You can automate customer follow-ups for tickets in the Waiting for Customer status using a combination of Time Triggers and an Update Ticket Trigger. Time Triggers send reminder notifications at scheduled intervals, helping ensure that requesters are given adequate opportunities to respond. If no response is received within the configured timeframe, a final Time Trigger can automatically notify the requester and close the ticket.

To prevent duplicate reminders, tags are used to track completed reminder stages. When the requester replies, an Update Ticket Trigger removes these tags, resetting the workflow and allowing the reminder sequence to start again if the ticket returns to the Waiting for Customer status.

This article explains how to configure automated follow-up reminders, automatically close unresponsive tickets, and reset the workflow when the requester responds.

Prerequisites

Before configuring the workflow, ensure that:

• Your role includes permissions to manage Time Triggers and Update Ticket Triggers.
• A Waiting for Customer ticket status is available in your account.
• You have defined:
  • The number of follow-up reminders to send.
  • The elapsed time between each reminder.
  • The elapsed time after which the ticket should be closed automatically.
  • Whether elapsed time should be calculated using Calendar Hours or a configured Business Hours schedule.
• A unique tag is available for each reminder stage.
• A tag is available to identify tickets closed due to no response from the requester.
• The email templates or notification content required for requester follow-ups are configured.

Create the Workflow Tags

Create one tag for each reminder stage and another tag for automatic closure when automatic closure is part of the workflow.

The tags serve the following purposes:

For workflows with additional reminders, create a unique tag for each additional stage.

Configure the First Customer Reminder

Create a Time Trigger that sends the first reminder after the ticket remains in Waiting for Customer for the required initial period.

The following example sends the first reminder after 24 hours. Replace 24 with the interval required by your organization.

To configure the rule:

1. Enter a descriptive rule name and description.

2. Select the Business Hours configuration that should be used to calculate elapsed time.

3. Under Apply this rule to the tickets that meet All of these conditions, configure:

   • Hours Since Waiting for Customer | Greater than or equal to | 24. Replace 24 with the required first-reminder interval. Use the exact tag-exclusion operator available in the current Time Trigger interface.
   • Status | Is | Waiting for Customer
   • Tags | Not All | first-reminder-sent
   

4. In the Set Action step, configure the email and tag actions for the first reminder.

   • Select Send Email To User.

   • Select Requester as the recipient.

   • In Subject, enter the reminder email subject.

   • In Description, enter the reminder message.

   • Use Insert Placeholders to include applicable ticket information, such as the requester name, ticket ID, or ticket subject.

   • Click Add new action.

   • Select the action for adding a tag.

   • Select the first-reminder-sent tag.

   • Click Add to save the Time Trigger.

     
     
     

   The first-reminder-sent tag identifies that the first reminder stage has been completed and prevents the same reminder from being sent repeatedly during subsequent hourly evaluations.

Configure Additional Customer Reminders

Create another Time Trigger for each additional reminder required by your support process.

Each additional reminder rule should:

• Use an elapsed-time value greater than the preceding reminder.
• Confirm that the ticket remains in Waiting for Customer.
• Confirm that the preceding reminder stage was completed.
• Exclude tickets for which the current reminder stage has already been completed.
• Send the required reminder.
• Add a unique tag for the completed reminder stage.

Example: Configure a Second Reminder

The following example sends a second reminder after 48 hours. Replace 48 with the interval required by your organization.

1. Enter a descriptive rule name and description.

2. Select the Business Hours configuration that should be used.

3. Under Apply this rule to the tickets that meet All of these conditions, configure:

   • Hours Since Waiting for Customer | Greater than or equal to | 48
   • Status | Is | Waiting for Customer
   • Tags | Not All | second-reminder-sent
   

4. In the Set Action step, configure the following actions:

   • Select Send Email To User.

   • Select Requester as the recipient.

   • Enter the subject and message for the current reminder stage.

   • Use Insert Placeholders to include the required requester and ticket information.

   • Click Add new action.

   • Select the action for adding a tag.

   • Select the unique completion tag for the current reminder stage.

   • Click Add to save the Time Trigger.

     

The completion tag confirms that the reminder was sent and prevents the same reminder from being sent repeatedly.

Repeat this pattern for the number of reminder stages required. Every reminder stage should have a unique rule, elapsed-time threshold, and completion tag.

Configure Automatic Closure for Unresponsive Tickets

Create a final Time Trigger when tickets should be closed after the requester does not respond within the allowed period.

