Customer Support Intake & Ticket Creation

PURPOSE, SUMMARY, AND SCOPE

This SOP explains how Customer Support and On-Call staff must intake, assess, classify, and document all client communications. It defines how to evaluate urgency, how each communication channel should be handled, and when HubSpot tickets must be created. It also includes the full ticket pipeline stage definitions, which outline how tickets move through the support process—from initial creation, to internal review, to execution, to invoicing, and ultimately closure—ensuring every issue is properly advanced until resolved.

Urgent issues must be addressed immediately (within 15 minutes), time-sensitive issues should be addressed immediately to 2 hours, and non-urgent issues within 24 hours. WhatsApp Chat during business hours requires live chat handling once engagement begins, and Lux WhatsApp messages always require manual ticket creation.

Medical emergencies do not follow normal intake rules and must be handled under SOP 3 – Emergency Contact Handling SOP.

The goal of this SOP is to ensure every client message is properly captured, prioritized, and entered into the correct ticket stage so that support is timely, consistent, and accountable across the entire customer support workflow.

DEFINITIONS

Urgent Request
A situation requiring immediate action to allow the client to continue their trip safely or logistically.
Response expectation: Immediately or as soon as possible, but never more than 15 minutes.

Time-Sensitive Request
Affects today or tomorrow’s plans but does not stop the client from traveling immediately.
Response expectation: immediately to two hours , however the goal is to answer as soon as possible and provide guidance on timeframe for resolution.

Non-Urgent Request
General or informational requests with no impact on immediate travel. Only emails to the operations email account are considered non-urgent, as per the guidelines in our handbook.
Response expectation: Within 24 hours.

WhatsApp Chat (HubSpot)
One-on-one chat for all clients. Staffed Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 5 PM EST. Auto-creates tickets. +1 (414) 309-5822 - number can ONLY accept whatsapp texts, no voice calls.

WhatsApp Private Group (Lux)
24/7 group chat for Lux clients. Includes all support staff, but usually handled by one agent. Requires manual ticket creation.

Urgent Phone Line
24/7 phone line for all clients: +1 (414) 455-5502.

PROCEDURE

1. IDENTIFY THE CHANNEL AND ASSESS URGENCY

Clients can contact us through four channels. The correct urgency level depends on both the channel used and the content of the message.

A. Phone (All Clients, 24/7) — URGENT ONLY

Purpose: For issues requiring immediate help, after business hours support and for clients without whatsapp.

Monitored: 24/7

Automated Out of Hours Response: n/a

Response Expectation:
Immediate or as soon as possible, but never more than 15 minutes. If you cannot get to a missed call within 15 minutes, immediately slack the CS channel requesting support. During weekends, support on Slack may be minimal, so if triaging other clients, you may need to deprioritize them and redirect your attention to the urgent phone call. Make sure you let the deprioritized client know you must answer an urgent call and you will return to them as quickly as possible.

Urgent examples:

Missing or incorrect transfer
Injury or illness
No booking or incorrect booking at accommodation
Incorrect hotel
Unsafe route conditions
Anything preventing travel right now

Important:
If an urgent issue arrives through email or WhatsApp, treat it as urgent and instruct the client to call the phone line next time.

B. Operations Email (All Clients, 24/7) — NON-URGENT

Purpose: For general, informational, or non-time-sensitive questions.

Monitored: actively monitored during morning and afternoon shift. During the evening shift, this channel will not be actively monitored.

Automated Out of Hours Response: TBD

Response Expectation:
Within 24 hours. However, sometimes clients use the operations email incorrectly and post urgent or time sensitive messages to the inbox. While actively monitoring, answer as the situation dictates.

Typical requests:

Packing or gear questions
Weather curiosity
Billing or invoice questions
Before-you-go questions
Future travel questions

After-hours rule for urgent or time sensitive support requests:
Applies mainly to morning shift, however can apply to evening shift as well if the message is triaged by them after hours. First, deal with the issue that is needed. Afterwards, tell them “As a reminder, for urgent or time sensitive support requests, please call the on-call phone number at +1 414 455-5502.”

C. WhatsApp Chat (HubSpot) — All Clients, M–F 9 AM–5 PM EST

Purpose: Live support during business hours.

Monitored: Although clients are informed in their handbook that we actively monitor the channel from 09:00 to 17:00 EST, we actually monitor it from 00:30 to 17:00 as this channel is preferred for the morning shift (European Team) compared to phone calls. During the evening shift, this channel will not be actively monitored.

Automated Out of Hours Response: from 17:00 to 00:30 telling clients to call the urgent phone line for support on an urgent issue.

