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Support Tickets Module ​

The Support Tickets module provides a complete customer support system with ticket management, categories, departments, priorities, and customer communication. This comprehensive guide covers all support ticket features.

Table of Contents ​

  1. Overview
  2. Accessing Support Tickets
  3. Creating a Ticket
  4. Ticket Categories
  5. Ticket Departments
  6. Ticket Priorities
  7. Managing Tickets
  8. Ticket Communication
  9. Ticket Assignment
  10. Frontend Support Portal
  11. Best Practices

Overview ​

Features ​

  • ✅ Create and manage support tickets
  • ✅ Ticket categories for organization
  • ✅ Department routing
  • ✅ Priority levels
  • ✅ Ticket status workflow
  • ✅ Internal notes and attachments
  • ✅ Ticket assignment to staff
  • ✅ Customer communication
  • ✅ Ticket history tracking
  • ✅ Frontend ticket submission

Admin Routes ​

  • Ticket List: /admin/tickets
  • Create Ticket: /admin/tickets/create
  • Edit Ticket: /admin/tickets/{id}/edit
  • Categories: /admin/ticket-categories
  • Departments: /admin/ticket-departments
  • Priorities: /admin/ticket-priorities

Frontend Routes ​

  • Support Page: /support
  • Submit Ticket: /support (form)
  • View Ticket: /support/{ticket} (authenticated)

Accessing Support Tickets ​

From Admin Panel ​

  1. Log in to admin panel
  2. Navigate to Support → Tickets
  3. Or go directly to: /admin/tickets

Permissions Required ​

  • View Tickets: view tickets permission
  • Create Tickets: create tickets permission
  • Edit Tickets: edit tickets permission
  • Delete Tickets: delete tickets permission
  • Manage Tickets: manage tickets permission

Creating a Ticket ​

Step 1: Access Create Page ​

  1. Go to Support Tickets → Create New Ticket
  2. Or navigate to: /admin/tickets/create

Step 2: Ticket Information ​

Subject ​

  • Ticket subject/title
  • Required field
  • Should be descriptive
  • Example: Unable to reset password

Description ​

  • Detailed ticket description
  • Required field
  • Use rich text editor
  • Include:
    • Problem description
    • Steps to reproduce
    • Expected vs actual behavior
    • Error messages (if any)

Step 3: Ticket Classification ​

Category ​

  • Select ticket category
  • Helps organize tickets
  • Examples: Technical, Billing, General

Department ​

  • Assign to department
  • Routes to appropriate team
  • Examples: Sales, Support, Technical

Priority ​

  • Set ticket priority
  • Low: Non-urgent
  • Medium: Normal priority
  • High: Urgent
  • Urgent: Critical

Step 4: Customer Information ​

Customer Selection ​

  • Existing Customer: Select from list
  • New Customer: Enter details

Required:

  • Name
  • Email Address

Optional:

  • Phone Number
  • Company
  • Account Information

Step 5: Additional Settings ​

Status ​

  • Open: New ticket
  • In Progress: Being worked on
  • Pending: Waiting for response
  • Resolved: Issue fixed
  • Closed: Ticket closed

Assign To ​

  • Assign to staff member
  • Leave unassigned for routing
  • Can reassign later

Step 6: Attachments ​

Add Attachments ​

  1. Click Add Attachment
  2. Upload file(s)
  3. Supported formats:
    • Images (JPG, PNG, GIF)
    • Documents (PDF, DOC, DOCX)
    • Screenshots
    • Log files
  4. Files attached to ticket

Step 7: Save Ticket ​

  • Create: Save ticket
  • Create & Notify: Save and email customer
  • Create & Assign: Save and assign to staff

Ticket Categories ​

Creating Categories ​

Route: /admin/ticket-categories/create

  1. Go to Support Tickets → Categories
  2. Click Create New Category
  3. Enter:
    • Name: Category name
    • Slug: URL-friendly version
    • Description: Category description
    • Color: Category color (for display)
  4. Click Save

