User Story Support Process

Standardizing the language in your user story is a great way to quickly organize your ticket and make them easy to process. Not to mention that recording your standardized story in the long text form field below will cause the tasks related to it to automatically appear.

Describe the story by first assigning a category, then giving a brief summary of the details. For example, "A technical issue on Google Chrome - the home page fails to load" or "a feature request for Zapier integration - aiming to automate data management".

Categories explained

• [Simple Question] 

  • Simple questions are general questions that don’t ask anything specific but is a sign of a user reaching out to see if support exists or to test the system. Examples could be when the user just says “hi” or “what is Process Street?"

• [Technical Issue]
  • A technical issue is any issue that relates to core functionality of our product. Examples could include "Why won't my video upload?" or "Why wont my changes appear?"
• [App Question]
  • App questions are any questions involving a users curiousity about specific features in the platform and how they work. Examples include anytime the user asks a question about how a feature of our platform works, such as "What's a guest?" "What exactly is a widget" or "What can I use the API for?"
• [Sales Question]
  • While relatively straight-forward in nature, Sales Questions are any type of inquiry where the user is asking about pricing details or shows a desire to sign up for a business plan.
• [Marketing/PR question]
  • When a user expresses interest to collaborate with us in a content sense (writing guest articles), asks about affiliate programs or when a user asks for founder interviews.
• [Billing Issues Question]
  • Users will encounter billing issues from time to time. If we need to manually apply a discount, discover why a users card did not add or why our stripe webhook isn't loading, then this is a billing issue.
• [Feature Request]
  • Anytime a user proposes a change to our platform that is either in the works, or not thought of yet, this is a feature request. 
• [Mixed-type Question]
  • Sometimes users will have complex issues that go across multiple different categories of problems. For example, a user might ask about billing in the same question they ask about the potential for an audit trail on their check lists. 
• [I'm not sure Question]
  • Sometimes as a support staff member you might be a bit lost in terms of what the user wants. In this case, you will need to ask the user more questions and details about their particular task at hand. 

• Ticket Examples

  • 'Hi there, what exactly is Process Street?' [Simple Question]
  • 'Hi there, when I logged in I noticed that several of the templates I made last night are no longer visible, did I do something wrong?' [Technical Issue]
  • 'I’m still unclear on the difference between a guest, a user, and a member on the pricing page. The free plan includes unlimited users, but when I go to the organizational page in Process.st I can only add new members or guests.' [App Question]
  • 'Can you please confirm that if we buy approximately 40-50 licenses that we can get that for 4.17 USD each? We are currently evaluating different systems and the plan is to make the decision in December about which system to buy.' [Sales Question]
  • 'If you are interested, I am willing to offer you high quality posts for your your readers as well as payment for publishing my articles.' [Marketing/PR question]
  • 'Please activate the Discount below for Visionary Accounting as subscription was paid by Credit card today 31st December 2015' [Billing Issues Question]
  • 'What would be really great is if we had the ability to assign tasks to individual members in my organization' [Feature Request]
  • 'I'm curious as to why my new templates are appearing. Also, where on Yammer can I find how to turn on my Process Street integration?' [Mixed-type Question]
  • When the user is not sure at all. [I'm not sure Question]

Common Simple Questions

• "What is Process Street?"
• "Hi"
• "Are you there?"
• "test test"
• "Is this working"

Responding to Common Simple Questions

• If the user asks what is Process Street, see Response 2 below in the Example Simple Questions and Responses section. (This is also a saved reply)
• If someone says hi/areyou there see Response 1 below in the Example Simple Questions and Responses section. (This is also a saved reply)
• Always link the user guide. (https://www.process.st/templates/process-street-user-guide/)

Example Simple Questions and Responses

Example 1:

Hi, are you there?

Response 1:

'Hi there, I sure am! How can I help you today? Have you checked out our Process Street User Guide?

Example 2:

What is Process Street?

Response 2:

'Hi there, thanks for reaching out! Process Street is your resource for managing teamworkflows, recurring processes and documenting your standard operating procedures. You should check out our handy user guide here.

Simple questions aren't questions about anything. They are usually results from when users use our Intercom chat applet for the first time, or someone who's just curious about who we are.

Using intercom's saved replies

You can create a large number of saved replies, that also include HTML markup, for ultimate mastery of how our messages will appear to customers. However, if you create a saved reply, add a card for it in Trello and make sure it is approved before you ever use it. Be sure to defend why you think it's necessary. 

The first thing you need to do for a technical issue is to see if you can replicate it. Jump to the “testing” task (number 15) for an explanation on issue testing.

