Question
How can I troubleshoot common SLA issues?
Answer
When creating SLAs, things can get confusing if they don't work as expected. This article contains the following scenarios for the most common SLA issues:
- The new policy not being displayed
- SLA applied only to some tickets
- First reply time metric not working
- SLA is not paused when ticket status is Pending
- Target hours showing incorrectly
- Newly applied SLA executes additional breach event
New policy not being displayed
A newly created SLA policy is not applied to existing tickets, or an updated SLA policy is not applied to tickets already using that SLA.
Explanation
SLAs are based on ticket events. For tickets to be matched to an SLA policy, something needs to happen to the ticket, like a ticket creation or update event. Otherwise, the ticket shows no SLA information or keeps showing the old SLA information.
In this example, an SLA policy was not applied because either there wasn't an existing policy to apply the last time the ticket was updated, or the ticket didn't meet the policy's conditions:
In this example, an SLA policy is applied after an update to the ticket, after either a policy was created, or the ticket was updated to meet an existing policy's conditions:
SLA applied only to some tickets
An SLA is not applied to tickets that meet all of the SLA policy conditions.
Explanation
This happens when tickets do not have a set ticket priority. Tickets must have a priority for the SLA target to apply.
SLA policies can have different target times depending on the ticket priority:
If the ticket doesn't have a priority to match the target time set in the SLA policy, the target time is not applied and no timer is displayed until a priority is added.
In this example, no SLA policy is applied because the ticket was created without a priority:
After the same ticket is updated to have a priority, the SLA policy is applied: 
First reply time metric not working
A newly created ticket doesn't show a timer for the First reply time metric even though it meets all the criteria for the SLA policy.
Explanation
This happens when a ticket is created by an agent on behalf of an end user and the first comment is public. The first reply target is fulfilled at the ticket creation because the first public comment is submitted by the agent, which is considered to be the first reply.
In this case, there is no first reply time metric applied, because the ticket was created by an agent:
However, the first reply time metric is applied to the tickets created by an end user:
SLA is not paused when ticket status is Pending
The SLA timer does not pause when the ticket status is changed to Pending.
Explanation
This happens because the ticket is waiting for the First reply time or Next reply time metric to be fulfilled. Reply metrics do not change based on ticket status. They can only be fulfilled if there is a public reply made from an agent to the requester.
First reply time and Next reply time always use an end user comment as the starting point and a public agent response as an endpoint. For more information, see the article: Defining and using SLA policies (Professional and Enterprise).
Target hours showing incorrectly
Tickets with SLAs that have a target in business hours show a higher number of hours than what the SLA metrics should have set. 
Explanation
SLA time targets are always displayed in one unit of measurement: calendar hours. Although you can choose to calculate the target time in business hours the timer will still display time in calendar hours and will not take into consideration non-working days or holidays set in your account.
A longer explanation for this case can be found in Why do I see differences in SLA target hours?.
Newly applied SLA executes additional breach event
Explanation
The system can’t modify past ticket events history from the technical point of view. When a new SLA application happens, the SLA counter always looks forward from that point.
8 Comments
With regards to SLAs for First Reply Time and Next Reply Time, are these pausable by moving the ticket to an on hold status?
Hey @...! Moving the ticket to an On Hold status does not pause the SLAs for First Reply Time and Next Reply Time.
For the example in which an agent creates a ticket for an end user, I understand why first reply time is not available because the Agent makes the first public comment, but how can we assign an SLA? Can we add a periodic update?
Thank you for messaging us. It is true that you can add periodic update SLA however, the SLA will be active even in Pending. But this will satisfy your use case.
You can check more about SLA here: https://support.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4408829459866-Defining-and-using-SLA-policies
Unrelated question, but you do not have this page anywhere.
I want to know more about your SLA with ZD clients.
I have been waiting for the last three months for a resolution, and each time I asked about the SLA, I was either ignored or, in the end, given a sign-up sheet where I asked the question and now have to wait for someone to get back to me.
Sorry for using this page. Your agents do not care if the issue is being worked on in private.
Please assist or advise on the following article to ask the SLA question.
Thank you.
First off, please accept my apologies for your experience so far. I understand it can be frustrating to not get a clear and timely answer to a question you have asked. I would be glad to provide some info in regard to your question about SLAs with those who reach out to Zendesk Customer Support.
Since we have moved to a messaging experience, you may be familiar with the initial self-service prompts that try to get you to a resolution quicker. When the question or issue needs a bit more attention, that's where our Advocates come in. Given the nature of your question, you may need to talk to an agent right away or you may be OK with getting a response later. For customers looking to talk right away, we try to prioritize responding to them within a few short minutes. For customers who can wait for a reply, we still value their time so we try to reply back initially in a few hours.
As far as complete resolution of a ticket goes, that's where things can start to vary. Given the urgency and complexity of a ticket, we understand that a ticket's resolution may be between a few minutes or a few days. One of the things we try to prioritize is setting appropriate expectations and keeping lines of communication open. In other words, if there's an issue that's taking longer to resolve, we want to share as much as we can about why that's so.
I hope this information is helpful!
Hi Hervine,
Thank you for your reply. Sadly the information wasn't helpful as this is the same reply your agents always send when asked on SLA!
I understand that some cases can be challenging to solve, but none excuse the 21 days we waited between replies. Also, we have an Enterprise agreement, but your agent informed us that there is no SLA for our type of agreement and stated that I could look up the PRIME deal if I am interested in SLA. When I went to submit the request on the page I was referred to, it was just a newsletter subscription and a request for a contact, but no one got back to me in the last ten days.
Regarding messaging, I can never get anyone there. The longest I waited was 2 hours. I don't always receive a reply from you to all requests, some get solved with no answer, and some take two or more days for the first reply from you.
It is strange that a company like ZD does not have an SLA and that cases can be dragged for a few months.
I have stated above, "I want to know more about your SLA with ZD clients." and this has not changed. Could you please send me this information instead of the usual pitch "you are doing everything you can to help"?
SLA can not be "we are doing our best", but must have strict guides and limitations and a penalty for the breach in worst cases.
Also, please let me know if there is an article for ZD SLA towards their customers or should we continue this conversation on multiple articles until this information is made public.
This ticket is not waiting for my reply, but yours. If you continue this, I will have to move the conversation to multiple articles as ZD is hiding information from its clients. This message was sent to move the ticket status to open.
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