Escalation Guides¶
When and how to escalate customer issues to ensure timely resolution.
Who this is for¶
Support Admin
Escalation tiers¶
| Tier | Handles | Response |
|---|---|---|
| L1 — Support | General questions, how-to, common issues | 4 hours |
| L2 — Technical Support | Complex bugs, API issues, integration failures | 1 hour |
| L3 — Engineering | Defects requiring code changes, performance issues | 4 hours |
| L4 — Engineering Lead | Critical outages, security incidents, data loss | 1 hour |
When to escalate¶
Escalate to L2 immediately¶
- Issue affects multiple users in the same tenant
- API returning 500 errors consistently
- Integration sync failing for >24 hours
- User cannot access platform due to auth issues
Escalate to L3 immediately¶
- Confirmed bug with no workaround
- Performance degradation affecting workflows
- Data inconsistency requiring investigation
- Security concern (not active breach)
Escalate to L4 immediately¶
- Complete platform outage
- Suspected security breach
- Data loss or corruption
- Compliance violation
Escalation process¶
- Document the issue with all relevant details (tenant, user, timestamps, errors).
- Attempt resolution at current tier using runbooks.
- Escalate via the internal ticket system with severity label.
- Notify the customer of escalation and expected timeline.
- Track progress and communicate updates every 2 hours for P1/P2.
Handoff checklist¶
When escalating, include:
- Customer name and tenant ID
- Issue summary and business impact
- Steps already attempted
- Relevant logs, screenshots, or request IDs
- Severity classification
- Customer expectations and timeline