Do any of you guys offer the live help option on your site? If so, which package do you use? Do you think it helps you close sales? Do you use if for customer support only? Any tips?

http://www.phplivesupport.com/

http://www.kayako.com/

Thanks for any input!

We use Liveperson and I can tell you without a doubt it closes sales. This is not the reason we decided to offer live support, it is just a very nice byproduct. Approximately 30-50% of our live chat requests are from potential customers.

We use phplivesupport.com and we don't have to pay any monthly fees. It's just as good as the others - if not better. You can also customize the scripts which you can't do if you're hosting them remotely.

I thought phplivesupport you do have to pay $99/year..........It is not totally obvious when you look at your site, but I think that is really the deal. Good product though.

We were one of their first customers so we have free lifetime upgrades :D .

Originally posted by bjseiler
I thought phplivesupport you do have to pay $99/year..........It is not totally obvious when you look at your site, but I think that is really the deal. Good product though.
By looking at the site it appears you can buy it outright for the $99 (or $149) and get the code to host on your own server. Since its all on your server, I can see how they would turn you off after the year.

I'm guessing if you want upgrades and continued support you'll have to pay the yearly renewal fee, but if not, its your's forever.

Concerning the PHP Live program--It looks like the $99.00 is for a one-year license of the software. The website quotes prices as follows:

-----------------------------------------------

PHP Live! Lite Version Download - $99.95
Unlimited Operators and Departments.
All features included EXCEPT the visitor traffic monitor or proactive chat.
(annual License renewal: $99.95 - includes free upgrade, support and Software usage)


PHP Live! Premium Version Download - $149.95
Unlimited Operators and Departments.
Has all the features, including the visitor traffic monitor and proactive chat.
(annual License renewal: $149.95 - includes free upgrade, support and Software usage)


PHP Live! Owned License Download - $399.95
Unlimited Operators and Departments.
Has all the features, including the visitor traffic monitor and proactive chat.
No annual fee. You own the Software. Additional fees for upgrades.

--------------------------------------------------------------------
If you look at the bottom of each paragraph it says the annual license renewal is $xxx and the bottom version says no annual fee. The interesting this as ptww.net points out is that it runs on your server and it appears you can get the source code. PHP Live is probably in the process of repricing their product for an annual renewal as the wording kind of conflicts with the pricing structure...

On another note I was considering getting this software (PHP Live) has anyone had any experience (good or bad) with it?

Thanks.

I'm trying the 10 day demo right now - so far so good. I wish it ran in the sys tray though instead of a browser window. I think I read somewhere that they are coming out with that version, and there are programs you can get to minimize any window to the sys tray.

They do have a sys try add on that you can buy from them.....

We have been testing PHP Live Support and have been impressed with it so far. It gets our vote.

Don't waste your money!! .. on that little phplivesupport systray..

I bought it.. it's horrid..

It's f'n internet explorer in a little window that minimizes to the tray :).. Whenever you open it you have to put the login URL back in (or click on the down arrow and select your last one)..

If you want it to popup you have to check it everytime..

It's totally not designed properly.. like they were the worst programmers i've ever seen on this one..

How can you make such a neat little support system and f' up the little console app..

oh well.. hope I save YOU $60.. :).

use kayako, good support easy to install, very powerful

Guys, don't forget the solution from www.turnkeywebtools.com. They have one that's only 80$, but from the demos it looks rather comparable to the rest.

I talked to the owner, and they said you can't 'push' a chat with a visitor yet, but will with the next version which he said should be released on Friday the 20th of Sept.

But i talked to him 2 weeks ago so this may have been amended. I checked the webpage and it is still selling the 1.3version.

-WC-

Originally posted by Sprynex
Don't waste your money!! .. on that little phplivesupport systray..

I bought it.. it's horrid..

It's f'n internet explorer in a little window that minimizes to the tray :).. Whenever you open it you have to put the login URL back in (or click on the down arrow and select your last one)..

If you want it to popup you have to check it everytime..

It's totally not designed properly.. like they were the worst programmers i've ever seen on this one..

How can you make such a neat little support system and f' up the little console app..

oh well.. hope I save YOU $60.. :).
Thanks for the warning. We were actually looking at buying that little tool.

clickchatsold.com is also nice with pretty good features.

Not free anymore though !

Originally posted by goodness0001
use kayako, good support easy to install, very powerful

See my latest post here, please. If you wouldn't mind - I could use a little help with this. :(

--Tina

Regarding PHPLive, here's a reply I got from them:

The Owned License does not have a yearly fee. You may use the Software for
life without continue to pay. The Premium Download has a yearly fee and in
order to continue usage, you will need to pay a yearly fee.

The WinApp system tray application can be purchased in the Client Member
area.

Thank you,
OSI Codes Inc.

So it appears that the only way to avoid a yearly fee is to buy the $399 version. Of course, with the other downloaded version, if it is running entirely on your own server, how can they shut it off after a year???

Might be that it calls home every so often.

-wc-

really with the downloaded version PHP Live! Premium Version Download - $159.95

How can they shut you down? or can they? or actually they cannot? and do you really get 100% full source code? anybody knows?

thanks alot!

the php window tray thing sucks! You get logged out every 20-30 minutes... IMO its a just a way for them to make extra $$$ :(

Yep,.. totally agree with that damn systray thing, i also bought that shi* and found out it is just a explorer window that is send to the tray.

I really hope they improve this ****ty app because i spend 50 bucks on it. The worst thing is that they do not offer a trial/demo so you can try it before you buy.

Before i got this app i was atracted because of the litle number on the systray that displays the number of current visitors. But this damn thing shows a "+" when you have more than 20 visitors, which is always my case, so i can never know exactly how many users are browsing my site.

So, dont go wrong buying this stuff, is just an internet explorer window located on the systray. :mad:

I just hope they improve this little app soon, maybe a totally explorer independent application, similar to kayako would be great (that was what i was expecting).

Also you dont get the source code for this app. (wonder why is called OSI Codes=open source industries). If they release the codes users could contribute with more features or customize the software on our needs.

IMO phplivesupport is a really great software :), its just the little app that is a total scam :(

Regards!

Trust me buy LiveResponse. It is very powerful and very easy to use, and if you don't thank yourself the day you buy it, you will in a few weeks...

'nuff said:)