Saying no to an off hours support request from a customer?

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified)
in
Do you have a template email to send customers when they ask for support outside of their contracted support hours?
Submitted by Tim Rutter on Saturday January 23rd, 2016 6:37 pm

Could you find a way to say yes?
Tim

Submitted by Howard Gilbert on Friday January 29th, 2016 2:30 pm

In reply to by Tim Rutter

I'd burn out my staff...we just had a major RIF that included our weekend staff.  

Submitted by Jeanne Schock on Sunday January 31st, 2016 12:05 pm

Hi, I'm not sure you'll find any templates as the situation is so variable. Is this an automatic reply to an email? Or to a new support ticket? Or to an update to an existing support ticket? Or, are you looking for guidance on how to explain to a customer that they aren't paying for 24/7/365 support, so they shouldn't expect to receive it? Do you have tiered support, eg platinum is 24/7/365 with a one hour response SLA, vs gold that is next business day? If so, I suggest finding a professional and sympathetic way to say that your support team will respond in accordance with your support contract. And I'm not in marketing, but perhaps you have an upsell opportunity. The question to ask is what do you want to have happen as a result of sending the customer a message. I suggest a phone conversation with them about their needs relative to what they are currently paying for. That may be more effective than sending an email. They may be ok with continuing to pay for only next business day, but they don't trust the support team. Build their trust with a system that keeps them up to date, lets them see that their issue has been assigned to an individual with an appropriate priority, and then follow up with a phone call or other appropriate and transparent action at 8:05 am the next business day. 
Jeanne