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.
Filtering the entries of the Waiting List depending on the Member’s role are to be implemented in version 4.7.8 (to match the conversation transfers Conversations | Transfers )
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: filter request according to the Member’s role
Ability to assign conversation topics to specific member’s roles only.
By default, all requests are displayed in the Waiting List, whatever the role of the Member.
But, if an assignment has been made between a topic and a role, requests of that topic will only be displayed to Members who are entitled to handle. Example, a request for information on an order tracking could only be visible to customer service, and not to sellers in shop.
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]
Update 23/07/2024: This last condition might be replaced by another behaviour, i.e. whatever the number of currently active members, if they are all holding 3 conversations, a message should be displayed in the waiting window stating that all available Members are currently occupied, and that they should be patient [4.8.x, not planned]
Specifications of 2nd scenario (topic filtering)
Ability to assign conversation topics to specific member’s roles only.
By default, no assignment is done, and all topics are visible to all Members.
If an assignment between a topic an a role is created (in the Popsell Manager), then this topic will only be visible to that role. It is possible to create more than one assignment for a topic.
Example : the “Product advice” topic can be assigned to “Vendors” and to “Ambassadors”. Thus “Managers” will not view “Product advice” requests in the Waiting List.
In future version, we can imagine to automaticaly assign a specific topic depending on a URL regex. Example, if the visitor in on the payment page, his request can be assigned to the “Payment” topic, this will allow to restrict this request to the client service.
The features described in this section are not currently part of the roadmap and there is no confirmation to date that they will ever be developed.
Other purposes
Additional purposes can be addressed:
Avoid having members handling too many conversations vs other members.
Beyond that, it is useful to define level of priority and the conditions for members to handle conversations according to their role.
Rules applicable to members’ role
Rule | Description |
|---|---|
Priority | Time penalty (in seconds) applicable to incoming requests on the waiting list. Each role can be assigned a different penalty time. |
Filter based on topic | Ability to assign conversation topics to specific member’s roles. If an assignment has been made to a role, members will only view the requests they are entitled to handle. |
Filter based on URL | Ability to filter incoming requests by page, or by a group of pages assigned to a particular role. Group pages are defined by URL regexes. |
Rules applicable to members individually
Rule | Description |
|---|---|
Priority | Time penalty (in seconds) applicable to incoming requests on the waiting list. Each member can be assigned a different penalty time. This allows a member to be penalised if an administrator judges the quality of his or her work to be unsatisfactory. |
Other rules applicable to Members’ activities
Conversations over an extended period : if required by the brand, it is possible to penalize the members based on the number of conversations made over an extended period (e.g. 1 week or 1 month). This is to avoid the same members always answering all the conversations, and to distribute them more evenly between the different members. This should only apply to large communities, such as those encountered in direct sales
Algorithm
A time penalty of 20 seconds can be also assigned to members with a number of conversations handled over an extended period above a threshold (e.g. more than 20 conversations in the last 7 days).
Hiding requests in the waiting list vs displaying an information message
Currently, when a time penalty is applied, request are hidden in the waiting list.
Instead of hiding them, an alternative coulb be: When a time penalty is applied, requests still appear in the waiting list, but they are greyed out. A message is displayed "New requests cannot be handled as you already have ongoing conversations. Please pursue your current conversations or ask for a rating if the dialogue is finished.”. This option has not been validated and will not be implemented.
Other scenario: Force to close conversations
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.
Parameters used
Unclosed dialogues : number of dialogues established in the last 48 hours, which have not been closed
Algorithm
If a Member has more than 2 unclosed dialogues, access to the waiting list is prevented. Requests still appear in the waiting list, but they are greyed out. A message is displayed "New requests cannot be handled as you have too many dialogues in the last 48 hours which need to be closed by asking the visitor for a rating. ”.
if only one Member is currently active, no restriction is applied.