Here is the full schedule for support (all the time listed are Eastern Time UTC-5):

Sunday – 11am to 12 midnight

Monday – 24 hours

Tuesday – 24 hours

Wednesday – 24 hours

Thursday – 24 hours

Friday – 12 midnight to 8pm

Saturday – 7am to 4pm

We’re always listening to our customers and striving to provide the best service to them. Visit the  ShareFile Knowledge Base for other resources including support ticket requests, our knowledge base, training demos, and more.

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The Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service are the world’s top sales, contact center  and customer service awards.  The Stevie Awards organizes several of the world’s leading business awards shows including the prestigious American Business Awards^SM  and International Business Awards^SM.

More than 1,100 entries from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted to this year’s competition, an increase of 10% over 2012.  Finalists were determined by the average scores of 120 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges.  Entries were considered in 30 categories for customer service professionals including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service and Customer Service Department of the Year; 41 categories for sales professionals, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year to Sales Department of the Year of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

We are honored to have received recognition for Customer Service Department of the Year. We’re always listening to our customers and striving to provide the best service.

Have feedback on what we could do to better serve you? Leave us a comment below.

The post ShareFile Receives Customer Service Department of the Year Award appeared first on ShareFile Blog.

Let’s say you purchased a good, and there is some issue with it. When you contact the company that sold you the product, how do they respond? Are you transferred multiple times to explain your dilemma over and over? What if you cannot get in touch with anyone from the Support department? Would you continue to pay for service that does not meet your expectations?

You certainly appreciate receiving better treatment than described above, so it’s amazing that service experiences like this still happen. Although more businesses are using automated support and self-service options, customer service is a big deal. In fact, 82% of consumers in the US say they have stopped doing business with a company due to a poor customer service experience.*

As this statistic indicates, providing good customer service is a priority for any company. One of the keys to offering great service is to understand that everyone in your company is part of the customer service team—not just employees with the title Customer Service Representative. In order for employees to get on board with this approach, customer service must be at the core of your business.

As discussed in the key lessons for exceptional service post written by Sarah a few months ago, all employees within your organization should view individual customers as irreplaceable. For example, you should always make sure you answer customer calls in a reasonable time frame, provide competent support and a friendly interaction overall. Always make sure retaining each customer is a top priority, no matter the “size” of a particular customer.

What are ways your organization strives to excel at customer service?

*Customer Experience Impact 2010 Report

The post One Factor That Affects Loyalty For 82% of Consumers appeared first on ShareFile Blog.

What’s the quickest way to send a file to a client?

When you need to send a file quickly, log into your account and click Send a File in the navigation bar. This feature will allow you to prepare an email, select the file that you want to send from your computer and upload the file in one simple process. As soon as ShareFile successfully uploads the file, your email, with the file, will be sent to your recipient. It’s an easy way to share information, without any setup or extra steps.

To see a step-by-step guide to sending files, watch our Sending and Requesting Files training video.

Can I provide public access to a folder in my account?

ShareFile does allow you to share a folder without requiring login information. This can be helpful when you need to allow access to files and folders are not private in nature, but may be too large to attach to a regular email message.

Check out our knowledgebase for detailed instructions on allowing public access to a folder.

How will I know when the client has downloaded/uploaded the document?

Email activity notifications are available to let you know as soon as files are uploaded or downloaded from your ShareFile account.

When sending or requesting files, turn on upload or download notifications right in the send or request form. A check box for Email me when the item has been downloaded or Email me when the file has been uploaded will be available so that you can be alerted as soon as your send or request link is used.

You can also enable folder notifications to alert you whenever files are uploaded or downloaded to or from your folders. When you open a folder on ShareFile, scroll to the bottom of the list of contents and use the Email me whenever a file is: check boxes to enable notifications for uploads or downloads. If you do not see these options, contact an administrator on the ShareFile account for help with your notifications settings.

For more information on optional notification settings, please see the comprehensive Email Notification article in our knowledgebase.

Do you have a question about ShareFile that we didn’t answer here? Our support team is available seven day a week. Call us at 1-800-441-3453, send an email, or chat live with support.

The post Get the Answers to More of Our Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on ShareFile Blog.

“Individual customers are irreplaceable”: A business driven by strong customer service does not take the loss of any customer lightly. Inghilleri and Solomon point out that the lifetime value of repeat customers is very high, and individual customers should be treated accordingly.

Make client retention a priority. If your team appreciates the importance of a single customer as a source or repeat business and word-of-mouth referrals, it’s easy to provide exceptional customer service. Your team can work to provide a disgruntled customer with a discount, refund or accommodation when everyone understands the value of the individual customer.

Some things should be free: Nothing delights or surprises customers quite as much as a business that treats them as people, rather than as revenue sources. Fulfilling client requests, without bringing up additional fees, creates a more human, personal connection with clients.

ShareFile provides dedicated account management, custom account branding and unlimited support to every customer as a standard part of the service. Compare this with software providers that limit access to support or require additional payment for product training. You can imagine how much less frustrating it is to have an expert account manager available by phone and email for every request and question.

Consider ways you can accommodate special requests without passing on the cost to the customer. For example, if you work in retail, could you offer complimentary gift wrapping for purchases?  When you offer complimentary service, customers know that you appreciate them more than an immediate sale.

To experience world class customer service, sign of for a free ShareFile trial,  or call us at 1-800-441-3453.

The post Key Lessons from Exceptional Service-Part 2 appeared first on ShareFile Blog.

