Ease of Use:  

This service is extremely easy to use on the customer side and the operator side. We also found the administration tools easy to use. However, this software is a bit confusing to get going. When the program is initially installed, it is ready to go on both the customer and operator side for testing. However, when we tried to use the program the next day, it was difficult to get the server connection to work again. This may be an issue with our system, but it is worth testing before you purchase. On the other hand, if you purchase the software version, this is not a concern, since you would be hosting it.

Setup Ease:  

We tested the downloadable version that TOPCMM Software hosted. As mentioned above, the initial set up went quickly and worked perfectly. We just had trouble getting it going the next day; the server would say it was connected, but the customer interface said an operator was not available and on the operator side we could not log in. However, we were pleased to find out that they were available 24/7 on live chat for help.

Multi-Tasking Ease:  

123 Live Help can easily support multiple chat conversations on the operator side. In addition, an operator can quickly switch between conversations and each conversation’s text is highlighted a different color to make it even easier to keep conversations manageable. You can also transfer chat conversations to other operators quickly and easily.

Monitoring Capabilities:  

This applications tracks customer information like IPs, language, browsers, times/dates, conversations, history and so on. We contacted customer support and they related that referrer and other information is available with their service with the exception of with their FlashChat feature. Keep in mind though, that if you host your own chat service and website, your web statistics service or hosting package should offer additional information such as visitor page views, exit pages, exit destination, time spend on site and so on.

Feature Set:  

Chat Operator Features: This service can be configured to support audio and visual alerts. Operators can also use canned messages or create their own; they can force web pages and even email customers full chat transcripts should they request it. The message creator includes a simple text formatter which was nice to see.

Chat Operator Features: The customer chat interface is cleanly designed and straightforward. They can easily see when a chat operator is available, if a message is being typed and it will send an automatic alert out if the connection is interrupted. If an operator is not available they are prompted to send a message.

Marketing Features: As mentioned, this service can track basic visitor statistics, it also included many easy to use buttons and so on. Using the administration tools you can quickly get your chat service going with simple buttons, text links and floating invites. It also offers advanced tools if you need them. It also includes a customizable customer survey tool that comes up when a chat conversation is ended.

Safety Features: The default settings do not automatically encrypt conversations, but it can be enabled, which is a good idea if sensitive or personal information like credit card numbers, SSNs, addresses and so on are transferred through conversations. Specific IP addresses can also be blocked if necessary.

Help/Support:  

We were very pleased to discover that chat service was available, even during non-business hours. We used their chat support to ask a few questions about the service and received useful and prompt answers. You can also contact them by email and telephone.

Online, TOPCMM Software posts a comprehensive and useful users guide and FAQs. We consulted the user guide often and usually found exactly the information we were looking for.

Scalability:  

123 Live Help can easily be expanded. The hosted service is $50 per month per user and the licenses is only a one time cost of $599 for the text version and additional licenses are available at a reduced cost. Online they only have a posted pricing for up to 100, but we are sure that if you contact them they can arrange pricing for over 100 users.

Pricing:

This live chat service offers a variety of packages including full licenses, hosted service and video chat. Most services we looked at offer a monthly rate per user, 123 Live Help offers this, but they also offer software licenses. The license is $599 and additional licenses for more users are offered at a reduced rate depending on the number of users. The software with the video function is $1599. Their hosted chat support service is offered at $50 per user, hosted with video is $150/month.

We rather enjoyed our first experience with this service and found the customer, administrator and operator interfaces easy to use and highly functional. There are only a few things we would like to see, like more sharing; including the ability to share documents or co-web browsing.

123 Live Help is well worth trying out and since they offer a free, fully functional trial, there is no excuse for not trying it out while you do the research to decide which chat service is best for your business.