Customer Service

Vickilyn Gill

***October 5th Update: Customer Service has been way better lately, and wait times are way down. Thank goodness. Hope everyone is having a better experience as well.

Is anyone else having the hardest time getting customer support on the line? It's gotten worse since school started back. I have to wait 45 minutes at least on chat and I have yet to get someone on the phone (last time I waited 4 hours and then had to hang up because I had to help with carpool. ) This is my first year using Blackbaud and I am just curious if this is pretty standard or if something is up.

Jeff Gaudet

@Vickilyn Gill
Have you used the Chat Feature? I have about 95% of all my issues resolved through the chat feature. And I can still go about my work if I have to wait.

Vickilyn Gill

@Jeff Gaudet yes! I use the chat feature. It takes 45 minutes to get a live person to chat with. Do you mainly use the virtual assistant feature?

Jeff Gaudet

@Vickilyn Gill
I will start with the virtual assistant and then move on from there. I really haven't seen a lag in times but you could absolutely be correct with the beginning of school.

Lauren Henderson

@Vickilyn Gill I dont' remember the last time I tried to call support to get through, so I can't comment on those wait times. I've had a bit of a delay with chat, but never for 45 minutes.

Do you have access to blackbaud University training through your employer? If so, I would highly recommend making the time for those classes for the solutions you're using.

Vickilyn Gill

@Jeff Gaudet thanks

Sondra Berry

@Vickilyn Gill I never call. It takes much too long to get through. Instead, I submit a ticket through Case Central. Sometimes they get back to me within an hour and other times it takes a few hours. If it were urgent (site down), I would call and press the appropriate prompts to (hopefully) get a live rep.

Megan Day

@Vickilyn Gill
Yes, it's been absolutely terrible. We've been with Blackbaud for years and I used to be able to call or get someone on chat in 15ish minutes. I never call anymore because I do not have time to sit around and wait for someone. Chat really isn't any better. This week, our Director of Information Systems spent an hour waiting before hanging up. He tried later in the day and spent upwards of 2 hours waiting to get someone on the phone. I tried to call yesterday because I had a time sensitive question and had to hang up after 1.5 hrs because I had to teach. We work at schools, most of us do not sit at desks all day…..

I only use the “Create Case” option now so I can explain the issue, include screenshots, submit the case and then go about my day.

Kathy Hannon

I agree the wait time on calling support is awful - it's pretty bad when you call at 8:30am - support opens - and it's already a 45 minute wait. It's very frustrating - the chat hasn't been any better - I get multitasking because of the wait and then I am disconnected because of inactivity on supports side.

Vickilyn Gill

@Sondra Berry Can you still submit a case through Case Central? I looked yesterday and I can't find the button anymore. Did it move to a different location?

Vickilyn Gill

@Lauren Henderson Hey yes, I do have access to Blackbaud University. However, I am trying to figure out the best path to get answers. Since it still feels like we are in the implementation phase. I feel like I am trying to find the balance of searching knowledgebase/scrolling through Blackbaud community posts/watching University videos/ waiting on hold in the chat and calls (all while still doing the day-to-day of my job).

This is probably just gonna be the way for a while.

I am happy to hear though that no one else is seeming to have this problem.

Jeff Gaudet

@Vickilyn Gill
It should still be under the “?” where you would open the Support Chat. There is a link at the bottom of the pop-out

Jeff Gaudet

@Vickilyn Gill
If you don't see that link, Contact your BB Administrator (if it isn't you) and they will need to give you access/permission to access BB Support online.

Vickilyn Gill

@Megan Day Dang, ok so it's not just me. I was wondering if it was always like this- but good to know it was once better. Hopefully, they can figure it out for our sake. It is especially hard because the school environment is so fast-paced.

Vickilyn Gill

@Jeff Gaudet after you click through to Case Central this is all I see. There was a “create a case” option but I don't see it anymore. I am worried I am looking in the wrong place.

Vickilyn Gill

@Kathy Hannon
The disconnect feature is wild to me- if you don't respond it will disconnect you in two minutes. The rep has infinite time to respond( sometimes taking 10-15 minutes to research the topic-which I definitely appreciate). But then I have to stare at the chat and hope I don't miss their response. Yesterday I was mid-chat and we were going back and forth- and it just randomly disconnected(not even due to my lack of response).

Jeff Gaudet

@Vickilyn Gill
You are in the right place. It seems that you may not have permission to create a case anymore. If you are not the Environmental Administrator, you may need to contact them and have them grant permission for you to create support cases. Case Central should look like this. Which, from what I understand, it did at one point.

Vickilyn Gill

@Jeff Gaudet
Thank you! I will contact them.

Sondra Berry

@Vickilyn Gill when I click the question mark (?) near the top right of any page for Help, a pop out appears and I see the link at the bottom for Case Central.

When you click it, Case Central opens with the option to create a case:

If you do not have those options anymore, you may want to check your roles and admin rights to ensure you have the correct rights to access it. Good luck!

Vickilyn Gill

@Sondra Berry Thank you! I will look into it.

John Ronan

A few points:

• There is definitely a “sea change” in support. It has become impractical to make a call anymore. Let's hope this is a temporary state because my management will push back on paying for something that isn't paying for us. [I don't think I'm the densest user out there, but in my 16 years using BB products, I think I've averaged about .7 cases per working day.]
• BB University is necessary [and quite effective] but not sufficient as a replacement for responsive support. [ e.g. it doesn't help the user with certain things, e.g. dealing with defects in the systems or special site-specific sitches]
• Chat, as well, has its problems:
  • It's not feasible for there to be long delays in response from the analyst. I, for one, cannot afford to sit still for 15 minutes waiting for a response just to begin a conversation
  • Dunno if BB can change this, but once the conversation begins, the notification that the analyst has entered a response is a nearly-inaudible beep, which more times than not, I don't hear, given the amount of activity in my office.