Response Expectation:

The goal is to provide live chat support. Answer the whatsapp as soon as possible.
If urgent, do not wait longer than 15 minutes
For all other requests, not longer than 30 minutes.
If you can not answer within the expectations, request support on the CS channel.

Live chat rule:
Once we begin responding on WhatsApp, the conversation becomes “live”:

Stay engaged until the issue is resolved
Avoid gaps of more than 10–15 minutes
If research is needed, inform the client:
“Let me check this for you. I’ll update you in about 10–15 minutes.”

After-hours rule:
Applies mainly to morning shift, however can apply to evening shift as well if the message is seen by them. First, deal with the issue that is needed. Afterwards, tell them e “Please note that this channel is normally only staffed between 9 am and 5 pm, Mon - Fri. For urgent issues outside of these hours, please call the on-call phone number at +1 414 455-5502.”

D. WhatsApp Private Group (Lux Only, 24/7)

Purpose: High-touch support for Lux clients.

Monitored: 24/7

Automated Out of Hours Response: n/a

Response Expectation:
Response should be within 15 minutes. Once you have responded, the chat is considered “live”, meaning try not to leave gaps of longer than 15 minutes without communicating expectations and actions with clients.

Ticket creation:
Manual tickets must be created for all issues from this channel.

E. Medical Emergencies (Life-Threatening) or Rescue

If a client reports a medical emergency:

Follow the Emergency Contact Handling SOP
These situations fall outside the urgent/time-sensitive classification
Instruct the client to call local emergency services immediately
Record the situation and location
Create an Emergency – Medical ticket
Notify internal leadership
Provide logistical support after responders take over

Channel	Purpose/Context	Monitoring	Response Expectation	Key Notes
Urgent Phone Line (+1 414 455-5502)	URGENT ONLY (Issues preventing travel, immediate help, after-hours support).	24/7	Immediately (never more than 15 minutes).	If urgent via email/WhatsApp, treat as urgent but instruct client to call next time.
Operations Email	NON-URGENT (General, informational, non-time-sensitive questions).	Actively monitored during morning and afternoon shifts. Not actively monitored during evening shift.	Within 24 hours.	While actively monitoring, answer urgent/time-sensitive messages as the situation dictates. Auto-creates tickets.
WhatsApp Chat (HubSpot) (+1 414 309-5822)	Live support during business hours (M–F 9 AM–5 PM EST). Urgency depends on content.	Monitored from 00:30 to 17:00 EST. Not actively monitored during evening shift.	Urgent: never longer than 15 minutes. Other: not longer than 30 minutes. Once "live," avoid gaps over 10–15 mins.	Auto-creates tickets. Only accepts WhatsApp texts, no voice calls. After-hours auto-response from 17:00 to 00:30.
WhatsApp Private Group (Lux)	High-touch support for Lux clients. Urgency depends on content.	24/7	Within 15 minutes. Once responded, avoid gaps longer than 15 minutes.	Manual tickets must be created for all issues from this channel.

2. DETERMINE WHETHER A TICKET MUST BE CREATED

A ticket must be created when:

Follow-up is required
A supplier payment or invoice is involved
The issue improves internal knowledge
There is any doubt
Email or WhatsApp Chat (automatic ticket)
Phone calls forwarded to HubSpot (automatic ticket)

A ticket must be created manually when:

The issue comes from a Lux WhatsApp group
The issue comes from a direct RingCentral call
The issue comes from a partner that is not connected to our normal intake channels

A ticket should not be created when the issue is a one-off informational question requiring no follow-up.

⭐ 3. FINAL PIPELINE STAGES + DESCRIPTIONS

1) NEW

What this stage means:

A ticket that has just been created and has not yet been assessed or touched by a support agent.

When it should be used:

Auto-created emails
Auto-created WhatsApp threads
Manual tickets just created
Forwarded phone calls
Any item that has not yet been triaged

Agent responsibility:

Move out of NEW as soon as it has been read and assessed.

2) REQUIRES SUPPORT (Internal Input Needed)

What this stage means:

The agent cannot proceed independently and internal help is required.

Used for:

Need input from Product, Reservations, Finance, or Leadership
Need internal approval or a decision
Issue is unclear and needs internal clarification
Multi-department coordination is required
Blockers internal to Pygmy Elephant

Not used for:

Waiting on suppliers
Waiting on clients
Routine execution work

Agent responsibility:

Add note: “Internal input needed – [specific action]”
Tag the correct teammate in Slack
Move out of this stage once internal support is provided

3) PLAN INITIATED (Waiting on Supplier or Client)

What this stage means:

A plan has been created and actions have been taken, but Pygmy Elephant is now waiting on an external party.

