How can we explain the unexpected 20% increase in customer support tickets related to Vendr's vendor onboarding process in the last two weeks?

Introduction

The unexpected 20% increase in customer support tickets related to Vendr's vendor onboarding process over the last two weeks is a critical issue that demands immediate attention. This surge in support requests not only impacts our customer satisfaction but also strains our support resources and potentially signals underlying problems in our onboarding workflow. To address this effectively, I'll employ a systematic approach to identify, validate, and resolve the root cause while considering both short-term fixes and long-term strategic implications.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Looking at the timing, I'm thinking there might have been a recent change to the onboarding process. Has there been any update to the vendor onboarding workflow in the past month?

Why it matters: Recent changes often correlate with sudden metric shifts. Expected answer: Yes, a minor UI update was implemented. Impact on approach: If confirmed, we'd focus on the UI changes as a primary hypothesis.

• Considering user segments, I'm curious about the distribution of these tickets. Are we seeing this increase across all vendor types, or is it concentrated in a specific segment?

Why it matters: Helps identify if the issue is universal or segment-specific. Expected answer: The increase is primarily from small to medium-sized vendors. Impact on approach: We'd tailor our investigation and solutions to this specific segment.

• Thinking about the nature of the tickets, I'm wondering about the specific issues being reported. What are the top 3 complaints or questions in these support tickets?

Why it matters: Identifies common themes that could point to specific problem areas. Expected answer: Login issues, confusion about required documentation, and errors in form submission. Impact on approach: We'd prioritize these areas in our root cause analysis.

• Considering potential system issues, I'm curious about our onboarding system's performance. Have there been any notable changes in system response times or error rates during this period?

Why it matters: Technical issues could be contributing to the increased support load. Expected answer: No significant changes in system performance metrics. Impact on approach: If true, we'd focus more on user experience and process issues rather than technical problems.