Handling Chats Beyond Business Hours in BoldDesk
Managing customer chats outside regular business hours is essential for maintaining service quality and customer satisfaction. BoldDesk provides flexible options to handle these scenarios effectively by allowing configuration of the away experience. An Away Message is an automated reply sent when agents are not available to respond in real time. It informs customers that the team is currently unavailable and may offer next steps, such as creating a support ticket.
Learn how to Customize the Away Experience for Your Live Chat Widget.
To be able to handle the chat offline hours, you must customize your business hours. Explore Steps to Create Chat Business Hours.
How to Handle Offline Hours
The following are some of the ways you can handle your business hours.
1. Enable Offline Form Support
When customers initiate chats beyond business hours, enable offline messaging to capture their queries for later follow-up.
How to Enable:
- Go to Admin > Chat > Live Chat > Chat Experience > Away Experience Configuration.
- Activate Offline Form and customize the message to inform users about response timelines.
2. Enable Away Message
- Go to Admin > Chat > Live Chat > Chat Experience > Away Experience Configuration.
- Add Away Message.
The away message is sent if the below two conditions are satisfied:
- The chat is outside business hours.
- The conversation is not being handled by an AI agent.
When is an Away Message Sent for Live Chat?
The system sends an Away Message under the following conditions:
- When Agent Is Not Assigned
- If the chat is outside business hours and no away message has been sent in the last 10 minutes, an away message is sent.
- When Agent Is Assigned
- If the chat is outside business hours, no away message has been sent in the last 3 minutes, and there is no agent reply since the last customer message, an away message is sent.
- When the conversation is reopened
- If the chat is outside business hours and the user closes and reopens the conversation, an away message is sent.
When is an Away Message Sent for Omnichannel?
The system sends an Away Message under the following scenario:
- If the chat is outside business hours, an away message is sent immediately.
The omnichannel away message is sent once per day. If outside business hours occur more than once in a day, send an additional away message.
Best Practices
- Clearly communicate your business hours on your website and chat widget.
- Regularly review after-hours tickets to ensure timely responses.
- Use analytics to monitor chat volume outside business hours and adjust staffing or automation accordingly.
3. Consider Chatbots for 24/7 Support
Integrate a chatbot to handle FAQs and basic queries when agents are unavailable. This improves customer experience and reduces wait times. Explore how to Get Started with BoldDesk AI Chatbots.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1: Can BoldDesk automatically block chats outside business hours?
No, chats can still be initiated, but you can configure offline messaging and auto-responses to manage expectations.
Q2: How can I ensure no after-hours chat is missed?
Enable Chat-to-Ticket Conversion so all messages are logged as tickets for follow-up.
Q3: Can I customize the offline message?
Yes, you can fully customize the offline form and message in Chat Settings.
Q4: Does BoldDesk offer chatbot integration for off-hours?
Yes, you can integrate a chatbot to handle FAQs and basic queries when agents are unavailable.
Q5: Will customers know when agents are offline?
Yes, the chat widget can display your business hours and offline status to inform customers.
