Response time - Cases, Example, and Important Notes
An overview: Response Time in Zoho Desk
Response Time refers to the time taken to respond to a ticket, calculated from when the ticket is created until an agent sends a reply.
This metric is generally used to understand the overall responsiveness of the support team. It reflects the time customers wait for a reply and can be used in reports to evaluate service performance over a selected period.
Importance of Response Times in Zoho Desk
Measure how quickly support teams reply to customer requests.
Track how long customers wait for a response.
Monitor overall support responsiveness across tickets and time periods.
Evaluate individual agent performance using metrics such as Agent Response Time and First Agent Response Time.
Track first-reply performance separately from overall reply performance.
Monitor whether response targets defined in SLAs are being met.
Identify delays, bottlenecks, or inefficiencies in ticket handling.
Support reporting, trend analysis, and service improvement decisions.
Related formulas
Metrics | Formula |
First System Response Time | Very first agent replied time − Earliest customer responded time/ticket created time − Duration of the ticket in Closed status |
First Agent Response Time | Very first agent replied time − Ticket assigned time to that agent − Duration of the ticket in Closed status and On Hold status |
System Response Time | Agent replied time − Earliest customer responded time that is yet to be replied − Duration of the ticket in Closed status |
Agent Response Time | Agent replied time − Latest of (ticket assigned time to that agent / earliest customer responded time that is yet to be replied) − Duration of the ticket in Closed status and On Hold status |
Let's look into the default rules, the cases, and their examples.
Response time: Default rules, cases, examples, and notes
SLA has been applied to the ticket
Default rule | Example | Notes |
When an SLA is applied to a ticket, the response time will be calculated based strictly on defined business hours. This ensures that any time outside of working hours (e.g., weekends, holidays, or non-working hours) is excluded from the SLA timer, providing accurate and fair tracking of SLA compliance.
| Business hours: 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM (Monday to Friday) SLA response time: 4 business hours Ticket created: Friday at 4:00 PM Response due by: Monday at 11:00 AM In this case: Only 2 business hours remain on Friday (4:00 PM – 6:00 PM), so the remaining 2 hours roll over to Monday starting at 9:00 AM, making the due time 11:00 AM on Monday. | If business hours are not defined in the SLA, the system will default to using calendar hours. |
Multiple emails for the same request by a customer
Default rule | Example | Notes |
If a customer sends two consecutive emails for the same request, the response time will be calculated based on the first email that initiated the ticket. | Customer sends an email and creates a request at 10:00 AM. In this case: When the support agent responds, the response time is calculated from the initial email sent at 10:00 AM. For example, if the agent responds at 12:00 PM, the total response time is 2 hours (12:00 PM − 10:00 AM). | Agent response time is calculated from the moment the ticket is assigned to them. |
Consecutive responses to a single request by an agent
Default rule | Example | Notes |
If the support agent sends multiple and consecutive replies to a request, the response time will be calculated based on the first reply only. | Customer sends an email: 10:00 AM
The support agent replies: 12:00 PM
Support agent send sends follow-up reply: 2:00 PM
In this case: The response time is calculated based on the first reply from the support agent at 12:00 PM, even though a follow-up reply was sent later at 2:00 PM. (12:00 PM − 10:00 AM = 2 hours). The response time is 2 hours.
| The support agent's response time will be from the moment the ticket is assigned to them. For response time tracking, only the first reply from the agent will be considered. |
Ticket created during business hours, and responded during non-business hours
Default rule | Cases | Example |
If a ticket is created during business hours but the response is sent outside of business hours, the response time will be calculated from the first minute of the next business hour.
| Case 1: If the ticket was assigned to the agent during business hours, the agent's response time will be calculated from the time of assignment.
Case 2: If the ticket is assigned outside of business hours (e.g., 6:05 PM), the agent's response time will be considered immediate, starting from the first minute of the next business hour (i.e., 9:01 AM Tuesday), making the response time effectively 1 minute. | Ticket received: 4:00 PM, Monday. Support agent replies: 7:00 PM (outside business hours), The response will be considered as sent at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, when business hours resume. Therefore, the response time will be calculated as 2 hours.
|
Ticket created in non-business hours, and responded in business hour
Default rule | Cases | Example |
If a ticket is created outside of business hours and responded to during business hours, the response time will be calculated from the start of the next business hour up to the time the reply is sent. | Case 1: In the above scenario, if the ticket is assigned to the agent during business hours, the agent's response time will be calculated from the time of assignment. Case 2: If the ticket is assigned outside business hours, for example, at 7:00 PM on Monday, the response time will begin from the start of the next business hour. | Ticket received: 7 PM, Monday
Support agent replies: 11 AM, Tuesday.
