As a Service Desk agent, you might belong to a chat queue
person group whose members respond to end user chat requests. In a
multiple-queue setup, chats are organized into queues according to
agent expertise; you might belong to more than one queue. When a chat
request is assigned to one of your queues, you are notified, and you
can accept the chat.
About this task
If you are an agent who belongs to one or more chat queues, Chat
Queue is displayed in the Welcome bar of your IBM®
Control Desk screen. It informs you when one or
more chats are waiting for a response. Depending on the UI that is used by your product
installation, the chat queue indicator is displayed as one of the following:
- The text string Chat Queue. A number that follows the text string in
parentheses indicates the number of waiting chats. If one or more chats are waiting, the text string
blinks and shown as a selectable, underlined link. A blinking chat bubble icon is displayed next to
the text. If an exclamation mark or question mark is shown in the parentheses, there is a problem
communicating with the chat queue server.
- A chat bubble icon, with no text. The chat bubble icon blinks and is selectable if there are
waiting chats. A colored box next to the icon shows the number of waiting chats. If the bubble icon
has an error indicator in it, there is a problem communicating with the chat queue server.
A service request is automatically opened when a user requests a chat. The service request
number is displayed as a link in the agent chat window, and you can click the link at any time
during the chat to open and update the service request. For example, you might want to mark it
resolved, update the description as you obtain more information from the user, update details, and
so on.
If you open and modify the service request, ensure that you save it before closing the
chat. Otherwise, you might lose information.
Procedure
Perform these steps to accept and conduct a chat session:
-
To respond to a chat request, click the blinking chat queue indicator to open the Agent Chat
window.
The user is informed that an agent has joined the chat. In addition, the service request
Owner field is populated with your user ID. The service request number is
displayed in the chat window, along with the end user display name, phone number, and e-mail
address. You can click the service request number at any time during the chat to update the service
request associated with the chat. An initial greeting is also displayed in your chat window.
- You and the user proceed with the chat by typing messages
back and forth. The messages typed both by you and by the end user
are displayed in the window and are time-stamped.
The
browser that you are using, the browser version, and the browser settings
affect the behavior of the chat window. For example, if you are using
Microsoft Internet Explorer, clicking on a link in a chat window might
open a new window rather than a new tab in the current window. In
Mozilla Firefox, the chat window might not be brought to the forefront
when a new response is submitted. To enable windows to pop to the
front in Firefox, launch the Firefox Options dialog, open the Content
tab, and click Advanced for the Enable
JavaScript check box. In the Advanced JavaScript Settings
dialog, check the Raise or lower windows option.
- After you and the user complete the chat, close the chat.
- Depending on the chat outcome, open the service request,
and update the service request status as follows:
- QUEUED
- You were not able to resolve the issue, but somebody else might
be able to do so. You can queue the chat to your own agent group or
to another group that might have the specific expertise that is required.
The status remains QUEUED.
- INPROGRESS
- The service request ticket is being worked on. For example, a
software distribution is required to resolve the end user's issue,
the system is being rebooted, or some other operation is being performed
to resolve the issue. After the issue is resolved, you can send e-mail
to the end user, informing him of the resolution.
- RESOLVED
- The chat satisfactorily resolved the end user issue, and no more
needs to be done.
-
Perform further updates the service request as needed. For example, you can update the owner
group fields, the reported priority, the impact, the associated CI or asset, and so on. You can
specify a solution with the service request. He can also create log entries.