Hi everyone,

We are conducting a survey to see what method of contact reseller hosting customers would prefer:


Live chat primarily (24x7 live sales and support chat, with agents always online, and very limited phone support)
or, 24x7 phone sales and support (with limited live chat -- agents would be available at scattered times during the day)


Of course, email/ticket support would always be an option.

Thanks for your feedback!

Why does it have to be one or the other? If people will be monitoring the phones why can't they monitor chat as well? I think the more options you can give, the better.

This varies by person but for myself, I am very fond of 24/7 E-mail/Ticket/Live Chat support, compared to sitting on a telephone and racking up the phone bill.

The same service for myself I feel could be attained either way.

@singlehopsteph It's more a question of which method most customers/leads would prefer.

@quartz Thanks for your feedback!

In my experience, it really is a toss up. We have clients that prefer chatting and never call...on the other hand there are those that only call and don't want to read emails but want to talk to someone live. I think that being able to speak to someone on the phone will put more customers at ease. Only having online support may scare some potential clients away.

Either way we will still have a toll free sales and support number, it's just a matter of which contact channel is staffed 24/7 and *always* has someone available.

My personal opinion is 24x7 Live Sales/Support Chat.

Personally I prefer a ticketing system or help desk. Most of the problems you're gonna have, the admins will need to work on and get back to you. It's much easier for me to open a ticket, continue with my work and then get a response back within 10-15 minutes or so. The live help I have experienced is horrible and phone support is usually answered by someone reading a script with no real experience. Also with a ticketing system or help desk there is a clear trail of the issue posted to the ticket for your future reference if you ever need to re-open the issue.

Personally I prefer a ticketing system or help desk. Most of the problems you're gonna have, the admins will need to work on and get back to you. It's much easier for me to open a ticket, continue with my work and then get a response back within 10-15 minutes or so. The live help I have experienced is horrible and phone support is usually answered by someone reading a script with no real experience. Also with a ticketing system or help desk there is a clear trail of the issue posted to the ticket for your future reference if you ever need to re-open the issue.

I agree with this 100%. :agree:

As a customer, 24x7 live chat.

I prefer logging tickets but if its urgent enough will log a ticket and then call in.

Ticket/e-mail support > Live Chat > Phone

Phone is a last resort if nothing is being taken care of.

I guess the toll free number service is one good option. People today opt to use phones for inquiries and in placing orders. This is more interactive too.

Certainly imo live chat..i would certainly prefer chat service than call..and it is more practical too..you can have a tech handle 2 chats at the same time incase of heavy flow but certainly not possible with live call..

It depends on how good the phone support is. If you have a toll free number and have a person that can speak English I would prefer phone support/sales. However if you have someone that can't speak English then I would prefer chat support/sales so I know whats going on. It also looks bad if you have "Chat Offline" I will assume that the phone will go to voice mail where as if I see "Chat Online" I will know that you have support and sales available.