# Standard Operating Procedure > A clear SOP document with purpose, scope, definitions, step-by-step process by tier, decision tree, email templates, and version history. Pre-filled for a customer support escalation process. Source: https://buildpdfs.com/templates/standard-operating-procedure Category: Business A clear SOP document with purpose, scope, definitions, step-by-step process by tier, decision tree, email templates, and version history. Pre-filled for a customer support escalation process. ## What's included - Purpose, scope, and applicable teams section - Definitions table (key terms and tiers) - Step-by-step process per tier with owner and SLA - Decision tree: when to escalate vs. resolve - Version history table and quarterly review cadence ## Sample content Customer Support Department SOP ID: CS-002 Customer Support Escalation Procedure Standard Operating Procedure Applies to all customer support staff handling inbound tickets, chat, and email. Non-compliance with escalation SLAs is a performance issue and must be flagged to team leads. Version 2.1 Effective Date April 1, 2026 Next Review July 1, 2026 Approved by Jenna Park, VP Customer Success Scope All CS Staff Review Cadence Quarterly Purpose & Scope This procedure defines how Customer Support staff identify, classify, and escalate customer issues that cannot be resolved at Tier 1\. The goal is to ensure every customer receives a timely, appropriately-resourced response — and that no issue falls through the cracks between team levels. Scope Applies to all inbound support channels: Zendesk tickets, live chat, and email. Applies to all customer segments including free, Starter, Growth, and Enterprise. This SOP does NOT cover outbound proactive support (see SOP CS-004). Tier Definitions Tier 1 ##### Standard Support Issues resolvable with the standard playbook in under 15 minutes. Includes password resets, billing questions, basic how-tos, and configuration questions with documented answers. Tier 2 ##### Technical / Complex Technical issues, account-specific edge cases, or issues requiring investigation beyond 15 minutes. Bugs, integration failures, and advanced configuration support. Tier 3 ##### Critical / P0 Data loss, security incidents, critical service outages, or any issue affecting a VIP or enterprise account. All Tier 3 issues are treated as P0 incidents. SLA Requirements by Tier | Tier | First Response | Resolution Target | Escalation Trigger | Who Owns | | ------ | --------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------- | | Tier 1 | Within 2 hours | Within 8 hours | 15 min without resolution → escalate to Tier 2 | Support Agent (L1) | | Tier 2 | Within 30 min of escalation | Within 24 hours | 2 hours without progress → CS Lead notification | Senior Support (L2) | | Tier 3 | Immediate — within 15 min | Best effort — no fixed target | Immediate page — do not wait | On-Call Engineer + CS Lead | SLA Compliance Warning SLA misses must be logged in the Weekly Review doc with root cause. Three SLA misses in one month triggers a mandatory 1:1 with team lead. Consistent misses are escalated to VP Customer Success. Step-by-Step Escalation Process 1. 1 ##### Receive and Log Ticket Zendesk All inbound issues must be logged in Zendesk before any action is taken. Required fields: customer tier, account plan, issue description, initial classification (Tier 1/2/3 guess). Set ticket status to "Open." 2. 2 ##### Attempt Tier 1 Resolution (15-Minute Rule) Check the knowledge base and internal playbook first. If the answer is there, resolve and close. Maximum 15 minutes on Tier 1 attempts. Do not exceed this — escalate rather than research endlessly. 3. 3 ##### Diagnose and Classify Zendesk If unresolved after 15 minutes, update the Zendesk ticket with your diagnosis, steps attempted, and your Tier 2 or Tier 3 classification. This is required before escalating — the next owner needs your context. 4. 4a ##### Tier 2 Escalation Zendesk Email CS-E2 Tag ticket with "escalate-tier2" in Zendesk — this auto-assigns to the Senior Support queue. Send escalation acknowledgment email to customer using template CS-E2\. Notify customer within 30 minutes of escalation decision. 