Intuit Answers Questions About ProAdvisor Support

Recently, Intuit announced investments in ProAdvisor support improvements. We reached out to Intuit with several questions and they provided the following answers. 

What was the critical tipping point that led to Intuit just now looking to improve ProAdvisor support after months and years of complaints?

Intuit's Answer: We have been on a journey the past several years to provide support in the most convenient channels for our customers: adding self-help, staffing up online chat, and implementing call-back functionality. The common thread uniting all these channels is improving our logged-in customer support. Therefore we have focused on improving these methods of communication.

However, as we compared our qualitative accountant feedback to our quantitative metrics we saw some material gaps. Specifically, our metrics were all telling us that everything was working as intended: hold times, speed to answer, resolution rate, and overall satisfaction. But our ProAdvisors were telling us something different. Based on the frequency, consistency, and intensity of the feedback from our ProAdvisors, we realized that these changes over time were negatively impacting the support ProAdvisors were receiving. We’ve spent the last several months getting back to our roots of connecting ProAdvisors to the premier support they’ve come to expect from us and the support team. 

One thing we would like to clarify that we hear often within the community is that we eliminated the designated phone line for ProAdvisor support. That is not the case. The designated ProAdvisor support number still exists. It is 1-888-333-3451. And we would encourage you to continue using the “Call me back” feature so that the right expert can reach you as fast as possible. 

What specific measures are being implemented?

Intuit's Answer: We are focused on three key areas to improve the ProAdvisor support experience. These three areas are:

• Returning to U.S.-based accountant support. This process is already underway. In fact, all Elite and Platinum ProAdvisors are connected to US-based support when they call in during our standard support hours, Monday - Friday 6 am - 6 pm PT and Saturdays 6 am - 3 pm PT. We are on track to have US-based support at 100% for our Gold and Silver ProAdvisors by early next year. 
• Improving caller recognition and routing technology to reduce wait times. We’ve improved our caller recognition process so we are better able to identify who you are when you call into support. We’ve also invested in technology that can better route you to the team specifically trained to help you with your issue. This has reduced wait times and ensures you get the help you need quickly.
• Increasing agents’ expertise. We have implemented a 6-month robust training program to improve the knowledge and expertise of our agents. Our initial focus is on payroll and payments since those are specific pain points our accountant community told us were most in need of change. Later this year, we will be certifying our entire Accountant support team as certified ProAdvisors. The goal with their certification is to ensure they understand the most common accounting workflows, language, and ultimately your point-of-view when you call in with questions.

Which measures have already been implemented and which measures are still in process?

Intuit's Answer: Several measures are already in place and have been implemented with positive results. For example, today, more than 70% of accountant payroll contacts are being handled by specially-trained payroll agents. This is a result of  (1) a team of support staff having completed our comprehensive payroll training program; (2) the updating of hundreds of articles and documents our agents reference so they have up-to-date information when helping solve issues and answer questions; and (3) improvements made to the routing of payroll-related calls, reducing wait times and getting you connected to someone with experience solving a particular problem. 

In addition, we have made significant inroads to growing our US-based support team. Today, all Elite and Platinum ProAdvisors are connected to US-based support when they call during our standard support hours, Monday - Friday 6 am - 6 pm PT and Saturdays 6 am - 3 pm PT. We are on track to have US-based support at 100% for our Gold members by December and Silver ProAdvisors early next year. 

Looking ahead, we are focused on making steady improvements to the support experience throughout the coming months: 

• Onboarding support experts who understand how you work. We want to hire experts like yourselves, to provide a new caliber of ProAdvisor support. We are organizing support teams to focus on building an expertise in Desktop or Online, rather than expecting our agents to know both platforms right from the start. This will help ensure our support experts understand the intricacies of your queries not only from a bookkeeping and accounting perspective but from a product platform perspective, too.
• Expanding experts’ knowledge to better solve your issues. We are asking our agents who support ProAdvisors  to become QuickBooks certified. This is part of our more robust training program, which has kicked off already for those who support our Elite and Platinum ProAdvisors. 
• Faster resolution for you via streamlined escalation processes. We will be implementing new standards and processes for a smoother transition to our enhanced Tier 2 support team when escalations are required. 
• Identifying who you are when you call. We are taking steps to improve our ability to know who you are when you call us so you can be directed to the appropriate team immediately. We also are taking steps to route calls based on your question so you are connected to someone who has experience solving a particular type of issue. 

When will ProAdvisors begin to see real and long-lasting improvement?

Intuit's Answer: ProAdvisors are telling us that they are already seeing real improvements. Several of you have shared positive stories about how using the “call-back” feature has resulted in the quick resolution of an issue. Others have shared stories about the improved payroll support. 

We acknowledge that there is still much work to do, but are pleased with what we have been able to accomplish so far. We look forward to making continued traction in the weeks and months ahead.

How will Intuit determine the success of measures that are being put in place and how will you monitor ongoing success to avoid a return of sub-standard customer support?

Intuit's Answer: First, we will determine success and where we need to continue to focus by listening to you, through the stories you share directly with us, on social media and through our surveys and in-product feedback forms. We are also capturing and analyzing data that measures wait times, length of calls, how often someone is routed to different teams and much more. As we continue to implement new measures to improve support, we will pulse the ProAdvisor community to get your thoughts and feedback on what is working and what still needs to be improved.

Will Intuit make a long-term commitment to prioritizing customer support for the ProAdvisor community?

Intuit's Answer: Absolutely! Accounting professionals are our most valued partners and we’re focused on continuous innovation to power their success. This includes the support experience, ensuring accountants and bookkeepers are getting prompt, efficient help when they need it so they can best serve their clients.