The closure interval must occur after the final configured reminder.

For example, if reminders are sent after 24 and 48 hours, the ticket can be closed after 72 hours. Replace 72 with the closure interval required by your organization.

To configure this rule:

1. Enter a descriptive rule name and description.

2. Use the same Business Hours configuration applied to the reminder rules.

3. Under Apply this rule to the tickets that meet All of these conditions, configure:

   • Hours Since Waiting for Customer | Greater than or equal to | 72. Replace 72 with the required closure interval. Include the completion tag for every reminder stage that must occur before closure.
   • Status | Is | Waiting for Customer
   • Tags | All | first-reminder-sent, second-reminder-sent
   

4. In the Set Action step, configure the following actions in the specified order:

   • Configure the final notification email:

     • Select Send Email To User.
     • Select Requester as the recipient.
     • Enter the email subject and message.
     • Use Insert Placeholders to include the required requester and ticket information.

   • Click Add new action, select Set Status, and then select Closed.

   • Click Add new action, select Add Tag, and then select auto-closure-due-to-no-response.

   • Click Add new action, select Remove Tag, and then select every reminder-stage tag used by the workflow.
     For example:

     • first-reminder-sent
     • second-reminder-sent

   • Click Add to save the Time Trigger.

     

Changing the ticket status to Closed prevents the ticket from continuing

Configure the Customer-Response Reset Rule

Create an Update Ticket Trigger that removes all follow-up workflow tags when the requester responds. Removing the tags allows the sequence to start again if the ticket later returns to Waiting for Customer.

To configure this rule:

1. Enter a descriptive rule name and description.

2. Select the Business Hours configuration that should be used.

3. Under Apply this rule to the tickets that meet All of these conditions, configure:

   • Event Type | Is | Reply Added
   • Event Performer Type | Is | Requester
   • Tags | In | first-reminder-sent, second-reminder-sent, auto-closure-due-to-no-response. The rule runs when a requester adds a reply and the ticket contains at least one of the selected workflow tags. Include every tag used by the workflow. If you configure additional reminder stages, add their completion tags to the Tags | In condition.

4. Click Next.

   

5. In the Set Action tab:

   • Select Remove Tag.

   • Select every tag used by the workflow.
     For example:

     • first-reminder-sent
     • second-reminder-sent
     • auto-closure-due-to-no-response

   • If the workflow contains additional reminder stages, select their completion tags in the same Remove Tag action.

   • Click Add to save the Update Ticket Trigger.

     
     
     

The next time the ticket enters Waiting for Customer, the Time Triggers can process the ticket as a new follow-up sequence.

Troubleshooting

The Ticket Is Closed Before All Reminders Are Sent

Confirm that:

• The closure rule requires the completion tag for every mandatory reminder stage.
• The closure threshold is later than every reminder threshold.
• The closure rule appears after all reminder rules.
• No other automation closes the ticket.

The Workflow Does Not Restart After the Customer Replies

Confirm that:

• The Update Ticket Trigger is active.
• The event is Reply Added.
• The event performer is Requester.
• The reset rule contains every workflow tag.
• The remove-tag actions use the correct tag values.

The workflow cannot restart correctly when an earlier reminder tag remains on the ticket.

Reminder Emails Do Not Include Ticket Information

Review the email templates used by the Time Trigger actions. Add the required placeholders for the ticket subject, requester information, or other ticket content that must appear in the email.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How many reminders can I configure?
   Configure the number of reminder stages required by your support process. Create a separate Time Trigger and completion tag for each stage.

2. Can I use intervals other than 24, 48, and 72 hours?
   Yes. Replace the example values with the reminder and closure intervals required by your organization.

3. Does every reminder require a separate Time Trigger?
   Yes. Each reminder stage requires its own elapsed-time conditions, notification action, and completion tag.

4. Why does each reminder require a unique tag?
   The tag identifies that the reminder stage was completed and helps prevent the same reminder from being sent repeatedly.

5. What happens when the requester replies?
   The Update Ticket Trigger removes all workflow tags, allowing the reminder sequence to restart during a future waiting period.

Related Articles

1. How to Send a Reminder to a Customer Requesting an Update on Their Ticket
2. How to Send Ticket Reminder Emails Using Time Triggers
3. How to Run an Automation at Scheduled Intervals
4. Automation Rules and Triggers in BoldDesk