Now that we’re in the busy October season, I’ve noted a rising incidence of chats that are not properly closed. These chats show up in the Review Transcripts area with a session length of zero. Chatting librarians, please be sure to follow this procedure with every chat session:
- At the conclusion of a chat session, click the “End Session” button
- Then assign a resolution code
These steps should be followed even if the patron ends the session first.
Why end the session if the patron is already gone? QuestionPoint retains the chat session until the librarian ends the chat, or for 4 hours, whichever comes first. When the patron ends the chat but the librarian does not, this causes the chat session to linger on the QP chat tables until it times out. These lingering chat sessions may clog up the chat tables, which can cause issues. For example, when the chatting librarian doesn’t properly end the session, there is no session length time recorded, which distorts statistics on average session length.
If you experience a browser crash or other technical issue which prevents you from clicking the End Session button, then reload the chat monitor (you may need to log into QP again) as soon as possible and re- launch chat. Any patron chats that hadn’t been closed at the time of your browser crash should still be present in your chat monitor. If the patron is still there and responds to your messages, you can continue the session. If the patron is not responding or you see either (i) the “patron has ended” or (ii) “patron has disconnected” message , then click End Session, assign a resolution code and, if it is the end of your shift, log out of chat. If the chat is no longer present in your monitor, there is nothing more for you to do. The chat transcript will be available in the patron library’s Ask module.
It is also important to properly log out of the chat monitor once your shift has ended. To properly log out of chat, click the Logout button at the top right of the librarian chat monitor. Simply closing the browser will not log you out. If you have a technical problem which prevents you from properly logging out, and/or if your browser crashes for any reason while you are still logged in, you should properly log back in as soon as possible, select your queues, then log out by clicking the Logout button. If the Logout button is not clicked, then the system will retain your autho and you will still appear to be logged in. This means your chat forms and Qwidget will show the service as open, even if you have left hours ago. If you or your librarians have neglected to log out at the end of a shift, be sure and check the Review Transcripts area for abandoned sessions (patrons who were not picked up). These are identified as wait time =0 and session time =0.
It’s important to follow these rules for ending a chat session and logging out of chat at the end of your shift. If you have questions, email OCLC Support (or ask your QP administrator).
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