Inbox support, in plain terms
An assistant works your support queue during agreed hours. They read each new message, decide which type of question it is, answer it using saved replies and your policies, tag it, and either close it or pass it on.
You keep the help desk account, the customer data and the final say on money. The assistant handles the volume of routine replies so that the people in your business see only the conversations that need them.
Escalation rules that keep you in control
The most important document in outsourced support is the escalation guide. It answers one question for every type of message: can the assistant resolve this alone, or does it go to someone on your side?
Routine questions with a written answer are handled directly. Refunds, credits, replacements and any exception to policy need approval, often with a limit you set. Angry customers, chargebacks, legal language, safety issues and media requests go straight to a named person with a summary and a link to the ticket. The assistant tells the customer someone will follow up, without promising an outcome.
Writing these rules down at the start avoids the two failure modes of support: an assistant who escalates everything, and one who makes promises your business has not agreed to.
Access, accounts and customer data
Keep the help desk, the inbox and every customer record in accounts your business owns. Add the assistant as a separate user with only the permissions their role needs. Zendesk, Help Scout and Gorgias all let you create agent seats with limited rights, and Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 support delegated mailboxes.
If an order system or payment dashboard has no separate user option, share access through a password manager instead of pasting credentials into chat. Avoid giving the ability to issue refunds directly unless you have agreed limits. Write down how access is removed when someone leaves the account or the arrangement ends, and check it actually happens.
Questions about customer email and chat support
How does the assistant learn our voice?
From your existing replies and a short tone guide. During a trial period, replies are often drafted and approved by you before they send, or you check a sample each day. Corrections are added to the tone guide and saved replies, so the same note does not need repeating.
What gets escalated to us?
Anything your escalation guide says needs a person: refunds above a limit, policy exceptions, angry or threatening messages, chargebacks, legal language, safety issues and media inquiries. Each one is passed on with an internal note covering what the customer wants, what was checked and the decision needed.
Do we need written policies before support starts?
It helps a lot, but rough notes are fine. Part of the setup is turning what you tell customers today into written policies for shipping, returns, refunds and order changes. Gaps get flagged as questions come in, and your answers are added to the document.
Describe the work, and a service partner will scope it with you and send a quote.
Start a requestOther services
Admin and data entry
Spreadsheet updates, order entry, document filing and list cleanup, done in your own files by an assistant working from a written checklist.
HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive
Record keeping and list work under a separate user seat, with the permissions you choose to grant.
Receipts and bills
Receipts collected and matched, bills entered and vendor records kept tidy, ready for your accountant to check.