In this case:
The response time will be calculated from 9:00 AM on Tuesday (the start of the next business hour) to 11:00 AM, resulting in a total response time of 2 hours. (11:00 am -9:00 AM)
|
Ticket created during non-business hours, and responded to during non-business hours
Default rule | Example |
If a ticket is created and responded to, during non-business hours, without any business hours occurring in between the response time will be considered immediate (1 minute).
| A ticket is created at 8:30 PM on Friday, outside of business hours (which are Monday to Friday, 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM). The support agent responds and closes the ticket at 9:15 PM on the same day. Since both the creation and closure occurred during non-business hours, and no business hours occurred in between, the response time is considered immediate (1 minute), as per business hour SLA rules. |
Agent replies to an unassigned ticket
Default rule | Example | Notes |
If an agent responds to an unassigned ticket, the response time will be calculated from the ticket creation time to the moment of the reply. In this case, the agent response time will be considered immediate (1 minute). | Ticket raised: 3:00 PM. Ticket replied by agent: 3:10 PM, In this case: The response time is calculated from 3:00 PM to 3:10 PM, which is 10 minutes. | Since the ticket was never assigned, the agent response time is considered immediate (1 minute). |
Agent responds to a ticket assigned to a different agent
Default rule | Example | Notes |
When an agent responds to a ticket that is assigned to another agent, the response time will be calculated based on the time taken to reply. | Ticket raised: 3:00 PM. Ticket replied by agent B: 3:10 PM, In this case: The response time is calculated from 3:00 PM to 3:10 PM, which is 10 minutes. Since the ticket was never assigned to agent B, response time is considered immediate (1 minute). | In this case, the agent's response time will be considered immediate (1 minute). |
Merging two new tickets
Default rule | Cases | Example | Notes |
If a customer submits two separate tickets and the support agent merges them, the response time will be calculated based on the creation time of the first ticket.
| Case 1:
If a ticket raised at 10:00 AM remains unassigned, and another ticket is raised and assigned to an agent at 12:00 PM, the agent's response time will be calculated starting from 12:00 PM, the time of assignment.
Case 2: If both the tickets are unassigned and the ticket is assigned to the agent only after merge, then the agent response time will be calculated from the assigned time. | Customer raises first ticket: 10 AM Customer raises second ticket: 12 PM Support agent merges both the tickets. Support agent replies to the merged ticket: 1:00 PM In this case: | The agent's response time will be calculated from the moment the merged ticket is assigned to the agent. |
Merging two tickets with threads
Default rule | Cases | Example |
If two tickets with multiple threads are merged, the existing response times for each ticket will remain unchanged.
| Case 1: Response time will be calculated based on the latest threads. However, if both tickets being merged are owned by the same agent, the ticket assignment time will remain unchanged. Case 2: If the merged tickets have different owners, the ticket assignment time will be reset to the time of the merge. This also applies when a ticket assigned to an agent is merged with an unassigned ticket, the assignment time will be updated to reflect the merge time. | Ticket A is created at 9:00 AM and responded to at 9:30 AM. Ticket B is created at 10:00 AM and responded to at 10:20 AM. Later, a support agent merges Ticket A and Ticket B into a single ticket. In this case: The original response times (30 minutes for Ticket A and 20 minutes for Ticket B) will remain unchanged after the merge. Merging the tickets does not recalculate or impact the historical response times for either ticket. |
Tickets are split into two
Default rule | Example | Notes |
When a ticket is split into two,Ticket A and the newly created Ticket B,the response time for Ticket B will not be based on the time the split occurred. Instead, it will be calculated from the time of the specific incoming thread that led to the ticket being split. | A customer raises a support ticket (Ticket A) on Monday at 10:00 AM with multiple queries. In this case: | If ticket ownership is transferred from Ticket A to the newly created Ticket B, the assignment time should also be carried over from Ticket A to ensure an accurate calculation of the agent's response time. |
Ticket has been moved to another department
Default rule | Example | Notes |
When a ticket is transferred from one department to another, the response time will still be calculated from the original ticket creation time. | A customer raises a ticket at 10:00 AM in the Billing department. In this case: | Agent response time will be calculated based on the assigned time. |
Ticket is sent for admin review
Default rule | Example |
A reply is sent for review by the agent to the admin. The admin reviews the draft and sends it. The agent response time will be calculated based on the time at which the response was sent. | A ticket is assigned to the agent at 1:00 PM. In this case: The agent response time is calculated from the ticket assignment time to the time the final response is sent (3:00 PM), regardless of when the agent submitted the draft for review, so the agent response time is 2 hours (3:00 PM − 1:00 PM). |
Ticket is under 'On hold' status
Default rule | Example | Notes |
The response time calculation will include the duration the ticket was in the On Hold status, this time will not be excluded from the total response time. | A ticket is received on Monday at 10:00 AM. It is placed On Hold at 12:00 PM and moved back to Open at 2:00 PM, after which the agent responds at 2:00 PM. In this case: The overall response time will be calculated from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, totalling 4 hours (2:00 PM − 10:00 AM) | Agent response time will exclude the period when the ticket was On Hold.
In this case, the 2 hours the ticket was On Hold (from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM) will be deducted, making the agent response time 2 hours. |
Points to note
- Response time will not include automated acknowledgement emails.
- The ticket will be considered closed only when the default field "Ticket status" is marked as "Closed".
- When an SLA is applied, the response and the resolution times are reset, regardless of any prior SLA activities. Any response sent after the SLA is triggered will be considered as the first response time.