More Vols needed

[Andre]

12 hours ago, Mom said:

It's no lie that the volunteers tend to keep things a secret, sometimes where appropriate but other times not so much, for example how the ticket system works shouldn't be kept as a secret, the amount of silly replies I see from the volunteers when regarding important issues like tickets is insurmountable.

As Brandon and many others have pointed out so far we have different volunteers working on specific type of tickets. That's how it works. However how it's compartmentalized, what tools are volunteers trusted with and who works on what specifically is not disclosed for security reasons. I would like to know why users need that information other than to annoy/abuse specific volunteers on chat.

 

12 hours ago, Mom said:

Which brings me onto the ticket function itself, the fact is like Christina said, users are getting tired of constantly nagging the volunteers to the point where it's off-putting, but is that the users fault? No.

Neither are volunteers to blame. We're in fact volunteers and get very little compensation for our hard work. I'm not saying that I should be getting more, but I'm also not going to quit my day job and hobbies to 100% focus on what xat users expect of me.

 

Could we benefit from recruiting more volunteers? Perhaps. We'll look into it if we decide that's true. That's how it has worked so far and that's how it's going to continue to work.

 

Regarding the compartmentalization - it stays and again it has been pointed out why it makes sense for us to have it in place, regardless of the counter-arguments which I disagree with. For regular users and ex-volunteers it's easy to dictate and speculate what would be more efficient. From personal experience, security and more specifically for the sake of organization it's best to have it remain the way it is.

 

12 hours ago, Mom said:

If the solution isn't get more volunteers, then you need to provide us with an alternative because the current system is causing users stress, pain and agony. Not just "be patient, volunteers are working hard" because that isn't enough anymore, it's obvious that the ticket system has flaws and reoccurring problems.

 

You are the volunteers of xat, you essentially run the place -- make things happen instead of siting idly by waiting for someone else to.

The stress, pain and agony could be reduced to a minimum, if users would make themselves aware of the safe-trade system, specifically the confirm button to double check the trades. Avoiding "trust trades" and loans is also reasonable. If the deal is too good to be true, then it likely is. Another tip from us would be to secure their computer, email and xat accounts. Never enter your xat password on any other site and don't fall for xat currency generators, as there's no such thing. To sum it up.. I'm not blaming the users, however, it's a fact that the "stress, pain and agony" is often resulting from their own greed and/or carelessness.

 

Users requesting for authentication or locking to be disabled rarely have to wait for too long, however, I agree that we could do better in that regard. If there are delays, then we pick up and clear them. Some weeks are busier than others. Currently some departments are delayed and we'll be focusing on those in the upcoming days.

[Brandon]

8 hours ago, Mom said:

It's ridiculous the amount of "oh you think it's that easy? lolz" from the volunteers in a mocking kind-of way. It's to be expected when the fact is, tickets are being delayed and users are complaining yet they don't take the time to properly write something more fitting, especially for an important issue like this, makes me question the maturity.

It's not ridiculous at all. We're not mocking users either. What we're trying to do is show that a lot of people here have no idea what they're requesting or saying. Even Christina, a former volunteer, has said some things I would never expect a former volunteer to say, such as certain tickets being as easy as a "push of a button." That's not how it works.

 

8 hours ago, Mom said:

Which brings me onto the ticket function itself, the fact is like Christina said, users are getting tired of constantly nagging the volunteers to the point where it's off-putting, but is that the users fault? No.

While we attempt to take on the responsibility of ensuring that we're caught up, it's ultimately not our responsibility to ensure that we have enough volunteers or that the support system is operating normally. This is the result of a volunteer-only support system. Such tasks are ultimately administrative in nature.

 

8 hours ago, Mom said:

You're implying younger users have lower expectations which isn't fair, especially with what I said above about the current volunteers and their maturity. I agree largely with what Christina said in regards to volunteers chosen based on who you know and users impressions instead of what they should be.

