Hubspots Support Channel vs Provided Chat Widget

[IsaiahSynkwise]

It's fascinating to me how HubSpot offers a chat widget that they don't even use themselves. What do I mean by this?

If you look at the top of HubSpot’s page, there's a circle icon with a question mark. When you click it, you're presented with various ways to contact support. On the other hand, if you implement HubSpot's method for user communication, you're provided with a widget that's wrapped in an iFrame. You can't even program or manipulate it to behave like HubSpot's own question mark button. Let me explain further for context and clarity.

We have our own question mark button that, when clicked, opens the support ticketing system we currently use (GrooveHQ). GrooveHQ allows you to call their widget however you'd like. But with HubSpot's widget, you're restricted. You can't hide the widget, nor can you program your own button to trigger the chatbot.

This made me question how HubSpot communicates with “us” versus the solution they provide to paying customers. To me, it seems like either they don’t want to share the solution they built for themselves, or they quickly created a widget from an outside source, slapped their logo on it, and called it good.

What’s interesting to me is this article from 2018 (Link). The topic is "Possibility to open the chat window using a custom button/JS," and even today, there’s no real solution for this. Why is that? Like I mentioned earlier, they probably didn’t build the widget from the ground up—who knows?

I'm simply raising awareness of the discrepancy between how HubSpot supports its own users versus the solution they provide to customers. It’s completely different. I've come to realize that HubSpot started as a CRM company and only later transitioned into support, which shows in their lack of attention to it.

The possibility of switching to Intercom or another solution is on the table, given how long they take to address simple issues.

If this is a discussion board, tell me I’m wrong. Convince me that the chat widget isn’t just a tool slapped with their logo and colors.

[kennedyp]

Hi @IsaiahSynkwise! Welcome to the HubSpot Community and thank you for your contribution. 

The points you make about the inability to thoroughly customize the chat are well taken. There are definitely parts of the tool that could benefit from additional features and improvements. 

It's important to discuss especially in a forum like this to hopefully get the attention of the Product Team. Have you also posted about this in the Ideas Forum here?

I would love to hear from some of our experts: @CC-Oliver, @Shubham_Sharma, @SNigam have you experienced similar frustrations with the HubSpot chat widget, or do you have any tips, tricks, or silver linings to share here? 😊 Thanks! 

Best, 
Kennedy