WheelHouse IT reduced response times by 92% with Thread

Learn how Thread’s Magic AI streamlined WheelHouse IT’s operations with behind-the-scenes request categorization and prioritization.

92% reduction in response time
45% reduction in resolution time
Improved first chat resolution time

“Thread streamlines our entire comms operation, and Magic AI provides extra efficiencies in the background. Giving customers a superior new line of communication where they can reach us has made all the difference.” – Frank W. Vitetta, Director of Service Delivery at WheelHouse IT

About

WheelHouse IT secures, manages, and advances businesses with innovative, cost-effective IT solutions. They bring decades of industry experience in-house to create customized solutions for mobile device management, website hosting, and much more. 2024 marks WheelHouse IT’s fifth consecutive year on the Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings.

Challenge

WheelHouse IT hoped to improve the client experience with chat

WheelHouse IT strives to make every client feel supported as soon as they reach out for help. They understand how critical hands-on assistance is to the customer experience. That’s why it’s a core focus of the company’s values.

WheelHouse IT tried to use chat features to create that feeling of support for many years, but their most recent chat application, ChatAssist, wasn’t robust enough. This caused customers to complain about how out-of-date and clunky it felt.

WheelHouse IT kept looking for a better way to improve customer experiences. They wanted a solution that would:

Facilitate quicker responses
Improve the client experience
Boost KPIs

A top-of-the-line chat solution would be ideal, as that was the preferred method of communication for WheelHouse IT’s millennial and Gen-Z clients.

Then WheelHouse IT’s Director of Technology discovered that Thread integrates with ConnectWise, streamlines chat, and offers a useful AI function. Gani Zebersky, co-founder and CEO at WheelHouse IT, knew it was the chat solution they’d been searching for.

“We’ve been trying to integrate chat for years because we’ve always wanted clients to have the easiest way possible to reach out to us at any time. But tools like ConnectWise ChatAssist never did the trick. Then we found Thread — that changed everything.” – Gani Zebersky, Co-Founder and CEO at WheelHouse IT

Solution

Frank W. Vitetta, Director of Service Delivery at WheelHouse IT, says the Thread team was incredibly responsive throughout onboarding. In his words, “They made us feel special– like we were more than just another customer.” Thread enabled WheelHouse IT’s techs to balance multiple client conversations at once, improving their response times.

Benefit #1: Automated categorization and prioritization improve response times

Thread streamlines WheelHouse IT’s operations with behind-the-scenes request categorization and prioritization.

Auto-categorization improves request resolution because techs can immediately reference resources like past resolution strategies rather than approaching each new request blindly.
Auto-prioritization helps techs attend to the most urgent request at any given moment. They no longer have to spend time deciding which ticket to respond to first.

Using Thread also means techs can multitask with three or four customers at once because they’re not trapped on the phone solving one problem at a time. Instead, Thread’s interface helps them easily switch between conversations.

Customers also benefit from chat’s flexibility. Instead of waiting on the phone for techs to resolve their issue or repeatedly checking their email for a reply, they can contact WheelHouse IT through chat and go about their days.

Benefit #2: Chat improves client relationships and the tech experience

WheelHouse IT’s core customers and millennial techs prefer chat over phone calls. And freeing up technicians’ time with chat improves the end-user experience because all clients receive faster responses.

In addition, WheelHouse IT’s techs have seen increased efficiency in problem resolution thanks to Thread’s integration with their ConnectWise workstations.

Because techs can meet clients wherever they are — from Slack to Teams and more — the entire process is streamlined. Neither techs nor clients have to open a new application to communicate.

These improvements have also helped customer confidence in WheelHouse IT. If one technician doesn’t immediately know how to solve a problem, they can escalate it right in Thread. Other technicians can seamlessly jump in and help them, making it easier for techs to accurately and quickly resolve customer issues.

What’s more, Thread has improved the technician job experience because they’re never without peer support.

Benefit #3: Magic AI improves reporting accuracy for critical KPIs

Thread’s Magic AI helps WheelHouse IT choose ticket categories like type, sub-type, and item. Using pre-defined categories has improved reporting accuracy and streamlined data collection. AI doesn’t make human errors, so it’s created internal ticket category consistency.

Thread's Magic AI also helps WheelHouse IT techs respond to customers faster by summarizing chats as documentation for future techs to reference.

“Thread speeds up the process of responding to an issue. Techs can escalate requests on the fly and have people jump in on Teams in the background to give advice. So no tech is ever alone during the process, and customers get their resolution ASAP.” – Gani Zebersky, Co-Founder and CEO at WheelHouse IT

Results

WheelHouse IT used Thread to improve ticket resolution times by 27%

Working with Thread has improved WheelHouse IT’s ticket response and resolution times. And as more users adopt chat, those times will drop even more.

Take a look at what they’ve achieved so far:

92% reduction in response time
27% reduction in resolution time
Improved first chat resolution time

Another major perk: Thread’s willingness to build new custom features throughout our partnership. For example, Thread added a feature enabling WheelHouse IT to connect easily with ConnectWise’s inbox and ticketing systems.

Frank says WheelHouse IT has just scratched the surface of what Thread can do. He looks forward to continuing to reduce chaos and friction in their business.

“Thread does a great job of hearing out their customers. They're constantly rolling out new features and seeing what benefits us. The relationship is totally symbiotic.” – Frank W. Vitetta, Director of Service Delivery at WheelHouse IT