The silent force behind great customer service

The silent force behind great customer service

Customer service is known to be a demanding role. Customer service agents are expected to bring empathy, clarity, and human connection to every voice call, chat, and remote session, even if the situation requires some time for customers facing stressful, technical issues. The farther the technology advances, the more the need for human connection grows.
But there's one team whose services are in greater demand in every organization.
Even after spending 8 – 12 hours a day at our computers, most of us aren’t experts in how our systems work behind the scenes. That’s why, even as professionals in our pieces of work, we depend on experts of a different kind.
The ones who work quietly, without needing the spotlight.
The ones who defend, stabilize, and heal our digital environments.
We’re talking about our System Administrators, the firefighters of our systems.

Behind the ticketing system, there’s a SysAdmin  

Imagine you are attending a customer who is facing an issue with your service, and your system is facing a malicious attack. It would be difficult to fight the attack as well as serve your customer. Or, how about you’re trying to share a large file with a customer, and the transfer keeps failing because of a network glitch. This can turn out to be more frustrating and time-consuming.
We would not be able to handle situations like this without the system administrators in our office, the people who make it possible for us to focus on what we do best.
They’re the first to catch that pending update, the ones to jump in when your laptop acts up, and the silent troubleshooters making sure everything runs smoothly. System administrators monitor software health, keep your network secure, and vigilantly observe updates required on your system. They are ever-ready to help you with any troubleshooting on your laptop.
None of what we do would be possible without them. They’re the ones who make it possible for us to focus, perform, and deliver without interruption.
At Zoho Desk, we'd like to reflect on the exceptional customer service system administrators provide. SysAdmins don’t just fix broken things; they are watchful, defensive, and ensure systems are protected around the clock. They help us upgrade to new machines and keep our systems free from malware and suspicious attacks, even before we notice a risk, so we can offer support with confidence and agility.

Customer support lessons from system administrators  

We often think customer support representatives are the ones teaching patience, but system administrators show us another level. Their work may seem technical, but their effect is deeply human.
Lessons to learn for our customer service irrespective of the stream we are in:
  • Troubleshoot calmly while users panic.
  • Gently walk the users through configurations they barely understand.
  • Answer questions without judgment, even if users ask the same thing repeatedly.
  • Create short video tutorials to address common issues and guide users through self-debugging.
  • Enrich your knowledge base, like SysAdmins and Zoho Desk do, with steps, configurations, and FAQ lists. Include images and visuals for better understanding and make navigation easier.
On this SysAdmin Appreciation Day, July 25, 2025,   we'd like to take a moment to appreciate the quiet power behind every screen, success, and stress-free work days. Thank you for the uptime. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for helping us deliver better customer service by being the calm behind the scenes.
You are part of every customer experience, even if the customer never knows it. Cheers to our System Administrators!
With respect and gratitude,
The Zoho Desk Support Team
    • Sticky Posts

    • Register for Zoho Desk Beta Community

      With the start of the year, we have decided to take a small step in making the life of our customers a little easier. We now have easy access to all our upcoming features and a faster way to request for beta access. We open betas for some of our features
    • Share your Zoho Desk story with us!

      Tell us how you use Zoho Desk for your business and inspire others with your story. Be it a simple workflow rule that helps you navigate complex processes or a macro that saves your team a lot of time; share it here and help the community learn and grow with shared knowledge. 
    • Tip #1: Learn to pick the right channels

      Mail, live chat, telephony, social media, web forms—there are so many support channels out there. Trying to pick the right channels to offer your customers can get pretty confusing. Emails are most useful when the customer wants to put things on record. However, escalated or complicated issues should not be resolved over email because it's slow and impersonal.  When you need immediate responses, live chat is more suitable. It's also quick and convenient, so it's the go-to channel for small issues. 
    • Welcome to Zoho Desk Community - Say hello here!

      Hello everyone! Though we have been here for a while, it’s time to formally establish the Zoho Desk Community; we’re really happy to have you all here! This can be the place where you take a moment to introduce yourself to the rest of the community. We’d love to hear all about you, what you do, what company or industry you work for, how you use Zoho Desk and anything else that you will like to share! Here’s a little about me. I am Chinmayee. I have been associated with Zoho since 2014. I joined here
    • Webinar 1: Blueprint for Customer Service

      With the launch of a host of new features in Zoho Desk, we thought it’ll be great to have a few webinars to help our customers make the most of them. We’re starting off with our most talked about feature, Blueprint in Zoho Desk. You can register for the Blueprint webinar here: The webinar will be delivered by our in-house product experts. This is a good opportunity to ask questions to our experts and understand how Blueprint can help you automate your service processes. We look forward to seeing
      • Recent Topics

      • How to update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records

        Hello Zoho CRM, How do I update "Lead Status" to more than 100 records at once? To give you a background, these leads were uploaded or Imported at once but the lead status record was incorrectly chosen. So since there was a way to quickly add records in the system no matter how many they are, we are also wondering if there is a quicker way to update these records to the correct "Lead Status". I hope our concern makes sense and that there will be a fix for it. All the best, Jonathan
      • Analytics for notes created

