Your step-by-step operating playbook.
Proposed client-review template, not approved internal policy. Answer questions professionally, administer authorized orders, resolve knowledge-base issues and document exceptions. Confirm permissions and targets before use.
The complete SOP is visible below—no download or extra click required. Tailor the selected duties, training, tools and approval limits with your team before work starts.
Complete task & responsibility scope.
Provide consistent service within approved policies; escalate refunds, complaints and exceptions that exceed authority.
Support a prompt, professional customer experience by handling inquiries, routine issues and follow-up within the client's approved policies.
Select the duties relevant to your business at kickoff. Extended duties require suitable training, supervisor approval and scoped access; this list does not automatically authorize clinical, legal, licensed or financial decisions.
- Respond to customer questions
- Process orders within approved permissions
- Resolve routine issues using the knowledge base
- Escalate exceptions and document outcomes
- Respond to customer inquiries by phone, email and chat.
- Process orders, returns and exchanges within delegated permissions.
- Resolve routine complaints and issues using approved policies.
- Provide accurate, approved product information and answer questions.
- Update customer records and maintain CRM data.
- Track and follow up on customer service tickets.
- Coordinate with other departments on complex issues.
- Gather customer feedback and suggestions.
- Prepare refunds and adjustments; obtain authorization before execution when required.
- Generate customer service reports and agreed metrics.
01 / Deliverables, ownership & kickoff
What you receive
- Tickets with verified context, responses and next actions
- Order records showing permissions, changes and confirmed outcomes
- Routine-issue notes linked to guidance used
- Exception handoffs with evidence, requested decisions and owners
- Service summary covering queue status, recurring questions and blockers
Who owns what
Assistant
- Answer assigned questions using approved facts and customer context.
- Perform only delegated order administration and knowledge-base resolutions.
- Document outcomes and route refunds, complaints and authority exceptions.
Client owner
- Approve service policies, scripts, identity checks and order permissions.
- Authorize refunds, purchases, payments and other consequential decisions.
- Decide escalated cases and approve knowledge-base corrections.
VSI coordinator or agreed Team Lead
- Confirm assignments, access readiness and escalation contacts with the client.
- Review sampled records against agreed checks and coach documentation.
- Coordinate blocked handoffs without substituting for client decision authority.
Confirm before work starts
- Agree inquiry types, channels, queue ownership and handoff coverage.
- Obtain current policies, scripts and approved knowledge-base versions.
- Document permitted order actions, restrictions and approval evidence requirements.
- Define identity checks and information permitted in each channel.
- Confirm individual accounts, access limits and record-storage locations.
- Name decision owners for complaints, refunds and uncertain orders.
- Agree review samples, reporting, contact permissions and opt-out handling.
Role-specific readiness checklist
- Confirm service hours, escalation contacts and response targets.
- Review the current knowledge base and refund/return approval matrix.
- Verify customer identity according to the client-approved procedure.
- Log the request, action, outcome and next follow-up in the ticket.
- Review unresolved tickets and send the end-of-day handoff.
02 / Skills, systems & approved access
Skills and qualifications
- Empathy and professional communication
- Ticket management
- Problem-solving and accurate notes
- Excellent verbal and written communication
- Patience and empathy with customer concerns
- Problem-solving for customer issues
- Knowledge of customer service best practices
- Experience with CRM and ticket systems
- Ability to remain calm under pressure
- Attention to detail in order processing
- Professional demeanor and positive attitude
Verify the capability—not just the résumé
- Empathy and professional communication
- Rewrite an upset-customer reply with acknowledgment, accurate facts and no unsupported promise.
- Ticket management
- Triage sample inquiries, assign status and retain ownership through handoff.
- Knowledge-base problem-solving
- Select guidance for two routine issues and identify an unsupported case.
- Accurate order administration
- Check a practice request against identifiers, order status and delegated permissions.
- Accurate notes and escalation
- Write a note separating customer statements, verified facts, actions and decisions needed.
Tools and systems
Use client-approved tools and individual role-based accounts. Examples are options, not claims that an integration or subscription is included. Never share credentials in chat.
- Helpdesk or shared inbox
- Order management system
- Client knowledge base and CRM
- Customer service platforms: Zendesk or Freshdesk
- CRM systems for customer data
- Live chat software
- Order management systems
- Knowledge base and FAQ resources
- Call center software
- Customer feedback collection tools
- Reporting and analytics platforms
How access supports the procedure
Client-approved helpdesk or shared inbox
Use: Receive inquiries, retain history and assign ownership.
Access: Individual account restricted to assigned queues and approved channels.
Client-approved order management system
Use: Check order status and record authorized administrative actions.
Access: Read access plus delegated actions; no payment or purchase authority.
Client knowledge base
Use: Consult approved answers, resolution instructions and escalation boundaries.
Access: Approved current content; corrections require client review.
Client-approved CRM
Use: Check customer context, contact preferences and service history.
Access: Assigned records and permitted note fields only; no automatic integration implied.
03 / Answer a customer question
Start when: An inquiry enters the assigned service queue.
What you need
- Customer message and conversation history
- Approved identity checks
- Current knowledge-base guidance
How to complete the work
- Check for an existing ticket; link duplicates and establish the responsible owner.
