Customers write when it suits them: at night, on Sundays, during their lunch break. If the answer takes time, many move on to the next company on the list. The problem is that answering everything, all the time, is not sustainable for anyone. There is a middle way.
Step 1: understand which enquiries arrive
For two weeks, record the enquiries that arrive outside hours and what type they are. Usually they split into a few types: a booking, a question about hours or price, a request for a quote, an emergency, a complaint. Each type needs a different answer.
Step 2: give each type a standard answer
- Bookings. An online diary, where the person picks the time themselves, solves most of it.
- Frequently asked questions. A well-made questions and answers page, and an automatic message pointing to it.
- Quote requests. A form with the right questions, so that by the time you arrive you already have what you need to answer well.
- Everything else. An honest acknowledgement: "We received your message and will reply by the end of the next working day."
Step 3: be honest about the timing
The automatic message that works says three things: that the message was received, when there will be a reply, and what to do if it is urgent. Do not pretend a person is answering, and do not promise a timing you cannot keep. Whoever gets an honest reply is calmer than whoever gets a promise that fails.
Step 4: leave a path for emergencies
If your sector has real emergencies (a clinic, a repair, a breakdown), the automatic message must say what to do in that case: an emergency phone number, a pointer to the appropriate public service. This is not optional.
What should not be automated
- Complaints. Someone who is upset wants to be heard by a person.
- Answers that depend on knowing the case, such as tailored quotes.
- Any reply that would give wrong information if the system misunderstood the question. An acknowledgement is better than an invented answer.
An example of an automatic reply
"Hello! We have received your request. We reply Monday to Friday, by the end of the next working day. If it is urgent, please call [number]. Thank you."
Short, honest, no pretending. Many tasks of this kind connect with what we do in process automation: replies to enquiries and reminders, each tested before it is switched on. To choose where to start, see which tasks to automate first.
When to review the system
After a month, see how many enquiries came in outside hours, how many received a reply within the promised time and which questions repeated. Adjust the standard replies with what you learned. If a type of enquiry still arrives without an answer that solves it, it is the next candidate: a question on the page, a field in the form or a rule in the diary. It is also worth listening to the team: whoever answers knows better than anyone which questions repeat and where people get confused. Logging this in a simple sheet, one line per week, is enough to see the trend.
In short
- Group enquiries by type and give each type a standard answer.
- The automatic message says it was received, when there will be a reply and what to do if it is urgent.
- Complaints and cases that require knowing the case stay with a person.
Quick questions
Does a chatbot solve this?
It can help with simple questions, but it is a bigger step than an automatic reply and needs care. If you use one, it should say it is a machine and hand over to a person when it cannot answer.
Can I use WhatsApp Business?
Yes. It has away and greeting messages that work as an automatic reply, and you can set opening hours. It suits many SMEs well.
What timing should I promise?
What you can keep without stress. "By the end of the next working day" is usually realistic; it is better to surprise on the upside than to fail.
Want to see which enquiries you can stop losing?
The exploratory call is a 30-minute conversation, at no cost. We see which enquiries are left waiting and which can have a standard reply. You keep the written summary.
Book an exploratory call