Role Guide: Tier 1 Email and Chat Agent
For Narqix specialists who answer customer tickets by email, chat and social messages. After reading you will know what you own, your daily rhythm, your targets, your authority and the mistakes that cause reopened tickets.
Track: Customer Support · Role: Tier 1 Email and Chat Agent · Time to complete: 20 min
What this role is
Tier 1 is the front door. Most customers will only ever speak to you. Your job is to resolve everything you can on first contact, and to route everything else so well that nobody has to ask the customer the same question twice.
What you own
| Area | Your job |
|---|---|
| First response | Every new ticket in your queue answered within target |
| Triage | Topic tag, priority, customer history checked on every ticket |
| Resolution | Order status, how-to questions, account basics, in-policy returns, refunds and credits within your limit |
| Escalation | Clear internal note and handover for anything outside policy or authority |
| Promises | Every update you promise is sent on time |
| Tagging | Contact reason tags for the weekly root-cause report |
| Chat | Live chats greeted fast, never left silent, closed with a clear outcome |
Your daily rhythm
| Shift time | What you do |
|---|---|
| Start | Check in. Read team updates and the client's notes (known issues, stock, outages). Post start of day report. |
| First 30 minutes | Clear anything urgent or overdue first. Then oldest first within each priority. |
| Every hour | Check promised updates due in the next hour. Check pending tickets that need a nudge. |
| Main blocks | Work the queue. Chat when assigned. |
| Mid shift | Logged break, staggered with the team so the queue is covered. |
| Last 30 minutes | No ticket left in "Open" without a note for the next shift. End of day report with numbers and top contact reasons. |
How you are measured
| KPI | Narqix target |
|---|---|
| First response time, email (business hours) | Under 2 hours |
| First response time, chat | Under 30 seconds |
| One-touch resolution on Tier 1 topics | 60% or more |
| Reopen rate | Under 5% |
| CSAT | 90% or more |
| QA score (email) | 88% or more |
| QA score (chat) | 85% or more |
| Promised updates sent on time | 100% |
See KPIs and Benchmarks for definitions. Read your numbers in pairs: fast replies with low CSAT mean you are rushing.
Your authority
Your exact limits come from the client's Refund and Exception Matrix. A typical Tier 1 setup:
| You may | You must escalate |
|---|---|
| Refund or credit up to the client's Tier 1 limit, inside policy | Anything above your limit |
| Send return labels inside the return window | Returns outside the window |
| Resend items lost in transit (after carrier checks, per policy) | Exceptions to policy of any kind |
| Update address before shipping (after verification) | Account ownership disputes |
| Reset access through the official reset process | Legal threats, press, safety issues, chargebacks |
Tools (generic)
Ticketing system, live chat, order management or store admin (view and limited actions), CRM, knowledge base, macros, team channel, password manager, your campaign's time tracker.
Handoffs
- You receive: new tickets and chats, reassigned tickets with notes, answers from Tier 2 and the client.
- You pass on: escalations to Tier 2 with a complete internal note; bugs to the client's product contact via the agreed path; trends in your end of day report.
Quality standards
- Read the whole thread and the customer's history before typing. Check past tickets and the order.
- Answer every question, including the one hidden in the last line.
- Personal first line on every reply, even when you use a macro.
- Answer first, details second (see Writing Great Replies).
- Next step, owner and time in every reply that is not a final resolution.
- Correct status: Pending only when the customer owes us something.
- Internal note whenever someone else might pick up the ticket.
Never do this: never change an email address, delivery address, phone number or payment detail on an account without completing the client's identity verification first. Skipping verification is an automatic QA fail and can let a fraudster take over a customer's account.
Coach's note: before you press send, read the customer's message one more time, then read your reply. Ask: "If I were them, would I need to write back?" If yes, your reply is not finished.
Escalation rules
- Escalate to Tier 2: above your authority, outside policy, angry customer after your first STEER reply, billing disputes, repeat contacts on the same issue (third contact).
- Escalate urgently (Escalation Ladder): legal threats, safety issues, threats of harm, suspected account takeover, data sent to the wrong customer, a public complaint gaining attention, payment taken but no order.
- Tell the customer what happens next: "I have passed this to our senior team with all the details. You will hear from us by (TIME AND ZONE)."
Common mistakes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Replying to the first line only | Read twice; list every question before writing |
| Bare macros | Personal first line and edited details every time |
| Setting Pending to stop the clock | Pending only when the customer owes the next step |
| "Let me check" with no time | "I will check with the warehouse and update you by 3:00 PM ET" |
| Guessing an answer | "Let me confirm that for you" and find out |
| Long walls of text in chat | One idea per message; numbered steps |
Check yourself
- A customer asks three questions; your reply answers two. What happens to your QA score and the ticket?
- When is Pending the correct status?
- A customer wants a 180 USD refund and your limit is 100 USD. What do you do and what do you tell the customer?
- List three situations you must escalate urgently.
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