Community Knowledge Base

Viewing Live Chat

To view a live chat, simply click the desired chat and it will display in the preview pane. If you would rather view the chat in a popup window, double-click the chat instead. (You can also click the pop-out icon from the toolbar on the chat itself.) Note: Agents can also configure SmarterTrack so that new chats automatically open in a popup window when they are received. For more information, see My Preferences.

In general, the following options are available from the preview pane toolbar:

  • End Chat - Ends the live chat session.
  • Take - Allows an agent to take a live chat, either from the queue or from another agent, and begin actively replying to the end user.
  • Transfer - Transfer the live chat to another group or agent.
  • Add - Click this button and select the appropriate option to add a comment, task, file, time log, call log or other related item to the live chat.
    • Comment - Adds a comment to the chat. Agents can select the type of comment they want to add: General, Resolution, Transfer, Follow-Up, or Sticky. Comments will appear on the Comments tab. Comments are only visible to agents and managers.
    • Related Item - Adds an existing ticket, call log or live chat to the chat. When an agent adds a related item to a chat, this information is stored in the Related Items tab.
    • New Task - Allows the agent to create a new task then attaches that task to the chat. When an agent adds a task to a chat, this information is stored in the Related Items tab and appears in the Tasks section of the management interface.
    • New Time Log - Allows the agent to create a new time log then attaches that time log to the chat. When an agent adds a time log to a chat, this information is stored in the Time Logs tab.
    • New Ticket - Allows the agent to create a new ticket based on the chat, then attaches that ticket to the chat. When an agent adds a ticket to a chat, this information is stored in the Related Items tab and the ticket is assigned to whomever the agent selected when creating the ticket.
    • New Call Log - Allows the agent to create a new call log then attaches that call log to the chat. When an agent adds a call log to a chat, this information is stored in the Related Items tab and appears in the Call Logs section of the management interface.
  • Pop-out - Allows the agent to open the chat in a pop-out window.
  • Actions (…) - Click this button and select the appropriate option to perform any manual events created for live chats.
    • Delete Chat - Only available on completed chats, this will delete the chat.
    • Email Transcript - Only available on completed chats, this allows the agent to email a transcript of the chat to the user, and will pre-fill the Email Address with the address entered by the user. However, the agent can change that or add additional addresses separated by semicolon.
    • Print - Allows the agent to print the chat conversation as well as the header and any custom fields. Note: If viewing the management interface from a mobile device, this option may not be available.
    • Insert Canned Reply - Allows the agent to choose from a list of canned responses. To choose a canned response, simply double-click the desired response and it will be automatically inserted in the live chat response.
    • Send File - Allows the agent to send a file, like a screenshot or a document, to the person they're chatting with.
    • Email Transcript - Allows an email to be sent containing the text transcript of the conversation. Emails can only be sent to a single recipient.
    • Assistance - Shows the agent any relevant KB articles that may help with answering questions or troubleshooting.
    • Translate - Only available on completed chats, this will actively translate the contents of the chat.
    • Manual Event - If there are manual events set up for live chats, they will appear at the bottom of the Actions menu. Otherwise, 'No manual events available' will appear.

Tabs within the Live Chat

Live chat information is organized within the following tabs. (NOTE: A tab is only displayed for a chat if there is an item associated with that tab. For example, if there are no attachments for a chat, the Attachments tab is not displayed.)

  • Conversation - This displays the text of the live chat as well as any custom fields being used.
  • Comments - This tab displays any comments agents would like to note about the chat or customer. Comments are only visible to agents.
  • Attachments - This tab lists any files that were uploaded to the chat by an agent or customer.
  • Time Logs - This tab lists any time logs attached to the live chat.
  • Related Items - This tab lists any tickets, time logs, tasks or files attached to the ticket.
  • Custom Fields - This tab includes any custom fields the administrator created to help customize your company's chats. This information can be populated by a user, an agent, or a third-party application (via the administrator).
  • History - This tab summarizes any actions associated to the chat.
  • Survey - This tab displays any completed surveys that are associated with the live chat, including their completion date and eventual rating. Users can double-click on the survey to bring it up in a new window.

Viewing User Details

In many instances you'll notice the user's email address has an underline when viewing a ticket. Clicking on an email address with an underline opens a pop-out window that allows you to all of the information SmarterTrack has gathered for that particular User. Much of this information can be added or edited in the Users and Organizations area, but much of it is gathered by SmarterTrack itself. The pop-out is comprised of a number of different tabs, including:

  • Details - The Details tab displays a variety of data about the user. For example, the user's authentication method, their Time Zone, their preferred language and more.
  • Contact Info - If the User has any detailed contact info, such as a website URL, home or work cell numbers, a company address, etc., it will be displayed here.
  • Portal Settings - Details include whether a custom avatar is in use and approved, whether the User subscribes to Community posts automatically, etc.
  • Roles - This displays the various Roles for the User.
  • Custom Fields - If any Custom Field data is associated to the User, it will be displayed here.
  • Comments - If any comments have been added to the User, they will be displayed. Comments can include details about their Organization, preferred methods of contact, etc.
  • Tickets - This tab lists all of the tickets in the SmarterTrack system that have been submitted by the email address associated to this User. The ticket status, subject, the number of messages in the ticket thread, the agent assigned to the ticket and additional information is displayed. Agents can perform actions on these tickets such as viewing them, merging them with other tickets, etc. All of this information is pulled directly from SmarterTrack and it helps agents get an overall picture of the number and nature of issues the User has reported. This is especially handy if a User has had a number of similar issues in the past -- they're easily accessible by an agent from the Tickets tab.
  • Live Chats - This tab lists all of the live chats in the SmarterTrack system that have been started by the email address associated to this User. The chat group, dated and time the chat was started, the chat queue time and additional information is displayed. Agents can perform actions on these chats such as viewing them, starting a ticket from a chat, etc. All of this information is pulled directly from SmarterTrack and it helps agents get an overall picture of the number and nature of issues the User has reported. This is especially handy if a User has had a number of similar issues in the past -- they're easily accessible by an agent from the Live Chats tab.
  • Calls - This tab details the number of call logs that were created for the User. Information available includes the phone number of the User, the Group the call was created for, the call duration and more. Call logs can be viewed, tickets can be started from them and more.
  • Survey - This tab details the surveys that the User has submitted. It includes the survey's name, its completion date, the associated item the survey was completed for, the survey score and more.
  • Forms - If a user has submitted a form, or a number of forms, they will be displayed here.
  • Statistics - The Statistics tab shows the User's activity over the course of several days. This includes the number of tickets, live chats, calls and time logs completed for the User in the Last 7 Days, Last 30 Days, Last 90 Days and All Time.
  • History - This tab shows historical information such as the last time the User logged in to SmarterTrack, the last time they submitted a ticket, their last live chat, etc.

Coaching Agents During Live Chats

With SmarterTrack's included coaching functionality, other agents and/or managers can provide assistance to an agent during active live chats "behind the scenes". This is a great way for organizations to aid in agent training and efficiency, while ensuring the customer receives accurate information. For example, a manager can participate with the agent in real time, offering advice, reminding them of special sales or customer incentives, guiding a new agent in ways to direct a conversation and more.

During a live chat, when an agent or manager views an ongoing chat they'll have the "Coaching" text box available to them. It displays to the right of the standard response window and has a background color to differentiate it within the chat itself that helps the agent know that they're being coached. Typing inside that coaching area displays the contents of the message to the agent, but not to the customer. And, when the coaching message is sent, it appears inline with the rest of the chat so it's in front of the agent, and they can even reply as needed by similarly typing in the coaching window.