Conversations | Rules for handling conversations in the waiting list
Purpose
This article describes the rules for controlling the handling of conversations in the Waiting List by members.
Features described in this article are available in the current version of the Popsell platform.
A new scenario to make it mandatory to close conversations might be released later.
Potential new features are also described in the collapsed section at the end of this article, but are not currently part of the roadmap and there is no confirmation to date that they will ever be released.
First scenario: restrict handling of two many conversations
It is recommended to restrict the members to handle conversations on the waiting list, in order to avoid :
one member taking on too many conversations at the same time, and not being able to manage them properly simultaneously,
always having the fastest members take on new conversation requests.
Second scenario: force to close conversations
[Backlog]
Members may also be restricted to handle new conversations without having properly closed their previous dialogues.
This scenario has been considered and is specified at the end of this article (in the collapsed section). But this feature is not currently planned in the roadmap. Popsell does not recommend to make it mandatory to close conversations, as this leads to inappropriate rating requests and a deteriorated customer experience: for example when a rating is sent before the conversation has been established, or when a rating is sent days after the conversation is finished.
Specifications of 1st scenario (handling limitations)
Time penalties
A time penalty can be applied to members regarding they recent conversational activity, according to the rules defined in the following sections.
The aim is to control who has priority among the members, but at the same time avoid blocking the fast handling of conversations. The time constraints applied should remain light.
When a time penalty is applied, new request are hidden in the waiting list.
Rules applicable to members' activities
Parameters used
Ongoing conversations are determined by messages written by either the member or the visitor in the last 5 minutes.
Closed dialogues : if a dialogue has been closed, it is not considered as an on going conversation anymore. Dialogues are considered as closed if a rating has been requested in the period mentioned above, i.e. 5 minutes.
Active members : number of active members is calculated based on the time of the last activity. A member is considered active if his last activity is less than 5 minutes old.
Algorithm
Waiting List behaviour in the App:
For all the Members without any ongoing conversation, new requests appear in the waiting list as soon as they are created,
For members with 1 ongoing conversation, the request will be locked during 10 seconds.
For members with 2 ongoing conversations, the request will be locked during 20 seconds.
For members with 3+ ongoing conversations, the request will be locked during 30 seconds.
In all cases,
if the conversation request has not been handled within 30 seconds after its creation, a push notification is sent to all Members. This gives offline members a better chance of handling the new request.
if only one Member is currently active, no penalty is applied.
[Update 4.8.x]