Often times I’ve seen where people attempting to follow troubleshooting instructions from a technical support department run into problems with the instructions.  It may or may not always be the fault of the end user, but typically can be blamed on a lack of clear communication (or miscommunication).

Many times people fail to realize that the term “command prompt” loosely applies to two separate, but very similar utilities made by Microsoft;  “CMD” (cmd.exe) and “command” (command.bat).

“Command” is the depreciated and no longer officially supported command line interface utility for Microsoft Windows. It made it for the last time into Windows XP’s distribution, however has been dropped from any inclusion into future windows releases, including the current Windows Vista and the upcoming Windows 7 Seven.

As seen in the screenshot below, launching “command” from the Start > Run menu brings up the below window.

The first line of the command line interface states Microsoft(R) Windows DOS.

Microsoft Windows command.com Utility. Please note if you are using a Microsoft Windows operating system newer than Microsoft Windows XP, you will get an error message when attempting to run "command" as the utility is no longer included newer windows distributions.

“Command” does not contain all the same logic that “CMD” does, and is limited with the functions, options, and commands that may be executed from within. Due to this, and “CMD” containing newer functions and options, “command” (command.bat) is considered depreciated.

Now, let’s take a look into the revamped “CMD”. Note the differences in the appearance of “command” (command.bat) and “CMD” (cmd.exe).

With the “CMD” (cmd.exe) command line interface window, the first line reads Microsoft Windows XP. (This of course will vary depending if you’re using Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, Windows 7, etc, however the underlying utility, “CMD”, will function the same.) “CMD” was designed after command, but includes many new functions and features built into it’s logic. Functions that work in “CMD” will not necessarily work in the older depreciated “command”.

Microsoft Windows cmd.exe Utility as seen in a Windows XP Professional (updated up to service pack 3) environment.

Knowing now that there is a difference in “CMD” and “command”, hopefully you may save yourself some headaches caused by running a command from within the incorrect command line interface utility.

In an upcoming post I will dig into the basic commands built into “CMD” and their functions.

Almost all companies with an online presence that provide any kind of product or service, offer an online method of end user support to their clients. While some companies simply have an email form, or request that you email them, the majority of well established companies use a ticketing system of sorts. One commonly used ticketing system is by a company called Kayako, and is known as Kayako Support Suite.

The company I work for uses Kayako Support suite, so I get lots of first hand time to get familiar with staff and administrative interface for this system, thus coming to a better understanding of the way Kayako Support Suite ticking system works.

Often times we get clients who complain about their tickets not being answered, being ignored, or not responded to. As I’m sure this is a frustration that many people have experienced before, specifically putting in tickets with companies that use Kayako Support Suite for their ticketing system, I. Have decided to take the time to put this information up for anyone who is scratching their head wondering why the ticket they’ve put in has been ignored, not replied to, or just never been followed up with after an initial contact.

To understand why the company you’ve put a ticket in with “has not responded” you need to first understand what the staff sees whom are managing the support system. I will explain how the default layout is of the ticketing system interface for the staff managing the tickets.

When a ticket is submitted, the date and time stamps are saved with the ticket, indicating when the ticket was initially opened. The default view for the staff that are working on your ticket is such that the tickets are shown on a first come – first serve basis, meaning that he who puts in a ticket first and has waited the longest, will get assisted first.

This time stamp is updated anytime the ticket is modified with a new message either from the staff, the client that put in the ticket, or another 3rd party / associate of the client.

Every time you as a client update the ticket you have put in with the company you’re requesting support from, the “Last Updated” time stamp is reset, and since the tickets are sorted from oldest time stamp since last modification to most recent, your ticket’ s time stamp being reset will automatically put it to the bottom of the queue. Just think of it as being at the Department of Motor Vehicles and standing in line. If you mess something up, they ask you to correct your paperwork, and step out of line. They help everyone else who’s inline behind you, and you’re forced to go to the back of the line and wait again for your next communication with the under-paid-over-zealous state employees.

Kayako Support Suite staff interface. Note how the Last Activity column contains the timestamp of the last time the ticket was modified, and are sorted by most dated activity to most recent.

Now, from the point of view of those in charge of their own ticketing system, it is possible to change the way tickets are sorted, however in trying to design a more intelligent sorting logic you will be limited to the query options built into Kayako’s interface, as “code modification is not supported by Kayako”.

While I’ve seen this be a frustration to many of my companies clients as they complain about the response time for follow-up responses from our staff,  It is not completely out of your control.  It is possible to evade this default sorting holdup, however it will require your patience and good communication as you initially submit the ticket. Here’s my tips for making sure you don’t loose your place in the ticket queue.

1. Be Smart. When initially submitting your ticket, make it as detailed and clear as possible.  If your issue involves specifics, then specifically include all relevant details in your message of the ticket.
2. Be Clean. If you feel the need to express anger, do so professionally. Calling a company and it’s staff incompetent is no way to get the assistance you are wanting. Would you appreciate someone calling you a jackass and then asking for your assistance? It would be a tad bit difficult to want to help them full-heartedly. You can express yourself professionally and clearly by stating “I feel…” and “I feel that…”. Do not make statements telling the company nor it’s individuals stating what you compare them to, or where you think they should go. After all, the staff could simply press the [ X ] next to your ticket and delete it, and nobody is the wiser that you even put a ticket.
3. Be Humble.  If you messed something up, admit it. Companies are usually smart when it comes to their products and services, and while they won’t accuse you of lying or covering something up, they usually know the truth behind why you’re requesting support if it was in fact your own fault. If you did in fact mess something up to get yourself in the situation you’re in, needing help, then be willing to admit it. Describe any details you know about how the issue came to be. There are no such things as problem without cause. Every action has a reaction. Your problem is a reaction to something, whether something else / someone else caused it, or you did. By describing all the details, what you did and or didn’t do, and anything you know about the conditions prior to your needing assistance, this can shorten the amount of time you need to wait to get your ticket resolved, as you’ve now given the support staff more information to go with as they begin to look into your ticket. It saves communication and frustration on part of  both parties.
4. Be Grateful – When someone is trying to help you, be grateful. It may be an employee’s job to provide support to you, but a happy employee always is more efficient than the opposite. If you are consistently kind and polite, and express your thanks and appreciation for those working on assisting you, they WILL begin to remember you and recognize your name with enough interaction. I myself being a support technician and working with a ticketing system, I always keep my eyes peeled for those contacts I recognize that have been appreciative and generally kind to work with. Those tickets I will pick out and typically handle first as it is a pleasure to serve someone who is grateful rather than the ungrateful.
5. Be patient. Patience is key, especially in the issues described above of the auto sorting based on last modification time. I see multiple times a day where the same client has repeatedly posted updates on their ticket as “Hello?”, “Why haven’t you responded?”, “I’m still waiting for a response!”, “This ticket is now 5 days old with no response!” and on it goes. By putting in your ticket and leaving it alone, you guarantee that the last modified time stamp will stay the same, and will move up in the queue at the expected rate, as again, updating the ticket resets the time stamp for modification.

I hope that helps you understand why your ticket was not responded to, due to it being moved to the ‘most recently modified’ and put at the bottom of the queue upon your replies. I would be currious to know if anyone has had any extraordinary experiences for the best or worse in relation to working with a ticketing system on the subject at hand.