Common Categories ​

  • Technical Support: Technical issues
  • Billing: Payment and billing
  • Account: Account management
  • Feature Request: New feature requests
  • Bug Report: Software bugs
  • General: General inquiries

Managing Categories ​

  • Edit: Modify category details
  • Delete: Remove category (tickets not deleted)
  • View Tickets: See all tickets in category
  • Bulk Delete: Remove multiple categories

Ticket Departments ​

Creating Departments ​

Route: /admin/ticket-departments/create

  1. Go to Support Tickets → Departments
  2. Click Create New Department
  3. Enter:
    • Name: Department name
    • Description: Department description
    • Email: Department email (for notifications)
    • Assigned Staff: Staff members in department
  4. Click Save

Common Departments ​

  • Sales: Sales inquiries
  • Support: Customer support
  • Technical: Technical support
  • Billing: Billing department
  • Management: Escalations

Managing Departments ​

  • Edit: Modify department details
  • Delete: Remove department (tickets reassigned)
  • View Tickets: See all tickets in department
  • Assign Staff: Add/remove staff members

Ticket Priorities ​

Creating Priorities ​

Route: /admin/ticket-priorities/create

  1. Go to Support Tickets → Priorities
  2. Click Create New Priority
  3. Enter:
    • Name: Priority name
    • Level: Priority level (1-5)
    • Color: Display color
    • SLA: Service level agreement (hours)
  4. Click Save

Priority Levels ​

Low (1) ​

  • Response Time: 48 hours
  • Use For: Non-urgent issues
  • Color: Green

Medium (2) ​

  • Response Time: 24 hours
  • Use For: Normal issues
  • Color: Yellow

High (3) ​

  • Response Time: 4 hours
  • Use For: Urgent issues
  • Color: Orange

Urgent (4) ​

  • Response Time: 1 hour
  • Use For: Critical issues
  • Color: Red

Managing Priorities ​

  • Edit: Modify priority details
  • Delete: Remove priority (tickets reassigned)
  • View Tickets: See all tickets with priority
  • Bulk Delete: Remove multiple priorities

Managing Tickets ​

Ticket List View ​

Access at: /admin/tickets

List Features ​

Search:

  • Search by subject
  • Search by customer name/email
  • Search by ticket number
  • Real-time results

Filters:

  • Category: Filter by category
  • Department: Filter by department
  • Priority: Filter by priority
  • Status: Open/In Progress/Resolved/Closed
  • Assigned To: Filter by staff member
  • Date Range: Filter by date

Sorting:

  • By Date (Newest/Oldest)
  • By Priority (High/Low)
  • By Status
  • By Customer
  • By Assigned To

Displayed Information ​

  • Ticket #: Unique ticket number
  • Subject: Ticket subject
  • Customer: Customer name
  • Category: Ticket category
  • Priority: Priority badge
  • Status: Current status
  • Assigned To: Staff member
  • Last Updated: Last activity

Ticket Actions ​

View Ticket ​

  1. Click on ticket
  2. View full ticket details:
    • Subject and description
    • Customer information
    • Category, department, priority
    • Status and assignment
    • Message thread
    • Attachments
    • Internal notes
    • Ticket history

Reply to Ticket ​

Route: /admin/tickets/{ticket}/reply

  1. Click Reply button
  2. Enter response message
  3. Choose:
    • Public Reply: Customer sees response
    • Internal Note: Staff-only note
  4. Add attachments (optional)
  5. Click Send
  6. Customer notified (if public reply)

Change Status ​

  1. Select new status from dropdown
  2. Status updates immediately
  3. Customer notified (if enabled)
  4. Ticket history updated

Assign Ticket ​

  1. Click Assign To
  2. Select staff member
  3. Ticket assigned
  4. Staff member notified

Bulk Operations ​

Bulk Delete ​

Route: /admin/tickets/bulk-destroy

  1. Select multiple tickets
  2. Click Bulk Actions → Delete
  3. Confirm deletion
  4. All selected tickets deleted

Bulk Action ​

Route: /admin/tickets/bulk-action

  1. Select tickets
  2. Click Bulk Actions
  3. Choose action:
    • Change Status
    • Assign To
    • Change Priority
    • Change Category
    • Change Department
  4. Apply to all selected

