3Dcart chat?

[Danab]

We are looking at some live chat options for our new site. We do have 3dcart chat included with our plan but it is not enabled yet. I've read posts from others regarding the bandwidth the 3dcart chat uses, how it slows down page loads, and the lack of an audible sound when a customer is ready to chat etc. (still no sound as of a post from 7/2013).

Is anyone using the 3Dcart chat currently? If so, how is the bandwidth, page loads, did they add sounds, and where is the chat served from (the cloud or our server)?

Dana

[rburton34]

We tried it but with no sound alerting us to a "chatter", we removed it.

[onering]

We used the 3D Live Chat for years until its most useful feature was disabled - the ability to view shoppers in real time.

The reason I was given by tech support was that it was causing overall performance issues. So, once this feature was forcibly disabled, we were no longer able to view our customers which meant that we were unable to initiate a chat session. We could only respond to sessions that were initiated by the customer.

So, cutting to the chase, we use LiveHelpNow instead. We've been using it for about 4 months now and so far, so good. The only downside is that it's not free.

[Danab]

Thanks for the replies. We are still fiddling around with the chat. =)

We've discussed how our customers would feel if we initiated chats with them. Right now we aren't going to do it because we are worried it would be weird for them or annoying. I can't seem to find any non-biased research about this either. I would be interested in the feedback your customers have given you about chats you've initiated without them asking for it!

[vswebdesign]

My client uses LiveChat and she's discovered that initiated chats tend to scare off customers. She has her LiveChat set up to wait several minuted before asking the customer if they need assistance. I know in my personal experience initiated chats are annoying, but I like to easily find a chat link in the event I do have a question.

[onering]

I think it really depends on the industry you sell in. For our products (automotive), there is a certain level of technical expertise that is needed to select the proper item for your vehicle. Sometimes initiating the chat can help retain a customer who might otherwise become confused and overwhelmed to the point of leaving the site.

Also, it helps that the majority of our competitors are using initiated live chat as well - even the 800lb. gorillas in the business. So from this perspective, a customer who has been shopping for the items that we sell has most likely already come across other retailers who are using this method. For the record, we actually won't initiate a chat until a customer has been on the site for several minutes, looking at multiple products. The two largest retailers in our industry will attempt to initiate contact within the first minute of entering their site.

[Toobusy]

onering I've found that waiting and watching the customer cruise around and check different things is the best time to pop up and ask if they needed assistance. I restore muscle car components and there still seems to be a larger group that are not real computer savvy shopping online that I had anticipated. Most prefer to give you a call rather than attempt to type in the window that pops up when I initiate chat through Woopra. I can say that on average, if I initiate chat, even after watching their navigation, most immediately disappear. I think they got spooked that "big brother" was watching them? I just put a message in the box with my phone number that pops up for them that if they have questions they can call me, and include my phone number on the message.

[brassandsilver]

We tried the 3d chat, but without the audible notification it just didn't work. We now use Woopra, and love love love it. I'd suggest taking a look at Woopra.

[elightbox]

We tried the 3d chat, but without the audible notification it just didn't work. We now use Woopra, and love love love it. I'd suggest taking a look at Woopra.

Where do you have the Woopra code? in the Frame or on individual pages?. Are you using the single or multi-page checkout?
I remember trying it a long time ago and I remember some conflict with one of the checkout pages.

[brassandsilver]

I put the code in the frame template, right after this snippet: <!--END: quicksearch--> and it works just fine. I was using one page checkout for years, but recently switched to multi-page and haven't ha any problems with it. Perhaps they have fixed whatever the problem was that you were having. Woopra hasn't been around all that long, and the have made tons of changes. Might be worth looking into again if you haven't found anything else that you like better.

[Toobusy]

I LOVE woopra. When it logs traffic I find more and more links to mentions about me on automotive forums, etc. and then I click the link, register on the forum, answer the questions in the post/thread and you wouldn't believe the traffic pick up and business you can catch off something as simple as that. Without Woopra I'd have no idea that I'm being mentioned some where :-)

[Danab]

Since I am on a serious budget, I am testing a free chat and it seems to be OK so far (free version chat seems to lag a bit when you're typing though). It is interesting to see the traffic on the site. It does slow the initial page load down a bit but it loads last so I am hoping customers won't mind. I tested out like 5 different chats that were in my budget and almost all of them had issues with internet explorer. Unfortunately many of my customers are still using IE so that really limited me. Eventually I am hoping to be able to afford a better chat, but so far nobody has even used the chat once.

One problem I am having is I cannot seem to get the chat icon to show up correctly in the header because its in a div. No matter what I do, it ends up moving the chat picture beneath my logo. I can't get the chat to work if it is not in a div. <GAHHH>

I had to put it in the right banner block and then move the right banner block to the left side so the chat would at least be above the fold. So frustrating....

[fabricgarden]

I managed to put mine in the Global left banner and it fits in perfectly. I am also using a cheepie due to costs.