5. 4b ##### Tier 3 Escalation PagerDuty Slack #p0-incidents Page on-call engineer immediately via PagerDuty. Post to Slack #p0-incidents with: issue description, customer name, account tier, Zendesk ticket link. Notify CS Lead by direct message. Do not wait to gather more info — page first, diagnose together. 6. 5 ##### Update Every 2 Hours For all open Tier 2 and Tier 3 tickets: add a Zendesk internal note every 2 hours with current status, actions taken, and estimated resolution time. This keeps the customer-facing timeline accurate and enables CS Lead oversight. 7. 6 ##### Close, Survey, Log CSAT Survey Once resolved: close the Zendesk ticket, send the CSAT survey using the resolution follow-up template, and log the incident summary in the Weekly Review doc. Tier 3 incidents also require a post-mortem entry within 48 hours. Decision Flowchart Ticket Received → Log in Zendesk → In KB? Resolved <15 min? → YES → Resolve + Close + CSAT NO ↓ Diagnose + Classify → Security / Outage / VIP? → YES → TIER 3 — Page Engineer + Slack #p0 NO ↓ TIER 2 — Assign Senior + Email CS-E2 → Update Every 2 Hours → Resolve + Close + CSAT + Log Email Templates ##### Escalation Acknowledgment CS-E2 **Subject:** Update on your support request \[Ticket #\[ID\]\] Hi \[Customer Name\], Thank you for your patience. I've escalated your ticket to our specialist team who are best equipped to help with this issue. You can expect to hear back within \[SLA — e.g., "4 business hours"\]. Your ticket reference is **#\[ID\]** . You can reply to this email at any time with additional information. — \[Your Name\], Customer Support ##### Resolution Follow-Up CS-E5 **Subject:** Your support issue has been resolved \[Ticket #\[ID\]\] Hi \[Customer Name\], Great news — we've resolved the issue you reported. Here's a quick summary of what happened and what we did: \[Brief explanation — 2-3 sentences\] If the issue returns or you have questions, reply to this email and we'll pick it back up immediately. We'd also appreciate your feedback — it takes 30 seconds: \[CSAT survey link\] — \[Your Name\], Customer Support Common Scenarios | Scenario | Tier | Who Owns | Template to Use | | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------ | -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | | Customer can't log in — password reset needed | Tier 1 | Support Agent (L1) | Playbook Step 4 — no email template needed | | Integration not syncing — requires backend investigation | Tier 2 | Senior Support (L2) | CS-E2 (escalation acknowledgment) | | Enterprise customer reports data missing from their account | Tier 3 | CS Lead + On-Call Engineer | CS-E2 immediately, post-mortem within 48h | Version History | Version | Date | Author | Changes | | ------- | ------------- | ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 1.0 | Jan 15, 2025 | Jenna Park | Initial document — created Tier 1/2 escalation process | | 2.0 | Oct 1, 2025 | Jenna Park | Added Tier 3 / P0 protocol. Added PagerDuty integration step. Revised SLA targets. | | 2.1 | April 1, 2026 | Jenna Park | Added email template CS-E5\. Clarified Tier 2 2-hour update requirement. Added Common Scenarios table. | Approval Block Approved by Jenna Park, VP Customer Success Signature April 1, 2026 Next Review Owner \[ CS Team Lead \] Acknowledge July 1, 2026 ## Frequently asked questions ### What should an SOP include? A complete SOP includes: purpose and scope, definitions of key terms, step-by-step procedure with owner and timing for each step, decision points, templates or scripts to use, and a version history with review schedule. ### How long should an SOP be? Long enough to leave no ambiguity about what to do — short enough that people actually read it. Most operational SOPs are 3–6 pages. If you need more, split into multiple SOPs. ### Is this SOP template free? Yes — free to use. Describe your process, teams, and decision points to the AI and it will structure the full SOP. [Use this template](https://buildpdfs.com/signup?templateId=standard-operating-procedure) — free, no credit card required.