Online chat - Olark vs Liveperson?
5 comments
Sorry you had to deal with a sales person. If you had dealt with a sales professional, they would have asked you the relevant info and asked you questions that helped add value to your decision making. Sucks when you know you're dealing with a script, rather than an intelligent person and you're just trying to figure out the magic words to get the real pricing.
I made a list of requirements and compared the best Live chat SaaS sites here:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0ApeWkxPGlfpNdHQ3VmlH...
(it's editable, so feel free to improve)
I looked at these sites: Olark, Live Person, OggChat, LiveZilla, IMified.
For these features:
multiple operator support route based on skill / rating direct to specific agent show status of specific agent transfer agents w/ history agent initiated chat mobile client sms send/receive save transcript to database save length of chat to database user rate agent feedback user interface (1-5) white label API (create agent,save chat) Agent client type price (1 agent) price (10 agents)
Basically, I'm looking for a subset of the functionality on the liveperson.com site. The Live Person software is too expensive.
LiveZilla seems to be the closest and is free. IMified (SaaS IM API) would require coding, but is flexible and supports SMS.
I looked at these sites: Olark, Live Person, OggChat, LiveZilla, IMified.
For these features:
multiple operator support route based on skill / rating direct to specific agent show status of specific agent transfer agents w/ history agent initiated chat mobile client sms send/receive save transcript to database save length of chat to database user rate agent feedback user interface (1-5) white label API (create agent,save chat) Agent client type price (1 agent) price (10 agents)
Basically, I'm looking for a subset of the functionality on the liveperson.com site. The Live Person software is too expensive.
LiveZilla seems to be the closest and is free. IMified (SaaS IM API) would require coding, but is flexible and supports SMS.
Wow, terrible sales person
We've been using Olark for almost a year now (since they were Habla) and they do a fantastic job, highly recommended
Wow. Not a good way to interface with potentially new customers. I'm surprised. I had no idea they thought their software was worth that much. I could whip together something in much less time to interface with Google Talk or IRC or something.
In fact, their pricing is so ridiculous that I think there is a great opportunity here for someone to swoop in and start a competitor.
In fact, their pricing is so ridiculous that I think there is a great opportunity here for someone to swoop in and start a competitor.
Any suggestions on other chat services that direct to agent based on skill, logging, and mobile / sms ?
Welcome to LivePerson! An online representative will be with you shortly. You are number 1 in the queue.
you: how much does liveperson contact center cost?
Mark: Hey
Mark: I'll be happy to supply you with all the details you require, so I can best understand your needs, I do need to ask a few quick questions.
Mark: To best understand your business needs I'd like to have a quick look at your website. Can I please ask for your URL?
you: new company... website isn't up yet
Mark: What kind of website will it be?
you: local services
Mark: When will you website be up and running?
you: Jan
Mark: Ok
Mark: What is the name of the company
you: private
Mark: How many agents will you have handling incoming calls/emails/chats?
you: fewer then 10 to start, then could grow to 50+, depending on success
Mark: We have several solutions ranging from $90 to $50,000, this is why I am asking you these questions
Mark: The company name would help
you: ???? how does that effect price?
you: Is that per month or one time fee?
Mark: I wouldn't want to offer you a solution for a large company if yours is only a small business
you: ok, what are the questions
Mark: We have different solutions for different businesses and their needs
you: we are a small businiess...
you: we are just starting
Mark: Will you be making the final decision about purchasing a LivePerson account or are you evaluating the product for someone else?
you: I will make decision... and right now, I'm leaning towards olark.com.
Mark: Why is that?
you: can you ask me necessary questions to give me a price please?
Mark: What is the size of the staff the company has?
you: why olark 1. already know price, 2. already tested service 3. best UI I've seen so far, but it's missing CRM integration
you: size of staff - 2
Mark: We have that CRM integration you are looking for you: I know...
Mark: You can easily integrate a LivePerson account with most web-based applications (CRM tools, data-bases or billing systems). To read more about integration, please read the page I just pushed.
Mark: http://solutions.liveperson.com/sb/integration.asp
Mark: We have a couple solutions for you
you: I'm already familiar with liveperson and all the features... just not the price!
Mark: For our small business clients we are offering two packages: - LivePerson Pro - our award winning Chat and real-time monitoring solution. - LivePerson Contact Center - a complete communication solution including Chat, Voice (LiveCall) Email Management and Self-Service.
Mark: Are you interested in the Contact Center solution or our Chat-only (Pro) package?
you: See 1st question.... "how much does liveperson contact ctr cost?"
Mark: Yes, I saw, I still had to ask you these questions so I get a better understanding
Mark: Please be patient with me
Mark: The pricing structure is as follows
Mark: There are NO minimum contracts, NO extra charges, and NO setup fees.
Mark: You are free to cancel your account at any time, no questions asked
Mark: 1* You are welcome to embed the click-to-chat buttons (and monitoring code) onto as many Web sites and pages you require - there is no restriction.
Mark: 2* With a LivePerson account you are free to download the Operator Console (3MB desktop application) onto as many computers you need. You can also create as many Operator Identities (User name and Password) you require.
Mark: 3* The number of operators you can have online at any one time depends on the number of concurrent operators (seats) you have purchased for your account. As an online operator you can accept an unlimited number of concurrent chats
Mark: The price for a LivePerson Pro account is $99/month per seat (concurrent operator).
Mark: We have a special promotional offer going on now for a limited time only, would you like me to explain?
you: how much is contact center?
you: and yes, what is the promotional offer
Mark: The price for a LivePerson Contact Center account is $150/month per seat.
you: oops... just saw it was $99 per seat. Thanks. Cost to much.
you: goodbye
Mark: The special offers a discounted price
Mark: What price range are you looking for?
you: did I mention olark?
you: (sarcasm)
Mark: Yes, but I am not familiar with Olark
Mark: I do not know their pricing
you: http://www.olark.com/portal/plans
you: $69 for 6 operators
you: I don't think you will lower your pricing that much
Mark: We know that there are plenty of cheaper competitors out there
Mark: However, you end up getting what you pay for
Mark: We offer a lot more than just chat
you: yes you do. thank you for your time.
you: goodbye
Mark: We are the leading company in the industry, with over 8,000 clients, majority of them are small to medium businesses who were unsatisfied with the service the cheaper competitors provided them and have come to us Mark: What I can do is have a product consultant contact you and perhaps they can set up a plan that is more suitable to your business needs
Mark: Would you like that?
you: No. This was painful enough. Thanks.