SmarterTrack Help
Community Knowledge Base

Replying to Tickets

To respond to a ticket, simply click the Reply (or Reply All) button in the preview pane toolbar. This will open a ticket response window that can be used to compose an email response to the user(s). Choosing Reply All allows you to reply to ALL recipients of the ticket who are listed in the To, Cc and Bcc fields, while choosing Reply will reply to only the sender. (Administrators can choose the Default Reply Option - Reply or Reply All - in the Tickets settings.)

When replying to a ticket, SmarterTrack automatically fills in the To: field with the email address(es) of the recipient(s) from the last ticket message and the subject field with the subject from the original ticket message. The Compose window gives agents the space, and the tools, to be able to adequately respond to the customer. Previous replies are excluded, but can easily be seen in the preview pane of the primary SmarterTrack interface.Note: When a ticket is submitted to SmarterTrack, a ticket number is automatically generated for the correspondence, and that ticket number is appended to the front of the original message's subject line. This ticket number should not be modified, moved or removed as SmarterTrack uses that number for its indexing and identification processes.

Composing a Ticket Response

The ticket response window contains, essentially, the same ticket information (details, custom fields, related items, history, etc.) you see in the preview pane. The exception is that it also offers the compose tab, which the agent will use to compose the ticket response.

The following fields will appear in the header of the ticket:

  • To - The email address(es) for the message recipient(s). If the agent is replying to a ticket, SmarterTrack will autofill this field. If the To: field contains a single email address, but the sender has requested that others receive the reply, additional addresses can be added, just separated with a semicolon. (E.g., jon@example.com; alex@example.com; beth@example.com)
  • Cc - The email address(es) of any individual(s) that will receive a copy of the ticket response. Generally, this is pre-filled when "Reply All" is used. If others need to be added, additional addresses can be added, just separated with a semicolon.
  • Bcc - The email address(es) of any individual(s) that should receive a blind carbon copy of the ticket response. Again, this is pre-filled when "Reply All" is used. If others need to be added, additional addresses can be added, just separated with a semicolon.
  • Subject - The subject of the message. If the agent is replying to a ticket, SmarterTrack will autofill this field. NOTE: If the Subject of the email reply needs to be changed, it should be done using the Change Subject option in the Actions menu. This ensures the ticket number stays intact and is not altered in any way.

The text of the ticket response can be added in the large editing box below the ticket header. Agents can change the formatting, like bold words, add in bulleted or number lists, add images, etc. this can be done using the HTML editing tools available.

The following options are available in the toolbar of the ticket response window:

