Customer Escalation

1---2name: customer-escalation3description: Package an escalation for engineering, product, or leadership with full context. Use when a bug needs engineering attention beyond normal support, multiple customers report the same issue, a customer is threatening to churn, or an issue has sat unresolved past its SLA.4argument-hint: "<issue summary> [customer name]"5---6 7# /customer-escalation8 9> If you see unfamiliar placeholders or need to check which tools are connected, see [CONNECTORS.md](../../CONNECTORS.md).10 11Package a support issue into a structured escalation brief for engineering, product, or leadership. Gathers context, structures reproduction steps, assesses business impact, and identifies the right escalation target.12 13## Usage14 15```16/customer-escalation <issue description> [customer name or account]17```18 19Examples:20- `/customer-escalation API returning 500 errors intermittently for Acme Corp`21- `/customer-escalation Data export is missing rows — 3 customers reported this week`22- `/customer-escalation SSO login loop affecting all Enterprise customers`23- `/customer-escalation Customer threatening to churn over missing audit log feature`24 25## Workflow26 27### 1. Understand the Issue28 29Parse the input and determine:30 31- **What's broken or needed**: The core technical or product issue32- **Who's affected**: Specific customer(s), segment, or all users33- **How long**: When did this start? How long has the customer been waiting?34- **What's been tried**: Any troubleshooting or workarounds attempted35- **Why escalate now**: What makes this need attention beyond normal support36 37Use the "When to Escalate vs. Handle in Support" criteria below to confirm this warrants escalation.38 39### 2. Gather Context40 41Pull together relevant information from available sources:42 43- **~~support platform**: Related tickets, timeline of communications, previous troubleshooting44- **~~CRM** (if connected): Account details, key contacts, previous escalations45- **~~chat**: Internal discussions about this issue, similar reports from other customers46- **~~project tracker** (if connected): Related bug reports or feature requests, engineering status47- **~~knowledge base**: Known issues or workarounds, relevant documentation48 49### 3. Assess Business Impact50 51Using the impact dimensions below, quantify:52 53- **Breadth**: How many customers/users affected? Growing?54- **Depth**: Blocked vs. inconvenienced?55- **Duration**: How long has this been going on?56- **Revenue**: ARR at risk? Pending deals affected?57- **Time pressure**: Hard deadline?58 59### 4. Determine Escalation Target60 61Using the escalation tiers below, identify the right target: L2 Support, Engineering, Product, Security, or Leadership.62 63### 5. Structure Reproduction Steps (for bugs)64 65If the issue is a bug, follow the reproduction step best practices below to document clear repro steps with environment details and evidence.66 67### 6. Generate Escalation Brief68 69```70## ESCALATION: [One-line summary]71 72**Severity:** [Critical / High / Medium]73**Target team:** [Engineering / Product / Security / Leadership]74**Reported by:** [Your name/team]75**Date:** [Today's date]76 77### Impact78- **Customers affected:** [Who and how many]79- **Workflow impact:** [What they can't do]80- **Revenue at risk:** [If applicable]81- **Time in queue:** [How long this has been an issue]82 83### Issue Description84[Clear, concise description of the problem — 3-5 sentences]85 86### What's Been Tried871. [Troubleshooting step and result]882. [Troubleshooting step and result]893. [Troubleshooting step and result]90 91### Reproduction Steps92[If applicable — follow the format below]931. [Step]942. [Step]953. [Step]96Expected: [X]97Actual: [Y]98Environment: [Details]99 100### Customer Communication101- **Last update to customer:** [Date and what was communicated]102- **Customer expectation:** [What they're expecting and by when]103- **Escalation risk:** [Will they escalate further if not resolved by X?]104 105### What's Needed106- [Specific ask — "investigate root cause", "prioritize fix",107  "make product decision on X", "approve exception for Y"]108- **Deadline:** [When this needs resolution or an update]109 110### Supporting Context111- [Related tickets or links]112- [Internal discussion threads]113- [Documentation or logs]114```115 116### 7. Offer Next Steps117 118After generating the escalation:119- "Want me to post this in a ~~chat channel for the target team?"120- "Should I update the customer with an interim response?"121- "Want me to set a follow-up reminder to check on this?"122- "Should I draft a customer-facing update with the current status?"123 124---125 126## When to Escalate vs. Handle in Support127 128### Handle in Support When:129- The issue has a documented solution or known workaround130- It's a configuration or setup issue you can resolve131- The customer needs guidance or training, not a fix132- The issue is a known limitation with a documented alternative133- Previous similar tickets were resolved at the support level134 135### Escalate When:136- **Technical**: Bug confirmed and needs a code fix, infrastructure investigation needed, data corruption or loss137- **Complexity**: Issue is beyond support's ability to diagnose, requires access support doesn't have, involves custom implementation138- **Impact**: Multiple customers affected, production system down, data integrity at risk, security concern139- **Business**: High-value customer at risk, SLA breach imminent or occurred, customer requesting executive involvement140- **Time**: Issue has been open beyond SLA, customer has been waiting unreasonably long, normal support channels aren't progressing141- **Pattern**: Same issue reported by 3+ customers, recurring