How to answer ticket?

[gosforth]

How to answer ticket in OTRS ("answer" does NOT mean send e-mail)?

According the Internet knowledge (because manual is not clear at all) I should go to:

Admin->Templates and create template. I think the type should be "answer" (not is just for agent, right?)
then
Admin->Template<->Queues and make it active for selected queue.

But it does NOT work. When I select "-Reply-" and I select this template I have... new window to send e-mail.
A do not want any e-mail. I need answer.

OTRS is always working with e-mails? I hope not because e-mails in service desk software should be ONLY used for notifications but NEVER for tickets communication.

[wurzel]

Hi,

Template = Answer = outgoing e-mail.


How do you want to answer without an e-mail? Calling your Customer? Use Phone Call Outbound for this.

OTRS' main communication functionality is e-mail. Second: Self Service Portal.


How do you want to "answer" - how is the information getting to your customer?

Flo

[gosforth]

User should ALWAYS communicate with Service Desk using application (in this software '/otrs/customer.pl').
NEVER email. ABC for helpdesk software.
With e-mail you cannot ensure the continuation of communication. User can modify subject, body so your will have several tickets for same subject.

There is really no way to reply in other way to user ticket?! .... I can't believe in that....

[wurzel]

Hi,

Short Answer:
use your phone call inbound/outbound or external notes.


Longer answer:

With e-mail you cannot ensure the continuation of communication. User can modify subject, body so your will have several tickets for same subject.

OTRS does not care about subject and ticket number if you configure it correctly. It uses Header references.
But yes, you can do external notes, and customer.pl only. If you think this is the way of best service for your customer...

You can disable the answer (template) completely.

How do you want to communicate?
via customer.pl? it works fine. see my short answer
via e-mail? No? Disable it
via phone? No? Don't call your customer. Yes? See my short answer.

You want to use facebook or twitter or whatsapp? I do not understand your question...

There is really no way to reply in other way to user ticket?! .... I can't believe in that....

Flo


... I don't know how all these community members here (and for sure much more outside the otterhub) can work with e-mail?!?

[gosforth]

What do you mean by "external notes"?
There's nothing like that on the list. Only answer, create, Email, forward, Phone call.
Anyway if I change type to "phone call" (i do not see any sense of doing that, i do not want to call in some magical way from application... I want to send answer in same way i got request ) then this template is on the "-Reply-" list.
If i choose note i have same result - disappear from the reply list.

As i said, answer via email in Service Desk ONLY if you get email ticket. Header will not ensure communication coherency - some smtp hosts modify headers removing unwanted. And next. For instance how will you communicate with corporate users that do not have mailboxes? Still with email?

[wurzel]

Hi,

the note is not in the article menu, but the ticket menu.

(i do not see any sense of doing that, i do not want to call in some magical way from application... I want to send answer in same way i got request )

OTRS is not calling. Right. You should document your calls here. All in-/outgoing phone calls noted, can be seen in customer.pl


If you refer to your word of "answer" - read the next part
You get a web-request from customer via customer.pl

You answer by
adding a note-external (via note, via phone in-/outbound)

As i said, answer via email in Service Desk ONLY if you get email ticket. Header will not ensure communication coherency - some smtp hosts modify headers removing unwanted. And next. For instance how will you communicate with corporate users that do not have mailboxes? Still with emai

In >99% you have communication coherency. At least my >5Mio customers are not complaining.

OTRS main communication channel is e-mail. you can not raise tickets for a customer without a valid e-mailadress. (you can re-configure it to do it without e-mail - but I do not recommend it) - so e-mail is a mandatory thing for OTRS.

For those without e-mail address you communicate via phone and customer.pl
You may connect other communication channels via webservice if you like - but
e-mail
phone
webrequest (customer.pl)

are the channels, OTRS is using without additional modifications.

Flo

[gosforth]

the note is not in the article menu, but the ticket menu.

It means?
What is "article"? Article I can have on blog. In HD software I have tickets or requests.
You mean I can find this position in "communication" menu?

OTRS is not calling. Right. You should document your calls here. All in-/outgoing phone calls noted, can be seen in customer.pl

So what "Phone call" means? According the dictionaly "phone call = an instance of speaking to someone on the phone or attempting to contact someone by phone.

If other finds another meaning for "phone call", welcome.

Wait. I can suspect that someone who created this software wanted to mark in some way phone calls agent made as reply to ticket and dedicated special menu for that (just to write something like "this action what a phone call"), right? If so not a smart idea. Answer should just receive marker (list to edit... can be "phone call" or thousands other reasons) that's all. See for instance Redmine how this should be done.

OTRS main communication channel is e-mail. you can not raise tickets for a customer without a valid e-mailadress. (you can re-configure it to do it without e-mail - but I do not recommend it) - so e-mail is a mandatory thing for OTRS.

That's bad. That's really bad approach. I want Service Desk software just to AVOID using emails. If I want build HD software based on e-mails I would install Outlook that is much better software to handle e-mails. You have the power of Exchange to sort, filter, reply, mark, forward.... you name it ...is much better than this software to treat emails.

Service Desk software main purpose is NOT to use e-mails.
I think you never worked in corporation. So there very often some users do not have e-mail access. They use dedicated apps to communicate.

Mail fascination probably comes from the observation of web portals. There mails actually make sense because the single contact does not make sense to register on the portal. In corporation NEVER mail to send ticket.

So you say this software will not work for users without e-mail access...

[jojo]

Hi gosforth,

it seems that you stick to the philosophy of software like remedy which don't have the capability of sending email answers. OTRS was build (about 15 years ago) mainly to answer emails and has it's own philosophy of working with tickets.

An Article is a communication step or a note within a ticket.

If yo can not allign with the way OTRS was designed and is used by several 100.000 organizations feel free to switch to another software. To Complain about the overall design this is the wrong place.

Regards


Jens (using OTRS for more than 13 years now)

[wurzel]

Hi,

for me, everything is said. Sound like trolling for me. Too bad, I wasted time.

Florian