Connect to Intercom— Operations —
Escalation Path
— Definition —
An Escalation Path is the defined route a support ticket follows when it needs to move beyond its initial handling team — from Tier 1 to Tier 2, from Tier 2 to engineering, or from support to account management. A clear escalation path includes: criteria for when to escalate, who owns the ticket after escalation, expected response times at each tier, and how the customer is kept informed. Without a defined escalation path, tickets stall, ownership is unclear, and resolution time balloons.
— Common mistakes —
- 1Defining escalation paths without escalation criteria — agents can't escalate consistently if the rule is "use your judgment." Document specific triggers (e.g., "any ticket unresolved after 2 hours with a workaround attempted").
- 2Not specifying who owns the ticket after escalation — unclear ownership causes both tiers to wait for the other to act. The originating agent or the receiving team should hold explicit ownership until resolution.
- 3Forgetting the customer communication step — customers should be notified when their ticket escalates, with a new expected resolution time. Silent escalations destroy CSAT.
- 4Building escalation paths that only go up (Tier 1 → Tier 2) without a return path — most escalated tickets eventually need Tier 1 to deliver the resolution back to the customer.
— Related metrics —