issue that was supposedly fixed, increasing severity over time142 143## Escalation Tiers144 145### L1 → L2 (Support Escalation)146**From:** Frontline support147**To:** Senior support / technical support specialists148**When:** Issue requires deeper investigation, specialized product knowledge, or advanced troubleshooting149**What to include:** Ticket summary, steps already tried, customer context150 151### L2 → Engineering152**From:** Senior support153**To:** Engineering team (relevant product area)154**When:** Confirmed bug, infrastructure issue, needs code change, requires system-level investigation155**What to include:** Full reproduction steps, environment details, logs or error messages, business impact, customer timeline156 157### L2 → Product158**From:** Senior support159**To:** Product management160**When:** Feature gap causing customer pain, design decision needed, workflow doesn't match customer expectations, competing customer needs require prioritization161**What to include:** Customer use case, business impact, frequency of request, competitive pressure (if known)162 163### Any → Security164**From:** Any support tier165**To:** Security team166**When:** Potential data exposure, unauthorized access, vulnerability report, compliance concern167**What to include:** What was observed, who/what is potentially affected, immediate containment steps taken, urgency assessment168**Note:** Security escalations bypass normal tier progression — escalate immediately regardless of your level169 170### Any → Leadership171**From:** Any tier (usually L2 or manager)172**To:** Support leadership, executive team173**When:** High-revenue customer threatening churn, SLA breach on critical account, cross-functional decision needed, exception to policy required, PR or legal risk174**What to include:** Full business context, revenue at risk, what's been tried, specific decision or action needed, deadline175 176## Business Impact Assessment177 178When escalating, quantify impact where possible:179 180### Impact Dimensions181 182| Dimension | Questions to Answer |183|-----------|-------------------|184| **Breadth** | How many customers/users are affected? Is it growing? |185| **Depth** | How severely are they impacted? Blocked vs. inconvenienced? |186| **Duration** | How long has this been going on? How long until it's critical? |187| **Revenue** | What's the ARR at risk? Are there pending deals affected? |188| **Reputation** | Could this become public? Is it a reference customer? |189| **Contractual** | Are SLAs being breached? Are there contractual obligations? |190 191### Severity Shorthand192 193- **Critical**: Production down, data at risk, security breach, or multiple high-value customers affected. Needs immediate attention.194- **High**: Major functionality broken, key customer blocked, SLA at risk. Needs same-day attention.195- **Medium**: Significant issue with workaround, important but not urgent business impact. Needs attention this week.196 197## Writing Reproduction Steps198 199Good reproduction steps are the single most valuable thing in a bug escalation. Follow these practices:200 2011. **Start from a clean state**: Describe the starting point (account type, configuration, permissions)2022. **Be specific**: "Click the Export button in the top-right of the Dashboard page" not "try to export"2033. **Include exact values**: Use specific inputs, dates, IDs — not "enter some data"2044. **Note the environment**: Browser, OS, account type, feature flags, plan level2055. **Capture the frequency**: Always reproducible? Intermittent? Only under certain conditions?2066. **Include evidence**: Screenshots, error messages (exact text), network logs, console output2077. **Note what you've ruled out**: "Tested in Chrome and Firefox — same behavior" "Not account-specific — reproduced on test account"208 209## Follow-up Cadence After Escalation210 211Don't escalate and forget. Maintain ownership of the customer relationship.212 213| Severity | Internal Follow-up | Customer Update |214|----------|-------------------|-----------------|215| **Critical** | Every 2 hours | Every 2-4 hours (or per SLA) |216| **High** | Every 4 hours | Every 4-8 hours |217| **Medium** | Daily | Every 1-2 business days |218 219### Follow-up Actions220- Check with the receiving team for progress221- Update the customer even if there's no new information ("We're still investigating — here's what we know so far")222- Adjust severity if the situation changes (better or worse)223- Document all updates in the ticket for audit trail224- Close the loop when resolved: confirm with customer, update internal tracking, capture learnings225 226## De-escalation227 228Not every escalation stays escalated. De-escalate when:229- Root cause is found and it's a support-resolvable issue230- A workaround is found that unblocks the customer231- The issue resolves itself (but still document root cause)232- New information changes the severity assessment233 234When de-escalating:235- Notify the team you escalated to236- Update the ticket with the resolution237- Inform the customer of the resolution238- Document what was learned for future reference239 240## Escalation Best Practices241 2421. Always quantify impact — vague escalations get deprioritized2432. Include reproduction steps for bugs — this is the #1 thing engineering needs2443. Be clear about what you need — "investigate" vs. "fix" vs. "decide" are different asks2454. Set and communicate a deadline — urgency without a deadline is ambiguous2465. Maintain ownership of the customer relationship even after escalating the technical issue2476. Follow up proactively — don't wait for the receiving team to come to you2487. Document everything — the escalation trail is valuable for pattern detection and process improvement