Question
How can I troubleshoot common SLA issues?
Answer
This article covers:
- 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
- Why don't I see an SLA badge when there's an SLA policy on the ticket?
- Updates to schedules don’t reflect in SLA Targets
New policy not being displayed
Zendesk isn't applying a newly created SLA policy to existing tickets, or Zendesk isn't applying an updated SLA policy to tickets already using that SLA.
Explanation
SLAs are based on ticket events. For an SLA policy to match tickets, an event such as ticket creation or ticket update must happen on the ticket. Otherwise, the ticket shows no SLA information or keeps showing the old SLA information.
In the example below, an SLA policy wasn't 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 the example below, 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 isn't applied to tickets that meet all of the SLA policy conditions.
Explanation
This happens when tickets don't have a set ticket priority. Tickets must have a priority for the SLA target to apply. The ticket priority must be the system default field. SLAs don't apply using custom ticket fields.
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 isn't applied and no timer is displayed until a priority is added.
In the example below, Zendesk didn't apply an SLA policy because the ticket was created without a priority.
After the same ticket is updated to have a priority, Zendesk applies the SLA policy.
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 the example below, there is no first reply time metric applied, because the ticket was created by an agent.
SLA is not paused when the 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 your agents to fulfill the first reply time or the next reply time metric. Reply metrics don't change based on ticket status. They can only be fulfilled if there is a public reply made by an agent to the requester.
The first reply time and the 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.
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 won't take into consideration non-working days or holidays set in your account.
For a detailed explanation, see this article: Why do I see differences in SLA target hours?
Newly applied SLA executes additional breach event
When Zendesk applies a new policy to a ticket that already had the SLA breached, even if it’s only a modified version of an existing policy, the system records another breach event at the time of the update.
The example below has a ticket in which the current policy is breached. The new policy that was added to the ticket on 20th April at 11:06 should have breached on 15th April at 12:00. In this case, the SLA target counter displays not the actual time when the SLA should have breached but the time when the new SLA was posted on the ticket, which is 20th April 11:06.
Explanation
The system can’t modify past ticket events history from a technical point of view. When a new SLA application happens, the SLA counter always looks forward from that point.
Why don't I see an SLA badge when there's an SLA policy on the ticket?
There are several reasons why an SLA badge won't appear on a ticket with an SLA policy applied. For more information, see the article: Why aren't SLA badges appearing?
Updates to schedules don’t reflect in SLA Targets
Explanation
Zendesk doesn’t reassess SLA targets if a schedule's hours or holidays change after this schedule is applied to a ticket. Even if the ticket and its other SLA targets are updated. Public comments won't make solve targets reassess, and status changes only make a solve target reassess if that target is paused or fulfilled.
17 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.
Hi Milos,
I am really sorry about your experience with Support thus far. Although we do not have SLA's in place it is not acceptable for your tickets to be taking this long to get solved. I understand your frustration.
I will work with my manager to ensure that your ticket is getting solved (I did see that there has been some movement and it is getting close).
I truly apologize for the negative experience you are facing and I will do my best to ensure this does not happen again. I did send you a message last week in regards to Premier Support which would help with with the long ticket time issues, but this is a paid service. Happy to discuss this further at anytime, and once again, sorry for the huge inconvenience.
Best,
Spencer
Hi!
It's very confusing why this was a design choice:
, I assume since this already works for Resolution time - it should also work for Reply time?
Is this on the roadmap for the SLA system rework?
Thank you!
Can anyone explain why the old SLA policies never seem to fall off? I have updated a policy to remove the metric for Requester Wait Time, but even after updates, tickets are still reflecting an SLA for this metric.
Could you also address "How do I tell what SLA targets are being displayed?"
I'm thinking that the target is still active when you have modified the SLA policy. This should be in effect for tickets that will use the policy moving forward.
In addition, if you are pertaining to the SLA badge in each ticket and what target is showing, there's no direct way of doing it but just to look on the most recent ticket SLA ticket events.
I am having an issue when an "internal" note is placed on a ticket, then assigned, the SLA time does not get applied. Any idea why?
Currently, SLA metrics do not take internal notes into account, this functionality is planned to be added to SLAs in the future.
I found an existing feature request related to this with a response from one of our Product Managers here: SLA based on internal notes. I also recommend that you upvote this post and leave a comment on the thread with your use case. Our Product Managers actively monitor our feedback threads. Thank you!
When a requester is an end-user and the ticket is created with a private comment, the SLA first reply time target starts at the first public comment by an end-user after the ticket is made public. This means the first reply can start after a public agent comment. It still runs until the next public agent comment after the end-user. If there was no comment by an end-user in a ticket, the first reply metric could not be applied. More details on SLA metrics can be found here: Understanding what SLA metrics you can measure.
Hi Stephen Whyte,
Your issue may need further investigation. I suggest reaching out to our Support team so they can investigate this issue further. We hope to hear from you soon!
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