In This Issue:

Visual Data
Systems Seminar
Wilmington NC
September 22

About Us

Visual Data Systems is a leader in Internet marketing, technology consulting and World Wide Web design. As a pioneer in Internet business, we've logged more than a decade of achieving customer satisfaction and Internet innovation.

Visual Data Systems offers a wide variety of products and services that can be customized to fit your unique business needs. Let our experienced professionals polish your ideas and dreams to create your distinctive Internet presence.

At Visual Data Systems, there are no barriers. Just Innovations.

News & Events

Catch Visual Data Systems at the upcoming Conferences:

RMS Users Conference Wilmington, NC, September 22-24

Vacation Rental Managers Association (VRMA) National
Orlando, Florida October 11th - 15th

February 2003 • Volume 1, Issue 1

Becoming a Customer Support Pro: Getting Help
From Visual Data Systems' Support Department
By: Melissa Gifford

Supporting our customers is a top priority for Visual Data Systems. To contact the Visual Data Systems customer support staff for any issues relating to your website, please use the following guidelines to ensure that you get the best customer service and timely responses for your support needs:

Emergency Requests. An emergency is defined as a serious issue that affects commerce or website that are completely down. If the problem being encountered is an emergency, please call us at 410.964.8665 ext. 230. It is best not to email this problem to the Support Genie because it will take longer for the support staff to learn of this emergency. The Technical Support Department Operator will fill out a trouble ticket for you and will get someone working on your problem as soon as possible. Please make sure to give the operator as many details as is needed to investigate the issue.

Non-Emergency Requests. A non-emergency is defined as a site problem that does not shut down your website, an information update or change that is needed, or a needed quote request. If a non-emergency customer support request needs to be submitted, please go to the Visual Data System's Support Genie located at http://support.vdsys.com and click on the link "Submit Support/Change Request". Please be sure to give us as much information as possible on the exact issues you are experiencing. Details should include:

• Names of the properties being affected and the number of total properties being affected

• Whether the issue is site wide or on just one page or property

• The URL of the page with the problem

• How long the problem has been occurring

• If it is reservation system issue, please tell us if there were any recent updates to your reservation system.

• How the user discovered the error. It is best to give step-by-step directions of how the error occurred, so that the support staff can replicate the problem.

• If it is related to an image, the full name of the image and size.

• If it is a request for a quote, describe what service/product you would are interested in and how you envision it working on your site.

Advantages of Using Visual Data System's Support Genie. The Support Genie is Visual Data System's way to track all customer issues and requests. This site has been established in order to serve Visual Data Systems' customers more efficiently and effectively. The management can refer to the Support Genie at all times to see what Visual Data Systems support staff is doing for you and your site. Also, our customers can follow their support issues that have been submitted. The Support Genie lists all tasks for your website along with the date the task was submitted and the current status of the task.

Please refrain from emailing support staff members directly about new technical support items. All technical support items need to originate from the Support Genie so that a tracking number can be assigned and all steps to fix the issue can be documented. There is a general Support email that has been established for our customers to use. The email address is: support@vdsys.com.

Helpful Tips and Tricks to Keep In Mind

Submitting Images: When submitting images to the Visual Data Systems Support Department, please check the following specifications:

• The image is less than 600 pixels wide.

• The image is named uniquely by property name and/ or number and not by digital camera name.

• The photo is identified by property and a department is specified, if necessary.

Clearing your Web Browser: Make sure and clear your history and cache of your web browser often. Typically, once a week will be sufficient. If you do not know how to do this, go to http://www.vdsys.com/help/help_hist&cache.html

Checking for Out of Date Content: In September or October of every year, check your website for out of date content and request a quote to change the dates and other date specific content throughout your site. Annual site modifications must be requested every year. While Visual Data Systems often sends reminders for your site updates, the earlier your requests are made the more quickly your site can be made ready for the coming year.

Knowing What is Available: Keep up to date with new products and services being offered by Visual Data Systems by visiting http://demo.vdsys.com and checking out the items that could enhance your website and ultimately your business.

Visual Data Systems, Inc.
10760 Hickory Ridge Road, Suite 312
Columbia, MD 21044

Phone: (410) 964-8665 ext. 215 • Fax: (410) 964-5668
Email: info@vdsys.com • Web: www.vdsys.com

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Copyright © 2003 by Visual Data Systems, Inc. All Rights Reserved.