Common Technical Issue Questions

• "None of my changes are saving to my templates"
• "I just logged in and noticed all my templates are gone"
• "My Slack integration is not working, how do I fix it?"
• "I keep getting the 'Cant find template' error?"
• "The support chat isn't working" 

Responding to Technical Issue Questions

• Determine if the issue is actually technical in nature, or a misunderstanding of a feature
• Use "technical issue first response" templates to let the user know you are investigating the issue
• Determine if you can replicate the issue in your organization
• If replicable, create a github issue (with screenshots!)
• Assign the ticket to the Development box

Example Technical Issues and Responses

Example:

'Hi there, every time I click save changes, none of my changes appear after the page refreshes'

Response:

Hi there User, thanks for reaching out. 

I'm sorry you're having this issue. I was able to replicate this on my end, and I will be creating a bug report ASAP. I'm going to work with my technical team to fix this as soon as possible, and I will get back to you when we have more answers.

App questions are any question related to how to use the different features, functionalities, buttons, screens or anything else related to the app.

These are generally releated to topics in the user guide too. 

Common App Questions

• The difference between checklists and templates
• What an organization is and how to set up permissions
• Adding clients and other users to your account
• Questions about our platforms integrations with Zapier, Yammer and Google Apps
• How to export a template

Responding to Common App Questions

• Find appropriate template reply(s)
• Customize if appropriate
• Send reply
• Close ticket

Example App Questions and Responses

Example 1:

Hi there, how do I put one of my youtube videos in a template?

Response 1:

Hi there user, Thanks for reaching out!

To use our video widget, you can either upload your own mp4 video or paste a youtube/vimeo link. You can also use an embedded video if you want to get really crafty 🙂 

Did that work? Let me know if not and I’ll be happy to help.

Example 2:

Hi, I want to bring my assistant on the platform but I dont want her to be able to edit documents. How can I do this?

Response 2:

Hi there, user. Thanks for reaching out! You can handle this through user permissions. Simply invite the user to your organization as a guest. From there, change their permissions to 'can view' instead of 'can edit'. You can read more about user permissions here: https://www.process.st/templates/process-street-user-guide/#managing-user-permissions

By default, all sales related conversations need to be immediately sent to the Sales box. 

Common Sales Questions

• 'Hi, do you have special business plans for nonprofits/schools?'
• 'We are browsing through different workflow products and...'
• 'When my trial ends, can I upgrade to a different plan?'
• 'Do you guys do business plan demos?'
• 'If I switch to a paid plan, what new features will I get?'
• 'If I switch to a paid plan...'

Responding to Common Sales Questions

The sake of this section is to reiterate that if you notice any ticket somehow related to a Sales matter, then you need to immediately assign that issue to the 'Sales' box.

Examples of Common Sales Questions:

Example:

"Can you please confirm that if we buy approximately 40-50 licenses that we can get that for 4.17 USD each? We are currently evaluating different systems and the plan is to make the decision in December about which system to buy."

Response:

Assign to 'Sales' box.

Types of questions you will commonly see in regards to Marketing and PR with our organization.

Common Marketing/PR Questions

• 'Just checking...is there an affiliate program for PS yet?'
• 'I was curious if you have any idea of when an affiliate program will be implemented?'
• 'I am willing to offer you high quality posts for your your readers as well as payment for publishing my articles. Please let me know if you would like to discuss details, topics or if you have any questions.'

• 'Who are the founders? Might be worthwhile for me to interview one of them for a new entrepreneur-focused podcast we're producing.'

Responding to Common Marketing or  PR Questions

• Assign all paid work inquiries to the Marketing box
• Create a note for all interview requests mentioning the person they want to interview. Immediately assign to Marketing box.
• If about affiliate programs, tell them we don't have one but there is a reseller agreement that we offer (see example below)

Example Marketing/PR Questions and Responses

Example 1:

Hello,

My name is X and I am a freelance writer interested in guest posting on google.org. I have been freelance writing for a few years now and have written blog posts on everything from business, finance and technology, to parenting and pregnancy. If you are interested, I am willing to offer you high quality posts for your your readers as well as payment for publishing my articles.

Please let me know if you would like to discuss details, topics or if you have any questions.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon,

Response 1:

Assign this to Marketing so that the respective users there can process them

Example 2:

'I was curious if you have any idea of when an affiliate program will be implemented?'

Response 2:

Hi User, thanks for reaching out.

Not yet, a self service affiliate program is a little ways away.

If you do work directly with clients we can work out a reseller agreement for companies you bring on annual contracts with more than 10 seats.

