In our previous blog entry, we showed the front end for submitting support requests.
In this entry, we'll show how staff members deal with support requests from the Admin CP.
This is what the support listing in the Admin CP looks like:
Staff members can select which departments and statuses to show using the filters at the bottom. Of course, only the departments they are allowed to access are shown.
Support requests are sorted by the date of the last reply, ignoring any replies made by the same member (so if a member replies to their support request with more information, they remain in the same position in the queue).
If there are any requests you are tracking or are assigned to you, buttons will appear at the top to allow you to view these requests, regardless of your current filter settings.
Support requests you are tracking or are assigned to you are marked in the list with an icon.
You can set the status on multiple requests at a time by selecting the checkbox for each one and using the dropdown menu at the bottom. For example, if you see duplicate tickets or spam.
This is what the request screen looks like:
The box at the top indicates the properties of the request. When you mouse over any of these, they will change to a dropdown menu allowing you to change them. After selecting an option, it will immediately be saved.
The box below this indicates the package associated to the request. If the request is in a department which requires an associated package and there isn't one, or it isn't the correct type, an warning will be shown:
When you change any of the attributes, such as department, the status of this will be updated via AJAX.
If the associated package has custom fields or subpackages, clicking on the package name will reveal this information:
You can change the associated package by clicking the link which will show a list of all the user's packages - the currently associated package will be highlighted:
You can reply to a request using the box at the bottom. At the same time as replying, you can edit any of the attributes.
You can also select a stock action, which will automatically fill in the reply and select the appropriate attribute values for you. You can then customise these or send the reply.
You can add a hidden note to a request by pressing the button at the top, which will display a popup for you to type your note:
The note will be displayed inline in the request:
Notes only show to staff members in the Admin CP - the customer will not see them.
You can control who is notified of replies to the support request using the "Notifications" tab at the bottom.
This is handy if the customer requests another person to be CCd on replies.
By Mark