escalation-brief

Deciding: Escalate or Resolve In-House?

Keep It in Support When:

• A documented fix or known workaround addresses the problem
• The root cause is a configuration or setup error you can correct
• The customer needs coaching or training, not a product change
• The limitation is documented and an alternative path exists
• Historical tickets with the same profile were resolved at the support tier

Escalate When:

• Technical barrier: A confirmed defect needs a code-level fix, infrastructure-level investigation is required, or data has been lost or corrupted
• Diagnostic ceiling: The issue exceeds support tooling or access, involves a custom deployment, or demands database-level inspection
• Widespread harm: Multiple customers are reporting the same problem, production is down, data integrity is compromised, or a security threat exists
• Business stakes: A high-value account is at risk, an SLA has been breached or is about to be, or the customer is requesting leadership involvement
• Stalled progress: The issue has sat open past SLA, the customer has waited an unreasonable duration, or standard troubleshooting is not advancing
• Recurring pattern: Three or more independent reports of the same symptom, a previously-patched issue has resurfaced, or severity is trending upward over time