Let me know if you want to discuss that further.
Blog featured writers

These are generally very limited in range, and be handled with saved replies. 

These are generally releated to topics in the user guide too. 

Common Billing Issues Questions

• 'I can't add my card'
• 'Does this discount code still apply?'
• 'I was charged the wrong amount'
• 'Can I pay by invoice?'

Responding to Common Billing Issues Questions

• Assign all discount code queries to 'Sales'
• Address all Stripe concerns directly, but be sure and tag the Sales manager.
• Politely address all incorrect charges, but assign to 'Sales' ("I'm sorry for the inconvenience, i'm going to discuss this with my Sales team immediately")
• Assign all invoice queries immediately to 'Sales' 

Example Billing Issues Questions and Responses

Example 1:

'Hi there, Will you still honor your previously quoted coupon?'

Response 1:

Hi there User,

Thanks so much for your interest in signing up for the business plan 🙂

We need to change your plan on the back end to apply the discount.

I will discuss this with my sales staff immediately and get back to you ASAP

Example 2:

'Hi there, I was accidentally charged for 4 users instead of 3'

Response 2:

Hi there User,

I'm sorry to hear you were charged incorrectly! I'm going to immediately inform my sales staff so we can get this fixed for you 🙂

Feature requests are when users suggest a new way to use our platform that isn't currently available. 

Since many of the feature requests are common, we have the following examples of situations where you can use a saved reply.

Common Feature Requests

• 'It would be great if you guys had nested checklists'
• 'You should add a feature where I can see all my running checklists in real time'
• 'We need a full analytics dashboard for Process Street'

• 'You should create a way to vote on each task'

Responding to Common Feature Requests

• Check if it's a feature request already on our development timeline
• If not, respond with the 'We'll add it to our feature board' saved reply.
• Take note of the request
• Sign off, and close the ticket

Example Billing Issues Questions and Responses

Example 1:

'Hey, I love your platform but it would be really cool if you guys had a way for me to put nested checklists within my running checklists'

Response 1:

'Hi there user, Thanks for reaching out!

Nested checklists are currently at the top of our development priority list. We expect to release this feature within the next 2-3 months. I'll make sure you're informed when we roll that out 🙂

In the meantime, i'm curious about how you're using Process Street. Hopefully I can come up with a customer solution for you.

Example 2:

'What if you guys had a feature where you could vote on each task? Like thumbs up or thumbs down?'

Response 2:

Hi there user, Thanks for reaching out!

Thanks for the idea, I can definitely see that working very well. 

I'm going to go ahead and put this on our feature board, where I will discuss it with my time at the end of the week.

I’d like to learn a little bit about how you’re using Process Street. While we talk about this feature internally, maybe I can guide you to another solution that might solve your problem.

Just reply here if you want to chat. I am always happy to help.

Sometimes tickets combine multiple questions that span different categories.

There are generally two types of mixed-type questions. 

Common Mixed-Type Questions

• 'It would be great if you guys had nested checklists'
• 'You should add a feature where I can see all my running checklists in real time'
• 'We need a full analytics dashboard for Process Street'

• 'You should create a way to vote on each task'

Responding to Common Mixed-Type Questions

• Address the clients concern one step at a time (A, B, C not C, A, B) in the order they present it to you
• Address any technical issues first, but still respond in the order that the client sent you
• If the question is too cumbersome, alert the client that you are 'Going through your questions, allow some time to revert' (use the saved reply) 
• After answering AND getting a positive response from the client, sign off and close the ticket

Examples of Common Mixed-Type Questions

Example 1:

Hi there, I really like your platform. A few questions

1. How do I add a new user to all my checklists?

2. Is your business plan still available at the discounted price?

3. Are you open 24 hours a day?

Response 1:

This is why saved replies are built in blocks, so you can use multiple saved replies for one mixed type question.

Hi there user, thanks for reaching out. 

1. To add a new user to your checklists, you can add them as an admin in your organization, so they will have view and edit rights on each checklist. You can also enter their email in the 'assign field' on each template, or checklist, you wish to apply this. After entering their name once, the field will auto-populate.

2. We are happy to honor the discount code you received. I'm going to notify our sales staff and they'll organize this with you ASAP.

3. We are indeed. Just drop me a line here and i'm happy to help.

Let me know what else I can answer for you

Example 2:

Hi there, 

I just created a new folder and I added several templates inside. However when I try to move the folder to a different organization and export it's contents, I'm not able to. How do I do this?

Response 2:

Hi there User, thanks for reaching out!

First, you cannot transfer templates between organizations at the moment, however we are currently on working something similar.

