Smart Support allows Support Agents, Support Supervisors, and Administrators to manage and reply to tickets directly from the WordPress backend. This ensures tickets are handled efficiently, with full access to customer information, history, and internal collaboration tools.

🔎 Accessing a Ticket

To open and reply to a ticket:

1. Go to WordPress Dashboard → Smart Support → Dashboard.
2. Locate the ticket in the list (use filters or search if needed).
3. Click on the Ticket Number (ID) or Ticket Title to open it.

This will load the Ticket Detail Screen, where you can view the customer’s message, history, and reply options.

📝 Ticket Detail Screen

The reply screen has several sections:

1. Customer Message

At the top, you’ll see the ticket subject and the customer’s original message.

• Displays customer name, email, and timestamp.
• Helps agents understand the issue before responding.

2. Reply Box

This section is where the agent types their response.

• Public Reply: The message will be sent to the customer and logged in the ticket history.
• Internal Note: A private note visible only to agents and supervisors, not the customer (useful for internal collaboration).

Formatting options allow you to:

• Add text styling (bold, italic, etc.).
• Insert links, images, or media.
• Switch between Visual and Code editor modes.

At the bottom:

• Send Reply: Publishes the reply.
• Close Ticket after Reply (checkbox): Sends the reply and immediately closes the ticket.

3. Customer Information Panel (Right Sidebar)

Shows key customer details:

• Name, email, and profile picture.
• Customer since (registration date).
• Quick view of other tickets by the same customer:
  • Current (active ticket).
  • Opened (other ongoing tickets).
  • Closed (resolved tickets).

4. Ticket Management Panel

Controls the ticket’s workflow:

• State: Open, On Hold, Delayed.
• Status: New, Working On, Resolved, Closed.
• Support Representative: Assign to a specific agent.
• Update Ticket / Close Ticket: Save changes or close the ticket manually.

5. Custom Fields Panel

Additional ticket attributes that can be set or updated:

• Department: Assign to Sales, Support, Billing, etc.
• Product: Link to a specific product/service.
• Priority: Low, Medium, High (used for SLA management).

Click Update Custom Fields after making changes.

👥 Who Can Reply?

• Support Agents: Can view and reply to tickets assigned to them (or as permitted in settings).
• Support Supervisors: Can view and reply to all tickets, including reassigning and managing escalations.
• Administrators: Have full control, including deleting and editing tickets.

✅ Best Practices for Ticket Replies

• Always provide a clear, concise, and polite response.
• Use Internal Notes for handovers, escalations, or collaboration between agents.
• Update Priority and Department if the ticket needs to be routed differently.
• Close the ticket only when the issue is fully resolved.
• Check the customer’s ticket history before replying to understand context.

Replying to tickets from the backend gives support teams powerful tools to manage communication and workflows:

• View customer details and history.
• Send public replies or internal notes.
• Update ticket states, statuses, and custom fields.
• Close or reassign tickets directly.

This centralized system ensures no ticket is missed and every customer receives timely, well-documented support.

👉 Next step: Managing Internal Notes and Private Collaboration