Used for:

Waiting on taxi/transfer company
Waiting on hotel/hut confirmation
Waiting on supplier response
Waiting on updated details
Waiting on a client to approve or confirm something

Not used for:

When PE needs to take the next action → use Action Required by PE
When internal help is required → Requires Support

Agent responsibility:

Add note specifying who we are waiting on
Follow up proactively if response time becomes slow
Move the ticket once the response arrives

4) ACTION REQUIRED BY PYGMY ELEPHANT

What this stage means:

Pygmy Elephant must take the next active step.
The plan is clear; the execution has not been completed yet.

Used for:

Booking a taxi, transfer, or new accommodation
- Example, taxi company is closed for the evening and must be requested the next morning.
Creating or delivering updated instructions
Updating Ezus
Contacting suppliers with new details
Preparing new plans for the client
Internal coordination needed to complete a plan

Not used for:

Waiting on suppliers → Plan Initiated
Waiting on client → Plan Initiated
Waiting on internal decisions → Requires Support

Agent responsibility:

Add note: “PE Action Required – [specific task]”
Complete the action promptly
Move the ticket out of this stage as soon as the work is done

5) PLAN FINALIZED – PENDING EXECUTION

The plan is fully confirmed, all necessary actions are complete, and the only remaining step is for the plan to be carried out in real life. No additional decisions or supplier responses are required.

Used for:

Taxi is booked and confirmed → waiting for pickup
Accommodation issue resolved → client needs to check in later
Reroute instructions sent → waiting for client to complete the day
Luggage transfer arranged → waiting for delivery
Next-day plan fully ready and approved → waiting for tomorrow’s hike to occur
Weather-based instruction given → waiting for client to follow it

Not used for:

Waiting for supplier → use Plan Initiated
Waiting for client response or approval → Plan Initiated
PE still needs to take action → Action Required by PE
Billing tasks remain → Invoicing

Agent Responsibility:

Add a clear note: “Plan fully finalized – pending execution at [time/date].”
Monitor if execution is expected during your shift
Move to Closed once successful execution is confirmed
If execution occurs during next shift → document in Daily Report

6) INVOICING (If Applicable - See SOP 5 for further details)

What this stage means:

All operational work is complete, and the only remaining tasks relate to invoicing or reimbursement.

Used for:

Supplier invoices pending
Client reimbursement required
Adjustment charges
Refunds pending

Not used for:

Tickets still needing operational action → keep in Action Required or Plan Initiated
If client will pay supplier → Do NOT move to Invoicing stage.

Agent responsibility:

Add note: financial work required
Coordinate with finance or reservations if needed
Move ticket to “Invoicing (if applicable) only after all operational issues are resolved.
Ticket will automatically move to “closed” a few minutes after being moved into the invoicing stage.

7) CLOSED

What this stage means:

The issue is fully resolved and no further action is required.

Used for:

Client confirms resolution
Plan has executed successfully
No follow-up is needed
Invoicing (if any) has been completed

Agent responsibility:

Add final resolution note
Close promptly
Ensure nothing remains open or unclear

4. MANUAL TICKET CREATION PROCEDURE

Open HubSpot → Tickets → Customer Support Pipeline
Select “Create Ticket”
Enter the client name, issue summary and date.
1. Ex: Smith - Issue with taxi, 15th
2. Relabel automatically created tickets to this format as well
Document the source (e.g., Lux WhatsApp)
Add an initial note
Assign yourself as the ticket owner
Place the ticket in the correct stage

5. HANDLING NON-SUPPORT EMAIL REQUESTS

If the request is not related to Customer Support:

Answer the question fully if you are able to
CC the correct owner (Reservations, Product, Finance, etc.)or
Add a note to the ticket describing the handoff
Close the ticket
Send an email connecting the client and the correct owner

6. TICKET OWNERSHIP EXCEPTIONS

If a ticket must stay with the original agent:

Add a note explaining why
Mention it in the Daily Report
Rename the ticket:
EXAMPLE: “EDDIE – Taxi Request for Jackson Group”
After resolving:
- Remove your name from the title
- Notify the Customer Support Slack channel
- Close or return the ticket to CS

QUALITY STANDARDS / CHECKS

Urgent response: immediately or as soon as possible, never exceeding 15 minutes
Time-sensitive response: immediate to 2 hours, depending on the situation.
Non-urgent response: within 24 hours
No gaps over 10–15 minutes once a WhatsApp chat has started
Manual ticket exceptions must be documented
All follow-up actions must be logged in the ticket

LINKED DOCUMENTS

Customer Support On-Call & Daily Operations SOP
Customer Support End-of-Shift Reporting SOP
Customer Support Invoicing & Supplier Payments SOP
24/7 WhatsApp Creation SOP
Spring & Summer Ops Final Check SOP
HubSpot Ticket Pipeline Guide