If you aren't concerned with the content being public, I have a solution for you in the meantime. 

The best option for you right now is to do the following (excuse this being a little 'hack-ey')

1. Make the checklist public by clicking 'Share' on the right sidebar

2. Copy the URL of the public checklist

3. Switch organizations to your desired organization via the organization switcher in the top right. 

4. In a separate tab, go to the public checklist URL you copied. Click 'give me this checklist'. Now the checklist will appear in your organization as desired 🙂

How does that work for you?

The overall goal with managing technical tickets is to attempt to replicate any issue that can be identified, and to prioritize them accordingly. 

When you have a technical issue, you will need to respond and say we're looking in to it and begin the steps below.

There is more detail about replicating issues starting with task #15 and the task #16.

Issues that cannot be replicated have specific instructions on task #17

How to Test Techincal Issues

• Respond to client informing them that we are testing it and will revert to them shortly.
  

  • "Hi X, Thanks for reaching out, I'm currently testing this issue for you and will keep you informed as my investigation continues. I'm sorry about the inconvenience in the meantime. I'll get back to you as soon as I discover a solution for you."

• Assign the ticket to yourself for the investigation process. 

• Try to replicate in your own organization (if applicable and not an account specific issue), Do this on Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer. Follow as much detail as the user gives you.

• If you can replicate the issue take a screenshot and see task #15. If you could not replicate the issue, see task #16.

If you went through the steps above and were able to replicate the users issue, follow these steps:

What to do when you can replicate an issue

• Create a github issue (For now, all of non-internal bug reporting is based on https://www.process.st/bug. In the future, if you can replicate it you will tag it with a Github issue number which will trigger a zap that will create the issue automatically) and link screenshots of your replication, preferably in evernote. 
• Inform the client that you could replicate the issue,"Hi there, thanks for reaching out. I was able to replicate this issue on my end, so we will be opening a bug report. I'm going to talk to my technical staff and revert to you when the issue is fixed."
• Assign the ticket to the development box.

NEVER, EVER leave development tickets assigned to you after you have completed the steps above.

This is where you will ask the client to give more details. This SHOULD NOT include information you already know.

Never ask the customer something that you should already know. (see task #1)

What to do when you can't replicate an issue

• Ask the user more questions about how they reached their error. "Hi there, I'd like to get to the bottom of this for you. Could you tell me exactly which screen were you on when this occured? Hi there, were you trying to edit a live checklist?
• Ask the user for a screenshot. "Hi there, would you mind attaching a screenshot of exactly what screen you see when you encounter this issue?" "Do you mind sharing a screenshot with me?"
• With all of this information collected, assign the ticket to the development box, unless the customer says the issue is no longer occurring. 

NEVER, EVER leave development tickets assigned to you after you have completed the steps above.

This is a question where any support agent still cannot figure out an issue after establishing a dialog with a client. 

Common I'm not sure tickets

• When the issue becomes too technical for your understanding
• When, after receiving an explanation from the client you are still unclear
• When you have a response drafted that you are not sure is the right answer
• When you receive an inquiry that you have no idea how to approach
• When talking about a feature request and you aren't sure on it's release date. 

Responding to Common Mixed-Type Questions

• Include a Development staff member in a note asking questions (DONT assign it to the Development box. You will need to let them decide that)
• Take keywords from the ticket and search in Intercom to see how other similar responses were answered
• Look into older conversations from the same user
• Make sure you checked all internal company announcements like 
  • Development announcements, general development milestones news stories recently published, and other similar inquiries

Examples of Common Mixed-Type Questions

Example 1:

'Hi there, when exactly are you releasing nested checklists?'

Response 1:

Confer with the development staff on the general release date.

Example 2:

'Hi there. I want to make a public checklist, how do I do that?'

Response 2:

Explain you can only create public templates, not checklists.

Many times customers will ask questions that show that they're new to the app, or don't fully understand a feature yet.

It is YOUR job as a client facing support warrior to not only guide the user through a particular feature, but to coach them on overall usages of the platform.

Common Unclear Situations

• The user has an english difficulty and cant explain themselves
• The user still doesn't understand a feature after a typical saved reply
• The problem is too technical for the user's comfort

Responding to Unclear Situations

• Reference your saved replies to see if you see a better answer
• Look at the similar questions in the intercom search feature
• If all else fails, tag your Manager and ask

Examples of Unclear Situations

Example:

I have no idea how to do x

Response:

Hi there. 

I'd like to get to the bottom of this for you. I see you were experiencing x while trying to do y. Could you provide me with a screenshot of this happening on your end? Did you notice button X when you were on this screen?

Let me know!