Ticket Communication ​

Message Thread ​

Viewing Messages ​

  • All messages in chronological order
  • Public messages (customer-visible)
  • Internal notes (staff-only)
  • System messages (status changes)

Adding Messages ​

Public Reply:

  1. Click Reply
  2. Enter message
  3. Customer sees response
  4. Email sent to customer

Internal Note:

  1. Click Add Internal Note
  2. Enter note
  3. Staff-only visibility
  4. No customer notification

Attachments ​

Adding Attachments ​

  1. In reply/note
  2. Click Add Attachment
  3. Upload file(s)
  4. File attached to message

Viewing Attachments ​

  • All attachments listed
  • Download option
  • Preview for images
  • File size and type shown

Ticket Assignment ​

Assigning Tickets ​

Manual Assignment ​

  1. Open ticket
  2. Click Assign To
  3. Select staff member
  4. Ticket assigned
  5. Staff notified

Auto-Assignment ​

  • Based on department
  • Based on workload
  • Based on expertise
  • Round-robin assignment

Reassigning Tickets ​

  1. Click Reassign
  2. Select new staff member
  3. Add note (optional)
  4. Ticket reassigned
  5. Both staff members notified

Assignment History ​

  • View assignment history
  • See who had ticket
  • Track reassignments
  • Understand ticket flow

Frontend Support Portal ​

Support Page ​

URL: /support

Features:

  • Submit new ticket form
  • View existing tickets (if logged in)
  • Ticket status
  • Knowledge base links
  • FAQ links

Submitting a Ticket ​

Route: /support (POST)

Form Fields ​

Required:

  • Subject: Ticket subject
  • Message: Ticket description
  • Email: Your email address
  • Name: Your name

Optional:

  • Category: Select category
  • Priority: Select priority
  • Attachments: Upload files

Submission Process ​

  1. Fill out form
  2. Submit ticket
  3. Receive confirmation email
  4. Ticket number provided
  5. Track ticket status

Viewing Tickets ​

URL: /support/{ticket} (authenticated)

Features:

  • Ticket details
  • Message thread
  • Add reply
  • View attachments
  • Ticket status
  • Close ticket (if allowed)

Best Practices ​

Ticket Management ​

  1. Quick Response:

    • Respond within SLA
    • Acknowledge receipt
    • Set expectations
    • Provide updates

  2. Clear Communication:

    • Use clear language
    • Be professional
    • Provide solutions
    • Follow up

  3. Proper Classification:

    • Use correct category
    • Set appropriate priority
    • Assign to right department
    • Tag correctly

Organization ​

  1. Use Categories:

    • Organize by type
    • Easy filtering
    • Better reporting
    • Improved routing

  2. Department Routing:

    • Route to experts
    • Balance workload
    • Specialized support
    • Better resolution

  3. Priority Management:

    • Set realistic priorities
    • Don't overuse "Urgent"
    • Follow SLA guidelines
    • Escalate when needed

Customer Service ​

  1. Professional Communication:

    • Be courteous
    • Show empathy
    • Provide solutions
    • Follow through

  2. Timely Updates:

    • Keep customers informed
    • Provide status updates
    • Set expectations
    • Deliver on promises

  3. Resolution Focus:

    • Work toward resolution
    • Document solutions
    • Follow up after resolution
    • Learn from tickets

Troubleshooting ​

Ticket Not Sending ​

Solutions:

  1. Check email settings
  2. Verify form configuration
  3. Check spam folder
  4. Test email functionality

Notifications Not Working ​

Solutions:

  1. Verify email configuration
  2. Check notification settings
  3. Test email sending
  4. Review email logs

Assignment Issues ​

Solutions:

  1. Verify staff permissions
  2. Check department settings
  3. Verify assignment rules
  4. Test manual assignment

Last Updated: [Date will be updated during final review]

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