Explore recipe: Reporting on first reply time for messaging tickets

In this Explore recipe, you’ll learn how to report on first reply time for messaging tickets. This metric tells you how much time a conversation spends in queue before assignment plus how much time an agent spends typing their first response to the conversation.

Tip: For measuring first reply time on Support tickets instead, see Explore recipe: Reporting on first reply time.

This article contains the following topics:

• What you’ll need
• Creating the report
• Interpreting the report

What you’ll need

Skill level: Beginner

Time required: 10 minutes

• Zendesk Explore Professional or Enterprise
• Editor or Admin permissions (see Giving users access to Explore)
• Messaging ticket data

Creating the report

1. In Explore, click the reports () icon.
2. In the Reports library, click New report.
3. On the Select a dataset page, click Chat > Chat - Messaging tickets, then click Start report. The report builder opens.
4. In the Metrics panel, click Add.
5. From the list of metrics, choose Duration between events - Calendar hours (sec) > First reply time (sec), then click Apply.
   Tip: If you want to see first reply time in business hours only, select the Duration between events - Business hours (sec) > First reply time - Business hours (sec) metric instead.
6. In the Columns panel, click Add.
7. From the list of attributes, choose Time - Ticket solved > Ticket solved - Date, then click Apply.
8. Click the attribute you just added, then click Edit date ranges.
9. On the Date range page, select Last month, then click Apply.
10. Click the Visualization type menu () and select Column.
11. (Optional) Turn on drill in so that viewers can see additional details when they drill into the report results:
    1. Click the Chart configuration menu () and select Drill in.
    2. Select Enable drill in.
    3. In the Select attributes field, add attributes you want viewers to be able to drill into, such as Ticket ID and Assignee name.
       

Tip: This report looks at the date the ticket was solved, but you can use any other date event.

Interpreting the report

First reply time is closely linked to incoming ticket volume as well as the availability and performance of your support team. If you see an increase in first reply time, make sure you’re considering it in the context of these other factors.

The following are some reasons why you might see an increase in first reply time:

• Agents not performing at optimum levels. If this is the case, you might also see:
  • An decrease in % Acceptance rate.
  • An increase in Offers per ticket (a higher number means more agents aren’t accepting the ticket).
• Bandwidth problems. If this is the case, you might also see an increase in First offer to assignment and First offer time.