Escalation

Escalation in customer service means that a question or problem is forwarded to someone with more knowledge, authority, or specialization. This happens when a first-line agent cannot independently resolve the problem.

There are different types of escalation: functional escalation (to a specialist or different team), hierarchical escalation (to a manager or supervisor), and priority escalation (increasing the urgency of a ticket). A good escalation process ensures the customer doesn't notice the internal handover.

Common mistakes in escalation include loss of context (the customer has to explain everything again), unclear responsibility (the ticket falls through the cracks), and the absence of time limits (the escalation sits too long).

In Bugalou, you set up escalation rules via workflows: if a ticket hasn't been resolved after a certain time, if a customer gives a negative CSAT score, or if a conversation contains specific keywords. The escalation happens automatically, including all conversation context, so the next agent can continue immediately.