 

If the solution isn't get more volunteers, then you need to provide us with an alternative because the current system is causing users stress, pain and agony. Not just "be patient, volunteers are working hard" because that isn't enough anymore, it's obvious that the ticket system has flaws and reoccurring problems.

 

You are the volunteers of xat, you essentially run the place -- make things happen instead of siting idly by waiting for someone else to.

No, I was saying that the volunteers from years ago were much younger and had more time. That is why tickets were rarely delayed. The comparison Christina made is unfair since the average age of the volunteers is different (higher). No individual volunteer can control this, so it's not our fault.

 

Volunteer selections are definitely not based solely on who we know. First of all, we're not going to recommend some random Joe who we don't know. We need to trust that they will handle user information properly, so it obviously and naturally follows that we have to at least know of the person we're suggesting, if we suggest someone. Secondly, if we're going to recommend someone, we need to believe they'll do a good job as a volunteer. For example, a lot of volunteers had interacted with Steven in the past, and many of us trusted him. But were many of us necessarily friends with him? No. I'm not fond of the years-old myth that volunteers only recommend their friends. It's not as buddy-buddy as people want it to be.

 

8 hours ago, Mom said:

If the solution isn't get more volunteers, then you need to provide us with an alternative because the current system is causing users stress, pain and agony. Not just "be patient, volunteers are working hard" because that isn't enough anymore, it's obvious that the ticket system has flaws and reoccurring problems.

 

You are the volunteers of xat, you essentially run the place -- make things happen instead of siting idly by waiting for someone else to.

Although it may seem like we don't care, we actually do. Some of us actually feel really disgusted about extended delays. Just make sure to remember that there's not much we can do other than attempt to calm users and answer tickets when we can. We're not administrators. It's not our job to provide you with an alternative.

 

We try our best to motivate each other and implement plans to eliminate delays. We actively attempt to manage the situation.

[Christina]

1 hour ago, Brandon said:

It's not ridiculous at all. We're not mocking users either. What we're trying to do is show that a lot of people here have no idea what they're requesting or saying. Even Christina, a former volunteer, has said some things I would never expect a former volunteer to say, such as certain tickets being as easy as a "push of a button." That's not how it works.

 

 

No, I was saying that the volunteers from years ago were much younger and had more time. That is why tickets were rarely delayed. The comparison Christina made is unfair since the average age of the volunteers is different (higher). No individual volunteer can control this, so it's not our fault.

 

 

Although it may seem like we don't care, we actually do. Some of us actually feel really disgusted about extended delays. Just make sure to remember that there's not much we can do other than attempt to calm users and answer tickets when we can. We're not administrators. It's not our job to provide you with an alternative.

 

We try our best to motivate each other and implement plans to eliminate delays. We actively attempt to manage the situation.

Actually it is that simple in most circumstances. There are some exceptions but what is it 1 out of 10 tickets perhaps? And that is in that particular department.  We all know some are quite harder departments then others.

However...it tends to be the easier ones behind. You never would hear me complain about the harder departments  mentioned in wait time.  He also acts like all volunteers have to deal with his scenario.  

I didn't compare age.  You guys did. What I did compare was ratio of volunteers and number of users and tickets...which to me was a very fair scenario.

I never said you guys did not care.  In fact I said I felt most of you deserved.  Different era of volunteers then if in fact volunteers do not try to take it upon themselves to fix the issues between the users and xat.  Or do not look for solutions to user complaints.  I will even go as far to say that 20% of users who complain of wait time either have not checked ticket reply, have given wrong info, or have an issue they do not understand.  But there are STILL delays that are a bit ridiculous in wait time.

 Allowing volunteers access to most departments would then help to eliminate a department having wait time due to other obligations or a particular volunteer being busy..  There is always a solution to further eliminate wait time if you just look for it.  This has been a year long problem.  Not recent.  I merely suggested 1.  I am not saying the answer has to be that 1.  