Everyone in your company is part of the service team: You may have a specific customer service team, but every employee can work to improve the customer experience. Inghilleri and Solomon call this approach ‘Function Versus Purpose.’ Employees can provide the best service to a customer when they know that is their primary responsibility, above and beyond any routine tasks. By emphasizing that the company’s foremost goal is to help the customer, leadership can foster a service environment where everyone is ready and able to drop what they are doing to assist a customer.

It’s never your policy to inconvenience a customer: Has a service rep ever told you that they cannot fulfill a request due to company policy? Within your own company, you may not be able to give every customer what they ask, but turning a client away with a reference to company policy shows a breakdown in the problem-solving capability of the rep.

There are steps that you can take to ensure that your customer support team is empowered to provide a more satisfying experience.

-Enable client-facing employees to resolve issues on the spot: If you work in an industry where refund requests are frequent, consider adopting a more liberal refund policy. Offering refunds for problematic goods and services restores trust with clients, encouraging them to try your services again in the future or even pass along a good word to potential new clients. This tactic applies to other concessions, such as allowing customer service to expedite orders. Giving customer support reps the power to resolve issues immediately can increase the cost of support, but it can also lead to more positive, helpful service interactions and loyal customers.

-Brainstorm appropriate responses to requests you cannot reasonably fulfill: There will be times when fulfilling a client’s request isn’t the best option for the company or for the client. Talk to your customer support employees about what they should and should not say in these cases. Instead of giving an excuse, a rep may be able to offer an alternative resolution that the client may not have considered. Working with clients to come up with a suitable response to any issues they report can take some trial and error, but it can also build stronger client relationships.

Look out for more lessons from Exceptional Service, Exception Profit next week. To experience world class customer service, sign up for a free ShareFile trial or call us at 1-800-441-3453.

The post Key Lessons from Exceptional Service, Exceptional Profit – Part 1 appeared first on ShareFile Blog.

Account Services representatives conduct daily training webinars and also one-on-one sessions for customers. The team has the opportunity to work with new our accounts and learn the reasons our customers chose ShareFile as a solution for their business. I recently asked two Account Services representatives, Alex Hofford and Amanda Rogers, about the features and benefits of a ShareFile account that are most helpful to people who are just getting started or looking to learn more. Below are some of the tips they shared.

What are the most common questions that you hear from new accounts?

Alex:
FAQ- One of the most common questions I get from clients is “What is my client going to be able to see when they log in?”

Answer- While the specific answer to this question will be different with each account, the fundamental answer lies within our Folder Access permissions. With these options, the account administrator can control not only which folders each client user can see in the system, but also any download/upload capability and email notifications. These options create a level of customization so that you and your clients can get the most appropriate use out of our system.

Amanda:
FAQ- “How is the transfer secure if we send out an email with a link to download a file? What if the email gets intercepted?”

Answer- I often get asked this question, especially when going over the ‘Require user to login’ option within ‘Send a File’. I point out that if the user isn’t already created as a user on the account, the system will assign them a password. I get a lot of concern over the password coming out in the same email as the link to the file. There are measures that the administrator(s) can put into place within their account to add additional security. Our first recommendation is to create the person as user in the system and then grant them access to a folder in the account that has the material you would be sending to them. If the user is created in this way, then they will be required to log-in each time before they can access the folder. They will be sent a temporary system-generated password in an initial email and will be prompted to change that password as soon as they log-in the first time. Email notifications can be turned on, so that notification will be provided as soon as new files have been uploaded to the folder.

I’ve also helped accounts with their email templates so that a new user’s password won’t go out in an email. Some accounts even change the passwords for all users to the last four digits of their SSN (for those in Accounting and Financial industries) and then only say in the welcome email that their password is the last four digits of their SSN. I also refer those who ask these questions to the Reporting feature in their account and let them know that they can trace downloads to an IP address and location to determine who is doing the downloading/uploading of a file.

What are the most popular features with your accounts?

Alex: Across all of our accounts, we provide access to the Desktop Widget tool in order to provide easy access to the ShareFile account without having to utilize an internet browser. The Widget allows the user to see the folders and files they have access to in the ShareFile account, while providing a way to upload documents, send files, and create new folders/subfolders.

Many people tell me they like the Widget because of the ability to Drag-and-Drop files in and out of the Widget window. This is a very easy way to move a large number of folders and/or files at once from outside the client portal.

Amanda: The Outlook Plug-in—everyone loves how easy it is to use!

The Reporting page and tracking features are also very popular. All of the users on an account may not be in close proximity with each other. Our notifications, combined with the Activity Log available in each folder, help the Administrator know if their colleagues and clients are getting their work done. Many administrators like being able to check to see how many files have been downloaded and to know right away when that happens. They also like knowing that if there is ever a question about meeting a deadline, they can use the Reporting features to get a time stamp of their work.

What are the best ways to get help when you’re getting started with a new account?

Alex: The Help link in the top right corner of the ShareFile portal menu provides a variety of options to get our clients the help they need as quickly as possible. This page contains a search field for our Knowledge Base (a collection of articles detailing various aspects of our service), a link to chat live with our Support Team, and contact information for both the support team and your account manager. Using these tools, customers can get the answer they need in a variety of different ways.

Amanda: We broadcast a daily webinar, held during the week at 2PM EDT. Each account has a dedicated account manager, who serves as a point of contact for any questions that come up as you start using the service. Customers can also contact their account manager to schedule a free training session for themselves and their colleagues if the webinars are time conflicting or if they would like the ability to ask more questions during training.

Many thanks to Alex and Amanda for the expert advice on getting started with your ShareFile account! If you have any questions or would like any help getting started with your account, please feel free to contact us at support@sharefile.com.

If you don’t have an account yet and would be interested in learning more about our service, check out our 30-day free trial at ShareFile.

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