On Demand Wild Apricot Support V. KB Self-help

Did you know Wild Apricot offers on demand support via an extensive self help knowledgebase? I know on demand and self help. Think about it though. When we need an answer to something today, what do we generally do? We don’t call someone or even ask anymore. We look it up. Or, in my case I ask Alexa right!?

So, why is it that more and more Wild Apricot users want that feel good voice on the other end of the line addressing all their concerns 24/7? That, in my humble opinion, is not a realistic or sustainable model for support. Perhaps one of the main drivers as to why for a time US customers were hearing a heavy Asian accent voice on the other end when we called our banks, cable companies, or credit card companies at odd off hours?

The Exponential Support Experience Is Dead

I am not saying that live support is a thing of the past. However, to expect that each of the 44K+ Wild Apricot site admins, and let’s not forget their assigned additional admins, can just call in day and  night and expect a live support 800 number to be their saving grace – is not realistic. To that end, Wild Apricot has provided an extensive knowledge base, video tutorials, contact form, and 3 forums. Not to mention the 2 or so FB groups.

The best results come from knowing the platform, but that doesn’t mean that from time to time things go a little haywire. When they do, then there are formal avenues to request support and report the matter. Often however, outside of the occasional glitch – some cases are user error and/or functionality the platform simply does not have.

Learn. Grow. Share.

Learning the platform and becoming the expert is the most effective way to build a better approach to running the website rather than relying on support for all your non-bug needs. Finding the time to learn it can be challenging. But think about it this way… once you learn where to add your gadgets, what they are, how to configure them, and optimize them for the purpose of reaching your organizational goals, well that’s gold! I often say to my customers – look if I can learn this and use it, then so can you. Best foot forward and learn from your mistakes.

Wild Apricot Support Best practices:

– Never edit a live page. Instead duplicate it, make all your edits, and learn how that edit reacts with other parts of that page. This way your users never see that the page is being worked on, and you learn to never put yourself in a position where you panic to restore from those edits.
– Review, read, experiment, and test it out. What do you have to lose? Investing a little time in your knowledge of the platform can go a long way.
– The design is not a flaw. Most Wild Apricot Templates are generic for a reason. They are not meant to be an out of the box solution. Meaning, you can refine them to sit your needs as far as aesthetics, and layout modifications. Here however, you may need the help of an expert. Use the Wild Apricot Partners to help.