I will not even go into the debate of based on who you know....it would be an unfair 1, if I were to be completely open and honest.

 

 

[FrozenZuke]

What's with the long replys?  

[Elie]

15 minutes ago, FrozenZuke said:

What's with the long replys?  

It's a discussion. Not a chat.

[Communism]

Maybe a little off topic, but I think it's somewhat under-appreciated that the volunteers actually do anything at all. They might be compensated some, but I'm pretty sure most part-time jobs would have a better ROI for their time. I think it's safe to say that the the volunteers do this gig because they find it enjoyable or fulfilling.

 

Now imagine an alternative universe where all the volunteers didn't find it fulfilling and just played xat pool with each other all day instead of answering tickets. The site would obviously fall apart, but who's at fault? The crux of the issue is that the admins brought on a group of people who didn't care enough to do it for free, and then didn't compensate them. The bad volunteers can't really help their own motivation, and it's hard to argue that they have some moral obligation to carry out their duties when they get nothing out of it (and the admins do). So really, the only options are:

 

1. The admins choose volunteers who will do the work without compensation

2. The admins start offering compensation (like giving them money or making their forum names even more exotic shades of purple) for doing the work

 

Either way, this is the admins' responsibility, not the volunteers'.

 

Again, this doesn't exactly have to do with this thread. Just a reminder think about who you're pointing your finger at.

[Elie]

38 minutes ago, Communism said:

1. The admins choose volunteers who will do the work without compensation

2. The admins start offering compensation (like giving them money or making their forum names even more exotic shades of purple) for doing the work.

We do to some extent, and right now I think it's enough.

 

However, being able to pick our own colors would be nice.

 

[TrueRedDevil]

On 18/10/2016 at 1:20 PM, Elie said:

I fear you'd reply while drunk.

You found me out

[Ryan]

This was a rollercoaster of a read. 

Here's an idea. A paid member of staff who works Monday to Friday 9am-5pm with the aim of improving this sites tragic and bias customer service, in order to improve the service in the long run!

[Christina]

16 hours ago, Ryan said:

This was a rollercoaster of a read. 

Here's an idea. A paid member of staff who works Monday to Friday 9am-5pm with the aim of improving this sites tragic and bias customer service, in order to improve the service in the long run!

 

 

You can also hold your breath until it does?  

[Flake]

The true issue with the volunteer system is not that the current volunteers are bad, but many simply do not have enough time to do something quite demanding for free. I doubt paying a little amount to volunteers or giving them small rewards for doing something would make the system run smoother, UNLESS a high pay was to be given, because many of the current volunteers would still prioritize other things over a small pay. 

 

The sole reason that the idea of having MORE volunteers may not work is because there are simply not enough people that are deemed trusted enough to be in that position. However, there are currently a few people who are trusted enough to take the position and haven't been offered it, so in that regard adding the people who are trusted currently who haven't yet been added has no downfall.

 

Mixing these ideas would give the best result:

 

A. Pay money (not a small amount) to volunteers. Not only does paying money to volunteers encourage the volunteers to work harder, but also encourages OTHER people to work for the volunteer position (hence more trusted people).

 

B. Trusted users should then be given volunteer until a point comes where more are not necessary because the system runs smoothly.

 

C. As Ryan said, "paid members of staff who work Monday to Friday 9am-5pm with the aim of improving this sites tragic and bias customer service, in order to improve the service in the long run." Having a few people who are fully paid to do this would make the system flow a LOT better.

 

This way, the two major issues of lack of time and lack of reward are dealt with, mainly because having a high pay means that users would most likely make time to work, and people who are seriously offered a job will definitely take it seriously.

 

If Admins are not willing to pay trusted users to work for the site, it will have a very hard time functioning well. In the case of no pay being involved, I believe the only way to make the issue better is to add the currently trusted users that are not yet volunteer as volunteer. But really, some kind of reward system would be the most ideal.