Why intentional, people-first support wins in the age of AI

In the fast moving and high stakes world of SaaS, the temptation is often to be at the forefront of whatever’s new. Some perspectives surrounding Support Teams would suggest, initially at least, that if you’re not funneling customers through a chatbot or answering calls, you’re practically chiseling on a stone tablet.

As Happeo’s Global Manager of Technical Support, I’m here to challenge this conception.  I’ve guided my team in building a support model, that is, by today’s standards, somewhat unconventional. We are both purposive and data-driven all while staying human-centric because we believe it generates measurably superior results for our customers. This is the story of how we’ve crafted a support function that’s an enduring, core strength of our business. 

The philosophy: intentional choices in a trend-driven world 

One of the first aspects of our support model that might raise eyebrows is our primary reliance on a ticket-based system, facilitated through email and our Help Center. In a world where everyone laments about the necessity of live chat and phone support, this is a deliberate choice. We believe it provides the optimal framework to work with the often complicated and technical queries that our B2B clientele have, and ultimately culminates to a superior support experience. 

The common perception is that tickets are slow and impersonal. But let’s take a (slightly exaggerated) look at the supposed alternatives. It’s spending the first 10 minutes of a call spelling out your name and providing basic information.  It’s waiting on hold, only to be transferred, and re-explaining your issue every time. It’s trying to explain a complicated visual problem to someone who can’t see your screen. 

Our ticket-first approach bypasses these annoyances entirely. It allows our customers to provide rich, detailed information — screenshots, user details, and valuable context — from the very first interaction. In our line of work, where we support a complex software product, the majority of our queries are technical in nature. That makes structured information collection not just helpful, but essential — and a ticket-based system is the most efficient way to gather and act on that information.The result is that our median first response time is under 15 minutes. That speed is a direct outcome of our design. A detailed initial ticket allows us to immediately triage and assign the issue to the right specialist, and in doing so, eliminating time-wasting bottlenecks. Moreover, the detail that comes with a ticket provides invaluable context, fostering a more informed and personalised support journey – a far cry from the often impersonal nature of reactive, trend-driven support. 

We also make use of video calls: not just for complex issues, but for simple ones too. Why? Because they offer a more personal, human connection. Our support agents come across as empathetic, and customers feel heard and reassured that their issue is taken seriously. In more technical cases, video calls help us troubleshoot collaboratively through screen sharing, avoiding long-winded explanations. This is done with the ultimate goal of valuing the customer’s time and making their role in fixing the problem as brief and unintrusive as possible. We’re also introducing tooling that captures screen recordings, logs, and technical details like browser type and version automatically, so that the only thing the customer has to do is press a button when something goes wrong. This helps us step in with full context, reducing back-and-forth and making support feel effortless. 

A human-first approach to technology and communication

The integration of AI is a top trend in the support landscape. While we recognize its potential, our philosophy prioritizes the irreplaceable value of human connection and personalized understanding — which is why we frequently jump on video calls. The data backs us up: a recent study found that 75% of consumers state they would rather wait to speak with a human agent than to engage immediately with a bot, which often lacks the context, understanding, and empathy necessary to solve complex problems. Many companies use AI bots to primarily deflect tickets, pushing customers away rather than helping them. That’s not our approach. If and when we introduce AI, it will be to enhance self-service in straightforward cases, but never at the cost of accessibility. 

Our focus remains on three pillars: thorough investigation, thoughtful decision-making, and clear, confident, and empathetic customer communication. We strive to maintain a perspective that emphasises partnership: ‘us’ and ‘them’ tackling the challenge, together. 

Proactive support means doing the heavy lifting 

This customer-oriented approach extends to the often-touted concept of self-service. While an extensive knowledge base like our Help Center is essential, we believe that an over-reliance on self-service can place the burden on frustrated customers. In our view, high-quality customer service anticipates needs and does the heavy lifting for the customer. 

This is why proactive support is ingrained in our strategy and our technology. We proactively monitor for errors in our systems and take action before customers even notice something is wrong. In some cases, we’ll even reach out to a customer if we see that something is likely to break on their end and an action is needed from them. Our support team actively collaboratives with Customer Success Managers, leveraging data-driven insights to identify and resolve potential issues before they escalate. When complex situations demand it, our specialists work in close collaboration with our development and product teams, ensuring a holistic resolution.

The results that matter

Our method’s success proves itself within our metrics. We maintain consistently high CSAT scores, consistently exceeding 96% and frequently reaching a perfect 100%. More importantly, our proactive efforts and focus on resolving root causes have led to tangible improvements across the board:

• A remarkable 26% reduction in total support requests compared to 2024
• A 6.6% improvement in our average resolution time.

The positive feedback from our customers truly underscores the impact of our principles:

"The customer service is great and they always respond incredibly fast and go above and beyond to help us when we need it."

"Being able to schedule with Technical resources is so helpful, the team is always willing to meet to help resolve outstanding issues."

Internally, the spirit of our core principles – integrity, respect, excellence, and innovation – is brought to life within the team’s work, emphasizing empathetic understanding, effective communication, comprehensive problem-solving, valued customer feedback, and resilient team collaboration.

Looking ahead

We’re committed to continuous improvement, guided by data and by the relentless focus on our customers' needs. We are actively exploring ways to enhance proactive issue identification and further streamline the support process, with the goal of providing support so efficient that the only thing our customers need to do is point out anything we might have missed, with no further action required from them. Our goal is to empower both our customers and our internal teams with the knowledge and tools they need for success.

Ultimately, Happeo believes that exceptional SaaS B2B support transcends fleeting trends. It's built on a foundation of core values, intentional choices, and a genuine commitment to putting people first. By prioritizing human connection, proactive problem-solving, and a deep understanding of our customers' challenges, we're not just providing support: we're building lasting partnerships and fostering true customer success — a value that will never fall out of fashion.

If you'd like to learn more about how Happeo can help your organization, book a demo here.