Help Scout

Pros

Help Scout is great for our 4-person Customer Success Team. We have been using it for over a year and it helps us provide high-quality customer support. It is easy to use, our customers like it because our emails look just like normal emails. Their support team is great, we always get quick and relevant answers.

Cons

I think the reporting feature could really be improved, and we would appreciate a few more features to improve the daily management of support tickets.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Choosing Help Scout

Switched From

Reasons for Switching to Help Scout

Pros

Help Scout does what it's supposed to do and it's very good at it. No doubt about that. It's the very main reason why many companies trust Help Scout for their customer support management. You can create automations, saved replies, a knowledgebase, and a chat widget (they call it Beacon). Everything works as it's supposed to and we never had any issues so far. It's really easy to set up automations and saved replies, no need to look into their help docs. You just need to use your common sense to navigate through the dashboard. I am using it daily for my client's e-commerce business for the past 6 years and I can say that it's a really solid product.

I also like their mobile app because it works really well. This is very important so you can attend to your customers even when you're not at your desk. Most customers want very quick responses and so the mobile app will be very handy when you don't have access to a computer.

There's no issue with deliverability as all our emails and replies went straight to customers' inboxes, which is very critical for this kind of app.

Cons

I found another software that has more features than this app and the pricing is also good. I wish Help Scout will have a feature where you can snooze or schedule an email or reply, and the ability to create embeddable forms. Also, I wish you can connect your social media accounts so you will be able to easily monitor your social media audiences when they message you or when they comment on your posts. These are available on the other software I found and it is a great alternative to this software.

Pros

I no longer get an email about an email that is about a forward of an email which was originally about an email that was about an email that was forwarded regarding an email that was sent.

Exactly..we have all had the pleasure of deciphering the shortened email snippet, forwards and the references to email threads that are broken but with Help Scout I now see it all..and see when..and where ..and who..Yep.. order to the choas of my many "conversations". And ohhhhh sooo much data hygine..i agree a terrible phrase but such a critical thing for any serious business. This includes a robust beyond belief search and filter feature. For those who appreciate effecient shortcuts and cross refereneced data points...yep tags..and filtering by tags as well. The bane of my existence is also the best feature which is the timeline transparancy that Help Scout brings. We all know who touched what when so we can not step on toes and if we try they put in the "traffic cop" feature to prevent unprofessional duplicate customer touches. Additionally, you can use Help Scout to assign voicemails to staff individual to deal with if your voicemail service offers emailed transcription forwards. Our staff also create conversation for intra office communications all the time to document timelines and details for reference later if needed. HS has helped us track everything from maintenance service logs to customer complaints and staff schedules.

Cons

This is only a tough question and one I would suggest come first when reviewing since after listing all the things i love and enjoy it helps me block out the uglier bits and pieces.. Besides some of the android app glitches that are more annoying than crisis creating I am still hard pressed to find many cons about using HS this past 2 years. has had a "negative" impact on my work communications besides the timeline busting myself for something

Pros

- extremely simple to use and understand as a user
- treats communications like human beings and provides a much more personal feel to communication (as opposed to making people feel like numbers)
- fantastic support team that's very responsive and solution focused
- solid API that allows you to bring in data from other apps so that you have a consolidated view of a client, beyond just their email history

Cons

- wish that the interface could be a little more customized for our specific needs
- really don't have any downsides to it - it's a great product

Pros

Their entire philosophy is centered around customer satisfaction and success. This mirrors our own approach and it's great seeing that in action. They are also great at handling questions and service requests, and I love all the support and information resources they offer.

Cons

I wish the reporting functions were better and more detailed. Sometimes when something wasn't functioning in a way that worked for it, their response was suggesting a work around that would require a service plan upgrade when I figured out a work around that could work at our current level, but that is a very minor gripe.

Alternatives Considered

Reasons for Switching to Help Scout