- Apply identity checks before disclosing account details; clarify missing context.
- Find approved guidance and verify that it matches the customer's situation.
- Prepare a personal, factual reply; obtain approval for uncertain answers before sending.
- Send within approved channel permissions; record guidance used, response and next action.
- Close only when the agreed completion condition is met; otherwise retain a follow-up owner.
The answer and guidance are recorded, with closure or a named next action.
If something is missing or outside scope: Missing verification, conflicting guidance or complaints go to the client owner; do not improvise policy.
04 / Administer an authorized order request
Start when: A customer requests order status or a permitted administrative change.
What you need
- Verified customer and order identifiers
- Existing order status
- Delegation limits and required client approval
How to complete the work
- Match the request to the correct order and check prior related actions.
- Verify current status and required details; separate status information from requested changes.
- Prepare the proposed action and compare it with documented permissions and restrictions.
- Obtain recorded client authorization where required; stop requests involving purchases, payments or refunds.
- Execute only permitted administration, then recheck the saved record and resulting status.
- Record before-and-after details and authorization; send approved confirmation without promising delivery outcomes.
The authorized action is verified and documented, or a blocked request has a decision owner.
If something is missing or outside scope: Unclear status, duplicate processing or unavailable approval requires a hold and client review before retrying.
05 / Resolve a routine issue or hand off an exception
Start when: A customer reports an issue requiring resolution rather than information.
What you need
- Issue description and previous attempts
- Applicable resolution instructions
- Escalation owners and authority limits
How to complete the work
- Review history and clarify the problem without repeating completed troubleshooting.
- Check whether approved guidance covers the issue and requested remedy is within authority.
- Prepare the prescribed resolution; request client approval for actions outside delegation.
- Apply permitted steps and check the result; avoid repeating unsuccessful actions without guidance.
- Record outcomes; hand off unresolved issues, complaints and refund requests with evidence and a specific decision question.
- Track acknowledgment and communicate only authorized decisions; document closure or the remaining owner and next check.
Resolution evidence or an owned escalation is recorded; unresolved handoffs are not labeled resolved.
If something is missing or outside scope: Missing guidance, repeated failure or disputed remedies require client decisions, not assistant-created concessions.
06 / Daily rhythm, quality & reporting
Daily routine for this role
- Review new, reopened and waiting tickets against client priorities.
- Check pending approvals before order actions.
- Follow up owned cases through permitted channels; respect opt-outs.
- Reconcile notes with order records and flag inconsistencies.
- Report unresolved handoffs and responsible owners.
Weekly review
- Review sampled replies, order actions and escalation completeness.
- Group recurring questions and propose knowledge-base clarifications for approval.
- Review queue aging and adjust priorities with the client.
Quality checks and measures
Agree review standards with the client. Example measures are not guaranteed service levels.
Answer accuracy
Review standard: Agree a sampled-response accuracy percentage; no guaranteed result.
Evidence: Reviewed replies matched to approved guidance.
Order authorization traceability
Review standard: Agree a target proportion of actions with permission evidence.
Evidence: Order change logs and linked authorization.
Escalation completeness
Review standard: Agree a target proportion containing evidence, decision question and owner.
Evidence: Sampled exception handoffs.
Follow-up timeliness
Review standard: Agree review windows and a target completion percentage, not an SLA.
Evidence: Assigned follow-up dates compared with recorded actions.
Reporting and handoff
Cadence: Proposed daily summary and weekly client review; confirm at kickoff.
- Tickets received and answered
- Resolved and reopened cases
- Authorized order actions
- Pending client decisions
- Queue aging and next checks
- Recurring issues and guidance gaps
- Quality sample findings
07 / Approval limits & escalation
Decisions that need approval
- Use client-approved systems only; examples do not promise enabled integrations.
- Keep customer information in approved records; never share credentials.
- Client retains budgets, purchases, payments, refunds and policy exceptions; authorized professionals retain filings and professional decisions.
- Use approved contact permissions, scripts and opt-out instructions for outbound follow-up.
- Do not promise delivery dates, concessions or outcomes without client authorization.
- This template creates no services or authority beyond the existing customer-service scope.
Role-specific control requirements
- Do not issue refunds, credits or pricing exceptions beyond written delegated authority.
- Escalate threats, sensitive data requests, payment disputes and unresolved complaints.
- Review response time, ticket accuracy, follow-up completion and feedback weekly; no satisfaction outcome is guaranteed.
What to do when work cannot proceed
Refund or monetary remedy requested
Action: Record request and evidence; await an authorized decision.
Owner: Client owner
Complaint or disputed policy
Action: Acknowledge using approved language and submit the decision question.
Owner: Client owner
Identity or disclosure uncertainty
Action: Withhold account details and request verification direction.
Owner: Client owner
Order action outcome unclear
Action: Stop retries; provide identifiers and attempted-action history.
Owner: Client order decision owner
Access failure or unowned handoff
Action: Record blockage and coordinate reassignment without bypassing permissions.
Owner: VSI coordinator or agreed Team Lead
Name the owner and backup, agree response windows and permissions, and record client sign-off at kickoff. Revisit the SOP whenever scope or access changes.