The Directly Expert customer-to-customer support platform fits neatly into our Help Center model, providing a fast, reliable option for your general Republic Wireless help needs. Directly's platform enables knowledgeable Republic Wireless members (real customers who know our products and service extremely well) to work as freelance agents for Directly to answer questions about Republic Wireless. Experts are not Republic Wireless employees.
We offer two ways for you to work with this elite team of Republic Wireless members. In both cases you'll receive answers you can trust from Expert members: Republic Wireless Customers who really know our service, our phones, and our policies. These Experts receive updates from Republic staff and have access to chat with our support team when needed. They do not have access to any member account information.
- Method one: Support tickets that meet exact criteria are sent to our Experts when they contain questions we feel our Experts are qualified to answer. (Details, below.)
- Method two: Real Time Messaging (RTM) is a chat-like experience that feels more like a conversation. Real Time Messaging is ideal for how-to questions, policy clarification, accessory recommendations, and other questions that don't require access to your private information. Our Experts will advise that a support ticket is needed if the question is too complex for an RTM session. You can open an RTM from our Help Center, by clicking the "Message Now" button.
- Note: Some questions are automatically answered with a previously written response by an Expert. In this case, you'll be asked if your question was answered. If it wasn't, click "No, I still need help" to be connected with an Expert.
What kind of questions are sent to the Experts?
How are Experts selected? Can I become an Expert?
How do you protect member privacy?
How do I find my support ticket that is being addressed by an Expert?
What if I need to follow up with RW later? Are the interactions recorded?
What if I don’t want to work with an Expert, I want to work with a Republic Wireless employee?
Why doesn’t Republic Wireless build this capability in Community?
What kind of questions are sent to the Experts?
We send questions that can most likely be answered with information from Community or the Knowledge Center. The top questions sent to the Experts include:
- General sales, how-to, and policy questions, including questions about obtaining SIM cards
- Number portability and coverage questions
- Light network, texting and calling troubleshooting
Experts will quickly return tickets to the Help Team if they determine the matter is not something they can help with.
How are Experts selected? Can I become an Expert?
If you have advanced knowledge about Republic Wireless phones, service, and policies, and if you enjoy helping your fellow Republic Wireless members in a fast-paced, online environment, please fill out our interest form.
How do you protect member privacy?
Account-specific questions are handled by the Republic Wireless Help team. When a ticket is selected to be sent to the the Experts, all information specific to an individual member is redacted from the ticket prior to being presented to Experts. The Republic Wireless support team audits a sample of tickets to validate that personal information is being appropriately redacted. Additionally, every Republic Wireless Expert Member is trained in privacy principles specific to the telecommunications industry (known as CPNI), and has tools and processes to escalate content back to Republic Wireless immediately as appropriate. Your interaction with the Experts is also linked to a Republic Wireless Help ticket for quality assurance purposes.
Our Experts are provided with unexpected ways to serve our members, and can often do so more quickly than staff. In order to best serve you, they might ask for specific information:
- Zip code - to evaluate your cellular coverage options.
- Travel dates - to determine how quickly a SIM card must be shipped or whether you'll need a replacement SIM card when your travel ends.
- Phone model - to better understand issues you are experiencing, provide detailed instructions specific to your phone, or evaluate coverage or compatibility
- Your Republic Wireless plan - to better understand issues you are experiencing
Experts will never request your address, phone number, E-mail address, full name, or credit card information.
If you are not comfortable providing any requested information, simply ask for your ticket to be sent to staff.
How do I find my support ticket that is being addressed by the Experts?
Each interaction with the Experts will result in an automated E-mail sent to the E-mail address you provided when you began the conversation. That E-mail will contain a link to the conversation.
What if I don’t want to work with an Expert, I want to work with a Republic Wireless employee?
When your ticket is sent to the Experts, the system offers you the option to “opt out” and work with a Republic Wireless support team member. Your conversation with the Expert is visible to all technicians who work the ticket.
- You are immediately notified (using the email address you used to open your ticket) when your ticket is offered to the Experts. In that email, you have the option to "opt out" to immediately return your ticket to the Republic Wireless queue.
- Simply ask any Expert to escalate your ticket, and they will do so.
Why doesn’t Republic Wireless build this capability in Community?
We’ve been interested in this type of capability since our conception; our leadership team has wanted peer-to-peer support from day one. But there’s a lot that goes into building the complete system, and now it seems that someone has already done it for us. We like to be smart about focusing on our core competencies and letting others do what they do best.
If you have feedback about the Directly platform generally or about your personal experience with it, let us know in our online Member Community.