        Is there a way I can see how many notes were created per day? Via reporting or analytics?
      • Add Custom Reports To Dashboard or Home Tab

        Hi there, I think it would be great to be able to add our custom reports to the Home Tab or Dashboards. Thanks! Chad
      • Cannot update Recurring_Activity on Tasks – RRULE not accepted

        Hello, I am trying to update Tasks in Zoho CRM to make them recurring yearly, but I cannot find the correct recurrence pattern or way to update the Recurring_Activity field via API or Deluge. I have tried: Sending a string like "RRULE:FREQ=YEARLY;INTERVAL=1"
      • Add image to report...

        Greetings, I send a weekly color coded report via Creator email. I would like to add the legend somewhere in the report. Header, footer where ever. I have the legend saved on Google Drive and can access it via shared link. Sure someone has wanted to add
      • More controls for User Fields in CRM

        Dear All, We are here with a minor but crucial enhancement to the user fields—now set accessibility permissions to the records for user field. User field allows you to extend co-ownership of records to your peers. You can collaborate with them for certain
      • Calls to accounts rather than leads or contacts?

        So..... We have a dilemma and I'm hoping someone has encountered this before and figured out a fix. We have just migrated to Zoho. It's great.....expect for how "Calls" are handled.... We are B2B. We do not use the leads module. A "Lead/Prospect" for
      • Image Upload Field | Zoho Canvas

        I'm working on making a custom view for one of our team's modules. It's an image upload field (Placement Photo) that would allow our sales reps to upload a picture of the house their working on. However, I don't see that field as a opinion when building
      • Power of Automation :: Automated 'Delayed & Closed' Status Update Based on Due Date

        Hello Everyone, A custom function is a software code that can be used to automate a process and this allows you to automate a notification, call a webhook, or perform logic immediately after a workflow rule is triggered. This feature helps to automate
      • Lead Blueprint transition in custom list view

        Hi, Is It possible to insert the Blueprint transition label in a custom Canvas list view? I am using Lead module. I see the status, but it would be great if our users could execute the Blueprint right from the list view without having to enter the detailed
      • Range names in Zoho Sheet are BROKEN!

        Hi - you've pushed an update that has broken range names. A previously working spreadsheet now returns errors because the range names are not updating the values correctly. I've shared a video with the support desk to illustrate the problem. This spreadsheet
      • Has anyone integrated SMS well for Zoho Desk?

        Our company does property management and needs to be able to handle inbound sms messages which create a ticket for Zoho Desk. We then need to be able to reply back from Zoho desk which sends the user an sms message. This seems like a fairly common thing
      • populate email address and name in zoho desk?

        Is it possible to populate the email address and name in the zoho desk widget? We only use it in the context of an authenticated user, so we already know the user's name and email. Thanks,
      • Are there default/pre-built dashboards in Zoho Desk?

        Hi, I am looking for some pre-built dashboard templates in Zoho Desk, similar to what we can find in CRM/Projects, etc Thank you
      • Enable Locations for Expense

        Hi, please enable Locations (ex Branches) for Zoho Expense so that there is consistency between this app and Zoho Books. Thanks in advance.
      • Adding branded signature to tickets reply

        Hi, i am unable to figure out how to add signatures with logo to tickets reply. please advice .
      • Zoho Marketing Automation 2.0 - Landing Page function not working

        Dear Zoho Team, I am working on implementing Zoho Marketing Automation 2.0, and am now looking into the section "Lead Generation". If I open the "Landing Pages" section, I immediately get an Error code: Error: internal error occurred. Can you help me
      • Zoho Mail Android app update: Manage folders

        Hello everyone! In the latest version(v2.9) of the Zoho Mail Android app update, we have brought in support for an option to manage folders. You can now create, edit, and delete folders from within the mobile app. You can also manage folders for the POP
      • How to share ticket numbers across different ticket types

        I'm running an event and have three different ticket types. Add on Event + Main Event - Early bird Main Event only - Early bird Add on Event only - Early bird And Standard class - shown but not available until early bird finishes Add on Event + Main Event
      • How to keep track of bags, cans, drums of inventory?

