive been useing craftly syntax live help, again its free.

cant remember the web address so google it

I like liveperson :D

www.providesupport.com - They are rock solid. I love their user interface. Check em' out!

I like Stardevelop LiveHelp Messenger. I have not experienced the problems that some people here have. Their latest version is very stable and fast.

Have you guys looked at sales-n-stats, over at X-Cart. We've been using the free version, and it seems to work quite well.

They even support VOIP.

Kayako is my preference....

Ive been useing craftly syntax live help, again its free.

cant remember the web address so google it

craftysyntax.com

We have tried so many live chat system, and have been using LivePerson for a couple of years now. They're the best, we are also using their LiveCall feature, that is an instant call back feature where your visitors can click on it and they will be hooked up with your call center operators. Their integrated ticketing system are also awesome. So if you have many support staff/operators this one console system really handles your total customer care needs.

They are very reliable. We have 12 seats with them, our managers loved it as well since they can monitor every staff's performance, managers or supervisors can also guide your operators while they are chatting with the customers. So many add ons, it's totaly worth the price.

They're the most expensive one, but as they say, you get what you pay for :)