Thread: Boldchat vs SightMax?

Has anyone used Boldchat (www.boldchat.com) visitor tracking and live chat software on their website? Evidently their offerings are more comprehensive than Sightmax (www.sightmax.com), not sure how much of that is true or not though. Any thoughts?

I can't give you any insight into boldchat, but I will give you my experience with sightmax.

When I first contacted them they offered me a free trial. When I went to install it I had some issues due to the way my server is configured. When I contacted them about the issues they immediately did a gotomeeting, I gave the control and they went through and did troubleshooting and got it working. The issue required me to host the live chat on a subdomain and I would need a new ssl cert for that sub domain. They gave me a coupon code to use at godaddy to get a very cheap ssl cert which works great. When I went from trial to live it was as simple as entering a registration #. Next, i went live with a new site, again they jumped in and helped me set that one up.

Oh, and back to my original issue with how my server was configured. It had something to do with the version of Helm I had installed, within 1 day sightmax has instructions on their FAQ about this specific issue and how to get around it.

I truly could not be happier, and they have a cool iphone app so I can see who is on my site while I am away.

Sounds pretty good! Customer service is a HUGE part of the overall package (for anything...) so that's good to hear.

We use SightMax. From the technical side I think it's great with amazing support (literally questions answered within minutes from Dragos(Only technical guy there)).

From tracking to reporting the business side users are finding no flaws in using it.

The only thing I've noticed is generating reports take long and if it's too large SightMax client will crash.

Thanks Zach and SSGUMBY. We try hard at support. I'm glad our efforts make a difference to you guys and it didn't go unnoticed.

Sean, we have to editions, hosted and installable. I'm sure on the hosted side, both products are some what similar with each having their strong points (I tend to think our architecture is a bit more state of the art since we use the latest microsoft technology). What separates us is our installable edition, which, if you have your own server, you can buy it and own it (no more monthly fees).

Thanks again guys!

Eric Weber

The only thing that would concern me at this point, is reading that there is one technical guy at Sightmax...???

I dunno if that is true or not, it might be broken up into locations or something that allows me to get the same person.

Even so for customer service live chat the tech support connects within a minute at most and answers your questions within a few minutes. They are very knowledgeable and have had no issues handling my problems that are simple to advanced topics.

SSGUMBY, what are you looking for in terms of live support services -- basic accept/invite to chat, with visitor monitoring? Or did you need extensive daily/monthly reporting features as well?

Originally Posted by Sean

The only thing that would concern me at this point, is reading that there is one technical guy at Sightmax...???

I've gotten Dragos quite often, but I also have gotten other techs as well.

Hi Sean (and all):

I know your original question was posed from a user standpoint, so I'll just fully disclose that I'm an employee of Bold Software that happened upon this forum by means of a Google Alert.

I'll just tell you a little about BoldChat, based on some of the points and questions that have been brought up. Please feel free to contact me or pose any further questions!

We are a hosted solution when it comes to chat. We have live support available 24/7 and we have an uptime guarantee of 99.95%, but we routinely achieve 99.99% uptime. (Our uptime guarantee is available to all customers.) What this means is that if you are having server issues that are taking down other functionalities, your customers will still be able to reach you via chat.

BoldChat is also written in a .NET environment. We just released our robust BoldChat version 6.5 which includes the latest in chat technology, a service called, "Sale Recovery Technology," a feature that no other chat company offers. We've been in business since 2003 and consider ourselves innovators, while others in the market commoditize.

We have an iPhone app which allows you to take chats and monitor visitors to your site. I think you'll find it to be a great value. You buy it once from the app store and enable it in BoldChat and you're ready to go.

We also have a web-based interface available. The web client is available across all editions of our product and is great for businesses with a mixed platform environment. BoldChat can be accessed from any computer with Internet access.

And, since such an emphasis has been placed on service, I'll mention that we've recently gathered stats from our customers and find that 96% rate our support as being good or excellent. And, 75% of customers who have experienced support from another live chat provider rate Bold Software's support as being better - and 80% of eCommerce customers with previous experience say the same!

What much of this comes down to is what you are looking for - a product that you host and fully support; or a fully-hosted, service-oriented chat implementation.

I second the rave service reviews for SightMax and Dragos. If he's the only tech support person I'll take that to indicate their product doesn't need much support. Installs are basic, and more than likely it's only end users like myself who don't know our way around a server or templates etc. he has to help.

While still in development, SightMax and Dragos are great, including help train the trainer.

We used to deploy solutions using SightMax software (white label offering) for our clients.

To be fair, I must say that the functionality is pretty robust. But, as many have touchedon, the support features (1 guy - Dragos) make it kind of a deal breaker.