Support Agent (L1 — First Level)

Department: Customer Support
Level: Operational
Primary objective: Resolve customer tickets quickly and correctly — by email, portal, WhatsApp, or phone

What this role does

The L1 Support Agent is the customer's first point of contact with the support team. They manage the daily ticket queue, respond within SLA, use predefined replies for efficiency, escalate complex cases to L2/Technical, and document discovered solutions. They also operate the WhatsApp inbox for real-time support.

Modules used daily

Where tickets come from

1 — Email pipe (automatic)

Customer sends email to the department address (e.g. support@company.com) → email automatically arrives in CRM as a new ticket:

• Department detected from the To: address of the email
• If subject contains [Ticket ID: 123] → added as reply to the existing ticket, not a new one
• Customer receives automatic receipt confirmation

2 — Client Portal

Customer logged into their portal (/authentication/login) fills in the form → ticket created directly in the chosen department. Customer can track status and add replies directly from portal without email.

3 — WhatsApp

Customer writes to WhatsApp Business → message appears in the WhatsApp inbox in CRM. If the issue requires tracking → you manually create a ticket from the conversation.

4 — Phone (manual)

Customer calls → you manually create the ticket in /admin/tickets with all discussion details.

Daily routine

Morning — ticket queue

1. Tickets → filter status "New" + "In Progress" + "On Hold" → sort by priority descending
2. Urgent priority tickets → handle first, regardless of age
3. Tickets without staff reply > 4h → treat urgently (risk of automatic escalation)

Managing a ticket — step by step

4. Open ticket → read the entire conversation (not just the last message)
5. Open customer file (link from ticket) → check context: what other open tickets do they have, what invoices, what recent orders?
6. Search the Knowledge Base for an article on the described issue
7. If article exists → send the link to customer as part of the reply
8. If it doesn't exist → build the reply (or use a Predefined Reply)

Sending the reply

Reply field in ticket:
  ↓ Select Predefined Reply (if it fits)
    OR
  ↓ Write the reply manually
  ↓ If adding files → Attachment button
  ↓ Select status after sending:
     ├── Answered → you've replied, waiting for customer
     ├── On Hold → waiting for external information (another dept, supplier)
     └── Closed → problem resolved, ticket finalised
  ↓ Send → customer automatically receives email with the reply

Internal note (no email to customer)

If you want to document something for colleagues or Team Lead without the customer seeing it:

• In reply field → select "Internal Note" (or internal checkbox)
• Text appears in ticket with different background — visible only to staff, not to customer

WhatsApp inbox

9. WhatsApp → check new messages (notification in sidebar)
10. For each conversation:
    • Reply directly from inbox
    • Or use Quick Replies (similar to predefined ticket replies) — / + keyword for quick insertion
11. If issue requires formal tracking → create ticket manually associated with the customer

Key workflows

Workflow 1 — Simple ticket, resolved at first contact

New ticket (status: New)
→ Read the issue
→ Find solution in KB or know the answer
→ Select Predefined Reply if one exists (30 sec) OR write (2–3 min)
→ Send → status: Answered
→ If customer confirms → status: Closed
→ If it's a new solution → create KB article (at end of day)

Workflow 2 — Complex ticket, requires investigation

New ticket — unknown or technical problem
→ Immediately confirm receipt (Predefined Reply: "Receipt confirmation")
   → status: In Progress
→ Investigate: check customer file, orders, invoices, other tickets
→ If you can resolve yourself → send solution → Answered
→ If not → escalate (see Workflow 3)

Workflow 3 — Escalation to L2 / Other department

Issue exceeds your competence (technical bug, goods return, financial dispute)
→ Add internal note with everything you investigated and why you're escalating
→ Change ticket department (from dropdown) OR assigned agent
→ Change priority if urgency demands it
→ Verbally/chat notify Team Lead that you escalated
→ Keep customer informed: "We've forwarded the issue to the specialist team..."
→ Status: On Hold (or remains In Progress at the other department)

Workflow 4 — Ticket requiring phone callback

Customer describes a complex issue that can't be resolved via text
→ From ticket → add activity of type Appointment (Appointly)
  → Callback date and time
  → Responsible agent (you or a colleague)
  → Reminder 30 min before
→ Send customer callback confirmation through ticket
→ At scheduled time → call → resolve → document solution in ticket
→ Mark appointment as Finished
→ Close ticket or continue if there are more steps

Workflow 5 — WhatsApp support → formal ticket

Customer writes on WhatsApp with a billing issue
→ Immediately reply on WhatsApp (confirm you understood)
→ Manually create ticket (Tickets → Add):
  → Customer: select from customer list
  → Department: Billing / Finance
  → Subject: copy the essence of the issue from WhatsApp
  → Description: copy the relevant conversation
  → Priority: according to urgency
→ Continue conversation on both WhatsApp and ticket
→ On resolution → close both

Knowledge Base — how to use it

Quick KB search

1. From any page → search bar at top → search for the keyword
2. From an open ticket → you can open KB directly
3. Find the article → copy the link → insert it in the ticket reply

When sending a KB article to the customer

Your reply: "We've identified the solution for the reported issue.
Please follow the steps in our article:
[KB article link]

If you need further assistance, don't hesitate to contact us."

A customer who resolves the issue themselves from KB = deflected ticket = time saved for everyone.

Cross-department integrations

Metrics to track

Practical tips

Read the entire conversation, not just the last message. The customer may have already provided information you're about to ask for again — which immediately irritates them.

Use predefined replies — customise them, don't copy mechanically. A predefined reply personalised with the customer's name and specific issue sounds human. One copied word-for-word sounds like a bot.

If you don't know the answer, say so — but with a deadline. "I don't know" + "I'll get back to you by tomorrow midday" is infinitely better than silence or a vague response.

Document what you investigated before escalating. The colleague picking up the ticket shouldn't have to restart the investigation from scratch. Internal notes save everyone's time.