        We buy and sell products that are packaged in bags 🛍️, cans🥫, drums🛢️, etc. with batch numbers. When we get a shipment of one of the products, how do we track we received (say) 10 cans each of 5L of a product and maybe we received 10 cans of another
      • Adding Social Media Buttons to Basic Campaigns

        Hi, I'm quote new to using Zoho Campaigns and I can't work out how to add Social Media Buttons into my basic campaign? In MailChimp there's a button that brings the icons into your campaign for you. I've tried adding the social media icons as 'buttons' in Zoho but it's not looking great. Can anyone help? Thanks!
      • Hide Inactive Social Sign-In Providers from Login Screen

        Hello Zoho Team, We hope you are doing well. Currently, Zoho One allows admins to configure security policies and enable or disable Social Sign-In options for third-party providers such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook,
      • [Free Webinar] AI Agents in Zoho Creator - Creator Tech Connect

        Hello Everyone! We welcome you all to the upcoming free webinar on the Creator Tech Connect Series. The Creator Tech Connect series is a free monthly webinar that runs for around 45 minutes. It comprises technical sessions in which we delve deep into
      • Download All Attached Files

        It would be extremely useful to have "download-all" functionality for downloading files attached to a task, subtask, comment, forum post or hosted in the "Documents" section etc. We've instructed our users to zip multiple files prior to uploading, but of course they forget all the time. Having to download lots of files one-at-a-time off a comment or task wastes a lot of time.
      • Ship via Carrier Not Working Since Commerce Update

        Since the recent update to the Commerce platform, I can no longer use the ship via carrier function. It will take me to the address screen and let me verify them but when I go to save and move tot he next screen it will not do anything. This is happening
      • automations: Can I execute a step on a specific date?

        I have created a form in Zoho forms, and created a contacts list. I have also begun setting up an automation with the intention of sending the form to the contact list on a specific date every month (via email) for the entire year (essentially sending
      • Zoho Expense - The ability to add detail to a Trip during booking

        As an admin, I would like the ability to add more detail to the approved Trips. At present a requestor can add flights, accommodation details and suggest their preferences. It would be great if the exact details of the trip could be added either by the
      • Adding Folders in Android App

        Is it possible to create a new email folder within the Zoho Mail Android app?  Or can this only be done from the desktop version of Zoho Mail? Cheers!
      • Schedule Exports for Regular Project Updates

        Tracking project data often means exporting data at regular intervals. Instead of manually exporting data every time, users can schedule exports for Phases, Tasks, and Tasks in Zoho Projects. These exports can be set to run once, daily, weekly, or monthly
      • Question about custom fields using Pivot Tables.

        I have created a pivot table showing annual revenue of a client and how much payment that client is paying my company. Is there a way using pivot table to add an additional field that subtracts those to fields / shows me a percentage of that difference?
      • Request for Light/Dark Mode

        Would love the ability to switch between Light and Dark mode similar to Zoho CRM. https://help.zoho.com/portal/en/community/topic/introducing-dark-mode-light-mode-a-new-look-for-your-crm
      • Signature field is showing black

        Hello, When customer signed the service form, it is showing as below picture Phone model: iPhone 16 Pro We tried delete and install application, but it not solved. This has on phone of a few person. There is any advice to solve this?
      • Journey Email - Ignored Contacts

        I have a journey setup which simply sends a string of emails over time. For some reason I am getting large amounts of the contacts who enter the first email being ignored and I can't find anywhere in reports or audit logs why these contacts are not
      • Involved account types are not applicable when create journals

        { "journal_date": "2016-01-31", "reference_number": "20160131", "notes": "SimplePay Payroll", "line_items": [{ "account_id": "538624000000035003", "description": "Net Pay", "amount": 26690.09, "debit_or_credit": "credit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000403", "description": "Gross", "amount": 32000, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000427", "description": "CPP", "amount": 1295.64, "debit_or_credit": "debit" }, { "account_id": "538624000000000376", "description":
      • Zoho Books - Include Payment Terms as a Custom View filter

        It would be great if you could created a custom view based on Payment Terms. This would be really handy for seeing a list of customers who have credit terms. A workaround is not required. I could do something with a creditor checkbox, but it would be
      • How to update changed purchase account of item in invoice

        I have selected the wrong purchase account for various articles and created invoices. I had to adjust the purchase account in the article afterwards, but the old purchase account is still posted in the transaction-journal of the invoice. To adjust the
      • Help - Zoho CRM notification on mobile (IOS/Android)

        Hello Community! Can I get the IOS/Andoid CRM app to notify me of events, calls, etc. due as I can with MANY other apps?   I am running the free Zoho I would like this to be native to the Zoho CRM app. I do not want to write a sep. mobile app
      • Zoho Books Idea - Include another field in Bank Details for Address

        Hi Books team, Currently use the Description field in the Bank Details to store the bank's address. This works fine but it would be great if you could add another field for Bank Address, so that other notes about the bank account could be stored in the
      • a question about the COQL API v8

        When I specify eight or more values in a WHERE IN clause and execute it, an error occurs. Is there a limit to the number of values that can be specified in a WHERE IN clause? ↓Error select * FROM Vendors WHERE (id in (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)) ↓Success
      • Zoho Books Idea - Bank Details Button on Banking

        Hi Books team, Sometimes I'm asked to share bank details with a customer or a colleague. So I go to the Banking Module, find the correct bank account, click Setting > Edit, then copy and paste the bank details. Wouldn't it be great if there was a button
      • Next Page