Explore our compilation of common Zendesk pitfalls we've encountered over time—avoidable issues that are guaranteed to enhance your Zendesk experience!

1. Secure Agent Access

   If you're not utilizing single sign-in and your Zendesk instance experiences a dynamic flow of agents, it's crucial to stay vigilant about login credentials. This practice guarantees the ongoing secure management of your system and frees up agent licenses for new recruits to leverage.

   For agents taking temporary leave, suspending their accounts presents a viable option. Refer to the following article for guidance on implementing this process: Suspending an agent who no longer works for the company, or who no longer requires access to Zendesk

2. Working to a Schedule

   Zendesk schedules play a pivotal role in automating the availability of your Messaging and/or Talk services. Beyond regular working hours, be it during public holidays or outside standard business hours, these schedules grant you the ability to seamlessly manage your channel availability.

   Another critical aspect where schedules prove indispensable is in relation to Service Level Agreements (SLAs). If your service is offered exclusively during business hours, the automatic pausing and restarting of SLA clocks ensure that your Service Target reporting stays consistently accurate, maintaining optimal performance.

   See Creating Schedules with no holidays (Professional & Enterprise) for more information.

3. The Dreaded Welcome Email

   By default, Zendesk Support automatically dispatches a welcome email to customers whose profiles are established within the instance. This initiation occurs when a new customer submits an email, leading to the creation of their profile, or during the import of customer profile data.

   Receiving this welcome email can occasionally lead to confusion and frustration among customers. As a general recommendation, we advise deactivating this feature unless you specifically wish customers to explore the full range of benefits associated with logging into the portal.

   For detailed guidance on how to manage this setting, please refer to the following article, which walks you through the process: Prevent customers from receiving a welcome email when their profile is created.

4. Reduce admin count

   In our Zendesk health assessments, we often find an excess of administrators in accounts. To maintain optimal control, limit administrators to 2-3 per account. These individuals act as gatekeepers for any changes, ensuring a structured approach to change control and testing. This streamlined process keeps Zendesk in control and operating optimally.

5. Custom Help Center URL

   It's great to note that most Zendesk instances are seamlessly linked to customer websites, resulting in Help Center URLs like help.myBrand.com.au. However, for those with URLs like myZendeskName.zendesk.com, which is less than ideal for branding, setting up "Host Mapping" is crucial. This involves using an alias name, such as help.myBrand.com.au, to enhance the portal experience.
   
   For detailed instructions on setting this up, refer to this Zendesk article: Changing the URL of your Help Center.
   
   

6. Negative Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)

   Understanding that receiving feedback can be intimidating, it's essential for growth and improvement. While harsh criticisms may seem daunting, they often reflect broader issues like broken processes, technology challenges, or insufficient training, rather than targeting specific individuals.

   Prioritizing the measurement of CSAT is crucial for your business. Embracing this practice enables insightful reporting on trends and correlations, shedding light on areas for improvement such as First Response Time (FRT), specific inquiry types, and product quality.

   Lastly, avoid allowing agents to selectively choose who receives a satisfaction survey. While the results may be positive, it's vital to capture a comprehensive view of the most impactful insights that drive overall business improvement.

7. Excessive email notifications

   Zendesk generates significant email notifications that can overwhelm Agent inboxes. These standard notifications are triggered when agents receive ticket updates, get assigned a ticket, or when a ticket is associated with a Zendesk group. Agents should prioritize engagement within the Zendesk portal rather than reacting to email alerts in their inboxes.

   Disabling these notifications will contribute to a more focused and serene customer service experience for your team.
   
   

8. Automated ticket routing

   Efficiency is greatly enhanced through the automated routing of tickets, eliminating the slowdown associated with manual review and assignment by triage agents. Utilizing Zendesk capabilities accelerates your customer service by directly assigning tickets to the most capable resolver. This not only reduces First Response Time (FRT) but also elevates Customer Satisfaction and fosters overall customer loyalty.
   
   

9. Views

   Views, often misunderstood, are intended to facilitate rather than impede your agents' workflow in Zendesk. Configure your views to provide clear guidance, eliminating any uncertainty about the tasks at hand. Ensure your agents are not second-guessing and steer clear of elements that might cause confusion or hinder their efficiency.

    

10. Suspended tickets

    Ensuring the flawless setup of your email configuration is crucial to prevent mislabeling genuine inquiries as suspended or spam tickets. Recently, Microsoft rejected several Zendesk email forwarding rules due to incorrect configurations, underscoring the importance of verifying and optimizing this aspect.