

Comparing alternatives to ZenDesk - grobmeier
http://www.grobmeier.de/comparing-alternatives-to-zendesk-26052013.html

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sjain
HappyFox is certainly a worthy alternative to Zendesk. Quoting Mashable.com:
"Foursquare uses Zendesk, but other popular options include Get Satisfaction
and the beautifully designed HappyFox."
(<http://mashable.com/2011/10/19/downtime-communication-tips/>)

HappyFox is way simpler and we do have zendesk data import feature that will
move your data too.

It is the only product which is time-tested both with large corporates and
small businesses. HappyFox was originally a product I launched as Helpdesk
pilot, in 2005 with in-premise and traditional licensing model.

Our email integration is simple and unlike Zendesk gives you email integration
that works with your domain name right from the start. We were the first ones
to launch a free plan that actually has features that you would need like
Advanced Reporting and professional support.

We'll soon be launching our new pricing and a switch program that will allow
you to make the most of our existing investment into other products.

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jmathai
+1 for HelpScout. Their email integration is a god send. Your customers will
never know that their support emails are going through a support desk system.
It looks and feels like email <-> email communication.

We were using ZenDesk for about 2 months and it was killing my productivity.
The web interface was slow and clunky. I dreaded opening support tickets.

With HelpScout I do a lot of the management directly from Gmail. Their web
interface is very responsive but I don't normally have to use it.

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gmays
Ditto. I love Help Scout as well. I just started with it last week and it was
a pretty easy decision. I messed with ZenDesk last year as well, and it was
just too much. Since I do most of my work through Google Apps this was
perfect.

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Mitchy
I use HappyFox and I like it because it provides a simple backend with a clean
interface. It's not cluttered with icons everywhere. It just has what you need
to respond to tickets and get them closed. It offers the ability to customize
the colour.

They offer a hiding free plan underneath their plans and I've used them for my
communities ban appeals and couldn't of wanted a simpler solution. Thanks
HappyFox!

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sudhirj
As an aside, it's pretty interesting to note that two out of the three
products considered are from startups based in Chennai, India. The startup
scene here is very nascent, but I wonder why the help desk business seems to
attractive to folks here.

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snuxoll
I've personally been pretty happy with SalesForce's Desk.com, it offers a
great interface, one agent is free and you have the option of flex agents
($1/hr) instead of paying for a full seat every month when you just need an
occasional helper.

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lwhalen
What about RT? It's self hosted and free as in speech AND beer. There are also
support packages available from BestPractical if your company needs them.

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snuxoll
RT doesn't meet the criteria of "easy to use and setup", unfortunately. Great
product, but installation isn't anywhere as simple as signing up for these
SaaS products.

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andrewljohnson
UserVoice is also an alternative, free for one user.