  • Send - To send a ticket response, select the appropriate option: Send and Mark Active; Send and Mark Waiting; Send and Mark Closed; Send and Mark Closed and Locked; Send and Schedule Follow-up; or Send and Transfer.
    • Send and Mark Active - This sends the response, but will leave the ticket in the agent's Active queue. Generally, this is used for a quick response to a customer, like letting them know the ticket is in the hands of the agent and being actively worked on.
    • Send and Mark Waiting - This sends the response to the customer, and moves the ticket to a Waiting status. Waiting tickets are generally those where a reply was sent, but follow-up from the customer is necessary. For example, when an agent asks for additional information on an issue, asks for confirmation that an issue is resolved, etc. Ideally, Waiting tickets are expected to receive a relatively quick reply from the customer.
    • Send and Mark Closed - This sends the response and then closes the ticket. Tickets that are marked as "Closed" are considered resolved, but the customer can reply to the ticket and re-open it, which means it will become part of the agent's Active queue. Though closed tickets are considered "resolved", this doesn't bar the customer from replying with additional questions, with questions unrelated to the ticket itself, etc.
    • Send and Mark Closed and Locked - This sends the response, closes the ticket, and locks it. Locked tickets cannot be replied to by the customer. This is the ideal method for resolving tickets as it prevents customers from re-opening tickets with unrelated questions or issues.
    • Send and Schedule Follow-up - This sends the response, puts the ticket in a Waiting status, but allows the agent to schedule a follow-up for some time later -- later that same day, a few days later, etc. Follow-ups allow the agent to finalize a ticket and ensure that any resolution sent actually worked for the customer. At the date/time of the follow-up, the ticket is automatically moved from a Waiting to an Active status for the agent.
    • Send and Transfer - This sends the response, but allows the agent to transfer the ticket to another agent. This is best used when an agent has some scheduled time away -- either PTO or temporary assignment to another department. In these cases, transferring the ticket to another agent after a response is sent ensures that any follow-up necessary is handled by someone, and that any replies aren't sent back to the agent while they're away or on temporary assignment.
  • Save Draft - Saves a draft of the ticket response. SmarterTrack will automatically save drafts of ticket responses, but agents can opt to save a draft of a completed response for any reason, such as pending additional information or review by a supervisor. Note: There can be only one draft per ticket. If there is a draft response for a ticket already, and another draft is created for the same ticket response, the original draft will be overwritten.
  • Attach Files - Adds an attachment that is included with any response to the ticket. This is a good way to send instructional documents, screenshots, white papers or other files to customers and end users. In order to attach files, you will need to specify the file types allowed. More information can be found on the Security help page. (NOTE: By default, the maximum file size allowed for any attachment is 2MB.)
  • 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 ticket.
    • Comment - Adds a comment to the ticket. Agents can select the type of comment they want to add: General, Resolution, Transfer, Follow-Up, or Sticky. Comments will appear within the timeline of the ticket -- that is, they'll appear between ticket responses based on when the comment was made. The exception are Sticky comments, which are always displayed at the top of the ticket response timeline. Ticket comments are only visible to agents and managers.
    • Resolution - (NOTE: This is the same as adding a "Resolution" comment to a ticket.) When an agent adds a Resolution to a ticket, this information is stored in a searchable database that can be used to quickly and efficiently resolve tickets that detail issues similar to the ticket receiving the Resolution. Tickets with resolutions appear when an agent selects Resolved Tickets option from the ticket's Actions menu. (See below.)
    • Internal Attachment - Attaches a file to the ticket that is only available to the agents who work on the ticket. When an agent adds an internal attachment to a ticket, this information is stored in the Attachments and Communication tabs of the ticket.
    • Related Item - Adds an existing ticket, call log or live chat to the ticket. When an agent adds a related item to a ticket, 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 ticket. When an agent adds a task to a ticket, 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 ticket. When an agent adds a time log to a ticket, this information is stored in the Time Logs tab.
    • New Call Log - Allows the agent to create a new call log then attaches that call log to the ticket. When an agent adds a call log to a ticket, this information is stored in the Related Items tab and appears in the Call Logs section of the management interface.
  • Actions (…) - Click this button and select the appropriate option to insert a canned reply, change the status or priority of the ticket, view user details, get assistance or print the ticket.
    • Priority - To change the priority level of a ticket, select the appropriate option. For information on the different priority levels, see Tickets Overview.
    • Pin - To pin or unpin the ticket, select the appropriate option.
    • Insert Canned Reply - Allows the Agent to select text from a Canned Reply that will be inserted into their reply.
    • Insert Form - Allows the Agent to send a Form to the ticket originator.
    • Change Email Address - Select this option to change the email address associated with the ticket. Agents can change the email address to better track tickets by allowing them to be found more easily when searching, sorting or browsing. When the email address associated with a ticket is changed using this control (rather than editing the To field on replies), the new email address will be automatically included for all future replies to the user. The user may adjust the subject on their reply, however, this will not change the subject displayed in the preview pane and will only show in the header of the user's reply on the Communication tab.
    • Change Subject - Select this option to change the subject of the ticket. Agents can change the subject to better track tickets by allowing them to be found more easily when searching, sorting or browsing. When the subject of a ticket is changed using this control (rather than editing the subject on reply), the new subject will be used for all future replies to the user. The user may still adjust the subject on their reply, however, this will not change the subject displayed in the preview pane and will only show in the header of the user's reply on the Communication tab.
    • Assistance - Click this button and select the appropriate option to view relevant knowledge base articles or ticket resolutions or to get assistance from another agent.
      • Knowledge Base Articles - Displays a list of knowledge base articles that may be related to the selected ticket. Agents can use search terms to find the knowledge base article that best relates to the ticket.
      • Resolved Tickets - Displays a list of resolutions that may be related to the selected ticket. Agents can use search terms to find the resolution that best relates to the ticket.
    • Manual Events - At the bottom of the Actions are listed any manual events an agent has created that can be performed against the selected ticket. For more information, see the Events Overview page of the online help. If no Manual Events are configured, this option will simply state "No manual events available".
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