Understanding the On hold ticket state
Ticket statuses help customers and agents to track progress and manage the lifecycle of a ticket. For example, it tells you whether it's the customer or an agent that needs to act next. All tickets in Zoho Desk can be in one of the following three states (also known as status groups):
- Open
- On Hold
- Closed
Open and Closed are self-explanatory - they mark the beginning and the end of the support interaction. But what about On Hold state?
Why On Hold State?
By default, an SLA policy gets applied to each ticket to indicate how quickly you must respond to or resolve it. The tickets will have their SLA timers run down irrespective of your support process. Although, this is the default behavior what if you wanted to pause time (read, SLA escalations) while you are waiting for an event to happen. For example, when you require additional input from a customer or a resolution from a third party.
You can overcome this situation by selecting the On Hold status (pre-mapped to the On Hold state) that is provided as a part of your default status list in Zoho Desk. So when your agents select the status, they could pause the SLA timers running on their ticket. You can also create a custom status and map it to the On Hold state. Here are some of the statuses you may consider adding to your Zoho Desk:
- Awaiting Customer Response: Status to indicate that you are expecting a response from the customer.
- Waiting on Third Party: Status to indicate that there are third-party constraints that cannot be controlled by you.
What happens on selecting On Hold State
Here are the implications of assigning a ticket with On Hold state:
- The SLA timers will freeze, and the ticket will not display the response and the resolution times determined previously.
- Since the timers aren't running, escalations for both response and resolution will cease to trigger.
- Since the escalations aren't triggered, the actions supposed to be executed alongside escalation will not happen. E.g., agent reassignment, etc.
What happens on resuming to the Open State
Here are the implications of resuming an On Hold ticket:
- The SLA timers will return, and the ticket will display the recalculated response and the resolution times. Typically, your new 'due time' is calculated by measuring the actual SLA time, less the hold time.
- Since the timers have resumed, escalations for both response and resolution will continue to trigger, and so will their related actions.
Sample Scenario - On Hold
A typical scenario of an On Hold ticket and its due period calculation will look like this:
- A new ticket is received with a 12hr resolution time.
- After 4hrs into the ticket, an agent replies the requestor to collect more information.
- The ticket's status is set to On Hold at the 4hr point (SLA timer is paused).
- The requestor replies with additional information after two days.
- The ticket falls back to the default Open state (SLA timer resumes).
- The ticket is set with a new resolution time of 8hrs from here.
- Escalations are triggered at the end of the residual resolution time.
As you may have noticed, in the above scenario, the On Hold status saved the ticket from getting escalated prematurely, while you were waiting to hear back from the customer.
Note:
- By default every time a customer responds to a ticket with "On Hold" mapped status, its status will automatically be moved back to the default status.
- The due time is recalculated based on either business or calendar hours as specified in the SLA target.
On Hold State as Filter Criterion
You can add the On Hold state as a filter criterion when you generate a report, set up an automation function, or create a custom Ticket View. This is accomplished by specifying "Status" in the criteria field and then selecting "is ON HOLD" in the filters menu.
Also Read: On Hold - Use Cases and Behavior
Access your files securely from anywhere
Zoho CRM Training Programs
Learn how to use the best tools for sales force automation and better customer engagement from Zoho's implementation specialists.
Zoho DataPrep Personalized Demo
If you'd like a personalized walk-through of our data preparation tool, please request a demo and we'll be happy to show you how to get the best out of Zoho DataPrep.
- Zoho Workerly Home
- Forums
- Connect With Us:
- Zoho Recruit Home
- Forums
- Connect With Us:
Centralize Knowledge. Transform Learning.
All-in-one knowledge management and training platform for your employees and customers.
New to Zoho Writer?
Create. Review. Publish.
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho CRM Plus?
Deliver unforgettable customer experiences
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
New to Zoho Marketing Plus?
Everything you need to run your marketing
You are currently viewing the help pages of Qntrl’s earlier version. Click here to view our latest version—Qntrl 3.0's help articles.
New to Zoho Survey?
Zoho Sheet Resources
Zoho Forms Resources
New to Zoho Sign?
Zoho Sign Resources
Sign, Paperless!
New to Zoho TeamInbox?
Zoho TeamInbox Resources
New to Zoho ZeptoMail?
Design. Discuss. Deliver.
New to Zoho Workerly?
New to Zoho Recruit?
New to Zoho CRM?
New to Zoho Projects?
New to Zoho Sprints?
New to Zoho Assist?
New to Bigin?
Related Articles
On Hold state - Use cases and Behavior
Zoho Desk allows you to pause SLA timers on tickets when you are waiting for an event to happen. You can do this by selecting a status that is mapped to the On Hold state. However, it is important that you understand the functionality and which parts ...Customizing Ticket Statuses
Typically, when customers submit support tickets, you assign them with a status that has been set up for your Zoho Desk. It will help you know the number of tickets that were resolved and those that are currently open. To begin with, you're provided ...Ticket Status Lifecycle Extension for Zoho Desk
A ticket can go through various statuses once it gets created. For example, upon its creation, ticket status is Open. When an agent replies to the ticket, its status will change to Resolved. Similarly, if the customer responds to the same ticket, ...Ticket Status Dashboard
Availability Permission required Users with placeholder permission in their profile can access this feature. <br> Businesses have distinct processes to run their operations, such as ...Monitoring Ticket Transition With Lifecycle Reports
The ticket lifecycle is the sequence of changes that a support ticket undergoes from creation till its closed. It transits through multiple stages depending on the action taken in the previous stage. A typical ticket lifecycle in a support system may ...
New to Zoho LandingPage?
Zoho LandingPage Resources