Working the queue
Your first week with the queue
The queue is built so the person who opens it at 9am works the right ticket first, without scanning twenty rows. This guide covers what each part means and the habits that make it flow.
6 steps · 5 min read
Before you start
- A workspace with a few tickets in it. A mailbox or the web form is enough.
- 1
Read the three tabs
New holds tickets nobody has picked up. Needs action holds tickets in progress or waiting on us. Awaiting customer holds tickets where the clock is paused because the customer owes a reply.
- 2
Let AI Sort order the work
AI Sort ranks tickets by how close they are to breaching, your priority weights, age and overdue customer updates. You can switch to priority, SLA, newest or oldest; the choice is remembered.
You’ll see: Each row shows response and resolution SLA status, an "update due" marker and a breach indicator. The queue refreshes itself every 30 seconds.
- 3
Open a ticket to own it
The first person to open a new ticket owns it, and the timeline says so. Teammates see who has it at a glance, so nobody doubles up. Use Assigned to me to see your share.
- 4
Trust the queue to heal itself
When someone has been away longer than the workspace threshold (90 minutes of working time by default), their tickets go back to the team, but only if someone else who works tickets is online. A customer reply to an absent agent's ticket is handed over at once.
- 5
Find anything with search
Press Ctrl or Cmd + K anywhere and search by ticket number, the customer's full email address, name or subject, including closed tickets.
- 6
Close junk quickly
Unsolicited pitches, newsletters and anything that is not a customer asking for help are filed under "Not a support request". Anyone on the team can use Mark as junk on the ticket and confirm; nothing is sent to the sender.
Good to know
- Full AI tickets stay out of the way unless they need a person.
- Who works tickets is a choice, not a job title: managers and admins can switch on "Works tickets" in Settings → Team.
Related guides
- Working a ticketThe AI's read, the suggested reply, Review and Send, notes, and closing with what fixed it.Read
- Hand-offs and escalationPass a ticket to a teammate, or into your help desk with the whole story attached.Read
- Categories, priorities and business hoursCategories that organise themselves, priority levels with their own targets, and clocks that match the team.Read