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"Wait until..." option

  • 19 July 2021
  • 3 replies
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M
Rank
Userlevel 2

As a new user of FreshDesk I am coming up to speed with the various features and, in particular, how it aligns with our own business processes.

 

One use case that is very common for us is to have a ticket where the next step (not necessarily resolution) is required from someone outside of our organization. The most obvious situation is where we email a customer asking for some information.

 

In this situation we want a way to specify that we will wait for a certain period of time i.e. the ticket is “on hold” for a few days. For example, when sending a question to a customer we might decide we are OK waiting up to two days for a response, before taking a next step ourselves (resending, phoning, etc).

 

The only slightly overlapping field I see for this is Resolve By. But, of course, the use case is quite different. We are not expecting that the ticket is resolved, merely that the next step is taken. We’d then want a sorted list of tickets, where those that have been “punted” for a few days are low down the list (less “noise”).

 

I come from an enterprise background where this sort of “Wait until...” type option is quite common (obviously there are various terms that might be used here).

 

Am I missing something here with FreshDesk?

 

Thank you.

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Best answer by Riaz 19 July 2021, 13:03

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3 replies

M
Rank
Userlevel 2

I used the age-old tactic of researching for a while before posting here (and then immediately finding the apparent solution). I have created a custom field called “Wait Until...” (date) which seems to cover the bases.

 

That said, given that this seems a reasonably common use case if there is anything a little more native/baked in for this I’d be interested to know.

R
Rank
Userlevel 5
Badge +7

Hello again, @markwill! 

 

I think what you’re looking for is to play with custom Statuses. Unless restricted otherwise, you’ll have the option to create custom statuses (navigate to Admin > Ticket Fields) that will be useful to show where the ticket is, in its lifecycle towards resolution/closure.

By creating custom statuses, you can also map if the SLA timer needs to be running on them or not (this will allow you to put in a business policy say 3 business days, for a particular ticket/query, considering comms from 3rd party, internal, and even your customer.) Furthermore, this is also how you can manage to not violate SLA policies by moving the ticket to a Pending or a custom one (SLA Timer is OFF) while you wait for further detail, and then using the filters on the main list page to gather such tickets to follow up as & when.

 

Let us know if it turns out to be what you’re looking for. :smiley:

 

P.S. You can create custom views based on the filters you choose, so you can run to that particular view directly instead of having to fill/remove the filters each day. Just look for the “tick mark” next to the view name on the top left when you search using a filter.

-RS, Community Team
M
Rank
Userlevel 2

@ThatCommunityGuy a belated thank you for your response.

 

I understand and appreciate the focus around SLA, as relates to resolution targets. However, the more I look at my particular use case the more I worry that relevant FreshDesk features are particularly weak.

 

The use of Custom Status is not really a good fit. It’s potentially RELEVANT, but doesn’t address the use case.

 

A good example is this. Let’s say a customer manages to order a product that is, for whatever reason, out of stock. In that situation we write to them and offer them a number of choices. One of these - and a common choice by customers - is to wait until the date we are expected to have it back in stock.

 

So let’s say it’s early August now and the customer says s/he’s OK waiting till late August. What I want to is set a date of, say, August 25th at which time the ticket “pops”, with the views we use.

 

I had hoped that I could address this by adding a custom “Wait Until” (date) field. That allows me to set the date. But, as far as I can tell, there is no way to FILTER on a custom field i.e. have a view that hides the ticket until the “Wait Until” date arrives.

 

A perfectly acceptable workaround would be to SORT my views on “Wait Until”, which would mean they are show at the bottom of a view. But, again, sorting of custom fields doesn’t seem possible.

 

I am generally liking what I see with FreshDesk but, truth be told, view management is driving me nuts. I’d expect to be able to include, sort and filter on ANY column, including custom fields. The inability to create such views is a real weakness. IMHO. Seeing similar questions raised here - with dates as old as 9 years ago :( - gives me little hope that this seemingly clear and valuable functionality is coming soon.

 

I welcome any comments.

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