We're hanging up our phones and coming to you LIVE

[Kuriakose_Vaisian]

Hey there,

Over the last ten years, Fairphone has grown from a 10,000 strong community to one with over 500,000 members. Given that the brand has been scaling up in a big way with more smartphone models and new audio products, we have been exploring different ways to scale up our customer support experience as well, making it more efficient, productive, and quality-driven. One of the ways we discovered we could do this is by switching over to an online live support desk in lieu of our phone lines.

As was with our phone lines, our live support desk will continue to be run by our awesome support agents and not chatbots. It will help us respond to requests faster and more efficiently, while still keeping that personal touch alive that Fairphone has always been known for. You can also continue writing to us via email with any queries you might have, which we are only too happy to respond to.

A majority of our requests, be it basic troubleshooting or more advanced technical assistance, require written communication (often accompanied by pictures and videos) from our end. This has always been more complicated to deliver efficiently over the telephone. Currently, 30% of our requests come in through the phones. We felt it made more sense to focus our energies on a more efficient access point for these customers, which is what an online live support desk offers. For us, the customer experience has been paramount, and a live support desk is organically designed to enhance that. If you have a query, our live support desk will resolve it for you as soon as possible.

That’s why, starting May 7th, we will be hanging up our telephones and replacing it with our online live support desk, where your friendly neighborhood Fairphone customer support agent will be answering your questions in real time. Our live chat availability will remain the same as before on our phone lines; Mondays to Fridays from 10.00 to 16.00 CET.

We hope this new endeavor makes your experience with Fairphone a little easier to use, with quicker results. Because at Fairphone, we’re all about being fair; to the people who make our phones and to the people who use them. That’s you!

Stay fair,
The Fairphone team

[urs_lesse]

I for my part always liked text messaging much more than phone conversations, but I wonder if text-only communication channels might be a problem for some groups (illiterates, and perhaps also people with impaired vision?). Or did I miss anything here? Video chat option?

[Meaghan]

I got the impression that phone calls were used in more urgent cases. I welcome the idea of easier accessibility and higher efficiency but wonder whether there will be any fast track procedures?

At my work I switched to bookable online video calls for trouble shooting and advice/assistance, and I find them more efficient in terms of time management. Would you consider adding them as an option?

In specific and stressful situations I always enjoyed the feeling of human connection which does not always appear via text messaging, but I haven’t yet encountered any such situation with my FP5.

[Kuriakose_Vaisian]

At the moment, it will be text messaging with multimedia support. But we can look into video calls at our end and check its feasibility.

[Kuriakose_Vaisian]

We can definitely look into this. Thank you for the suggestion.

[KurtF]

@Kuriakose_Vaisian: Whatever the medium, could you please first and foremost accelerate the procedure?

Example:
A simple warranty case, ticket opened at the beginning of last month and still ongoing… Nothing complicated to it, for support it’s a simple case of checking if it’s really broken, and if yes, follow the standard procedure.
(Yes, there have been some random requests for information, but it was always 1 weeks waiting time between replies, and since April 19th, nothing, no more replies… )

– Edit
Added direct name, since my post will certainly be moved into the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying “Beware of the Leopard” (or some such)…

[OldRoutard]

Any way to improve is always welcome!
bookable video appointments sounds sensible for certain types of request.

And welcome to Kuriakose

[Kuriakose_Vaisian]

Hi KurtF,

I will forward your response internally asap and come back with a response. Rest assured, we aren’t sending this ticket to the leopard.

[KurtF]

@Kuriakose_Vaisian

a response

Thanks. My point was just that your (Fairphone’s) constant breathless panegyrics are a little grating, given everything isn’t so brilliant as your marketing constantly claims.
Yes, Fairphone did fairly well so far, but there is still ample room for improvement at the very basics (quality, software, support, and so on), so, from a public communications point of view a little more humility might be fitting: To play at being Apple, you first need to have Apple quality, else it’s ridiculous if not insulting to those who have serious problems and can’t use the product they bought from you. Just my 2 cents worth (I’m usually way more expensive…).

[Kuriakose_Vaisian]

Hey @KurtF Could you help me with your ticket number? We aren’t able to find your CS request.

[KurtF]

My point…
Well, thank you but it’s not necessary, as apparently somebody at Zendesk eventually found it today…
I don’t know if it’s the “squeaky wheel” effect or just a coincidence, but there was at last a reply. Thanks nevertheless.

[LVI]

Hi!

May I ask how the live chats are going? I’ve been trying to chat for a somewhat urgent matter and the website said the chat is offline. However it is still within 10.00 to 16.00 CET (it’s now 14:43 Amsterdam time).

No chat option combined with the slow response times on your requests are quite annoying. I’m about to buy a new FP5 which is a big purchase for me. The least I want is being able to reach someone to consult on my current issue. I also had no idea your support requests were so backed up. Had I known that I would have just bought the new FP5 and figured out the other issues later.

[Meaghan]

hello, may I ask what you mean by saying that the chat is offline?
I have never used it but for me it shows (or at least it seems like) available

[LVI]

Yes of course.

This is on Firefox. On Chrome it works now, but I don’t use Chrome for anything anymore.

[Meaghan]

Hello, thanks.
I have just checked for Firexox and it is working for me as well. I can’t help but notice that your printscreen says 4:36 which is outside the working hours.
Anyway I truly hope the live chat will be working without any hiccups as it is good to have a way for urgent queries.
Good luck

[LVI]

I notice that as well. I promise I checked it today but I just made this screenshot. I checked and it keeps saying 4:36. Maybe my Firefox has it’s date wrong… I’ll look into that.

[urs_lesse]

I have issues on Firefox as well (although a seeminglingy different error), both on an outdated version of Firefox (on an outdated Mac) as well on an up-to-date Firefox ond a current Windows 10 system (screenshot). I also cannot SIGN IN to my Support account on both these Firefox incarnations right now.

On Microsoft Edge on Windows 10 both the chat and the sign in work.

[Kuriakose_Vaisian]

Hi LVI,

I checked with the customer support team - everything works at our end, so they don’t understand why you see us that we are offline. We are having chats actively and constantly with customers. We also checked our system and there have been no system issues in our service.
Our current reply time is two working days for email requests - in case there is any issue with chat, you can always email us request, and we will get back to you.

We are also checking internally if it’s a compatibility issue with Firefox, like @urs_lesse has also cited the same. Allow us some time to get back to you on this.

[LVI]

Thank you for your reply! I’ll do some more tests on my end and if I find anything out I’ll let it know here. I managed to chat via Chrome so that’s resolved. But it should still work on Firefox as well of course.

[yvmuell]

It also says may 11th so 4 days ago or does the date change and the time stays?