Guide
Create response time promises you can actually keep
A simple SLA (service level agreement) that sets expectations instead of leaving customers guessing.
Pick a response time you can hit 90% of the time
Look at your actual average response time over the last month, then promise slightly slower than that. Under-promising and over-delivering beats the reverse every time.
Set different promises for different urgency
A general question can wait 24 hours. A 'my order never arrived' or 'I was charged twice' issue deserves a faster lane, same day if possible.
State it publicly, not just internally
Put the promise in your auto-reply and on your contact page. A promise nobody sees doesn't build trust, it just sits in a policy doc.
Track how often you actually meet it
Most support tools show average response time automatically. Check monthly. If you're consistently missing your own promise, either fix the process or adjust the promise, don't just ignore it.
That’s the whole thing.
Keep going
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