Licorice.com Customer Service — Operational Playbook
Overview and strategic goals
Licorice.com should treat customer service as a strategic growth lever, not a cost center. The operational goal is to convert every support interaction into a retention or upsell opportunity: reduce churn by measurable amounts, maintain a Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) score above 90%, and drive Net Promoter Score (NPS) improvements quarter-over-quarter. Short-term tactical objectives include an average first response time under 24 hours for email/ticket channels and under 2 minutes for live chat during staffed hours.
Operationalizing those goals requires clear SLAs, documented workflows, and a capacity plan aligned to sales volume. For example, if Licorice.com averages 1,200 orders per week, expect 3–7% of orders to generate email/ticket inquiries (36–84 tickets/week) and 1–2% for return/refund escalations. Build staffing and automation around these expected volumes to avoid reactive hiring and inconsistent service levels.
Channels, coverage, and staffing
Licorice.com’s support stack should be omnichannel: email/ticketing, live chat, phone (toll-free), SMS, and a self-service knowledge base. Recommended hours are 8:00–20:00 local time (12 hours) Monday–Saturday to match peak e-commerce activity; staffed live coverage during those hours reduces escalation backlog. For late-night orders, automate confirmations and an “open hours” message with expected response times.
Staffing model: start with a core team of 3 full-time agents for volumes up to 100 tickets/day, scaling by +1 agent per additional 30–40 tickets/day. Use a 1:20 supervisor-to-agent ratio initially (one team lead per 4–6 agents) for quality control, coaching, and escalation handling. Plan shrinkage (breaks, coaching, training) of 25–30% when calculating rostered hours, and use shift overlap for peak times (e.g., 11:00–14:00 and 17:00–19:00).
Technology, integrations, and cost considerations
Choose a modern helpdesk that integrates natively with your e-commerce and payments platforms (Shopify, Magento, Stripe, PayPal) so agents view order, payment, and fulfillment data on the same ticket. Prioritize features: omnichannel inbox, macros/templates, SLA tracking, automated ticket routing, and robust reporting. Common choices include Zendesk, Gorgias, Intercom, and Freshdesk; expect mid-market wholesale pricing between $30–$80 per agent/month depending on features and billing cadence.
Integrate support with fulfillment systems and your WMS to provide real-time shipment statuses (carrier, tracking number, delivery events). Automate routine actions: auto-close tickets after 7 days of inactivity, send shipping notifications with tracking links, and trigger refunds through the payment gateway API when a supervisor approves. A small automation budget (one developer at 0.2–0.4 FTE) during the first 6–12 months pays back quickly in reduced handling time and improved CSAT.
KPIs, reporting cadence, and targets
Track operational KPIs daily and strategic KPIs weekly/monthly. Operational cadence: daily ticket volume and backlog, weekly first contact resolution trends, and monthly CSAT and NPS trends tied to retention. Use dashboards for real-time alerts (backlog > 48 hours, SLA breaches, CSAT drops >5 points month-over-month).
- Essential KPIs and industry targets:
- First Response Time: target < 24 hours for email, < 2 minutes for chat
- Average Handle Time (AHT): 6–12 minutes per email/ticket; 4–8 minutes per chat
- First Contact Resolution (FCR): target ≥ 70%
- CSAT (post-interaction): target ≥ 90%
- NPS: target ≥ 40 for established consumer brands, 60+ for category leaders
- SLA Compliance: 95% of tickets responded to within SLA
- Refund turnaround: 3 business days to process, 5–7 days to reflect on customer card (depending on bank)
Policies, refunds, and escalations
Create concise, public-facing policies and private operating procedures. Recommended consumer-facing policy: 30-day satisfaction guarantee for non-perishable items, free returns for damaged or mis-shipped goods, and transparent restocking fees only when clearly stated at checkout. Internally, require supervisor sign-off for refunds > $150 or for discretionary goodwill refunds to ensure financial controls.
Escalation path: Tier 1 agents resolve the majority of tickets; Tier 2 (specialists) handle technical product questions and complex refunds; Tier 3 (operations/commerce lead) handles systemic issues and executive escalations. Maintain an escalation SLA: acknowledge escalations within 4 hours and provide a substantive update within 24 hours. Use a central escalation email ([email protected]) and a dedicated Slack channel for urgent order-blocking issues.
Sample templates and agent scripts (high-value)
- Order confirmation (email): Subject: “Your Licorice.com Order #{{order_number}} — Confirmed”
Hi {{first_name}}, thanks — we received your order #{{order_number}} on {{order_date}}. Estimated delivery: {{delivery_window}}. Track here: {{tracking_link}}. Questions? Reply to this email or visit our help center at https://www.licorice.com/help.
- Shipping delay (chat/email): Short, empathetic, action-driven
We’re sorry — your shipment is delayed due to {{reason}}. New ETA: {{new_date}}. We’ve flagged priority shipping at no extra cost and issued a $5 store credit (code: DELAY5). Reply “Help” to escalate to a specialist.
- Refund approval (email): Clear timelines and next steps
Your refund for order #{{order_number}} is approved. Amount: ${{amount}}. Refund method: original payment. Expect 3 business days for processing; banks may take an additional 2–5 days to post. Contact [email protected] with questions.
- Phone intro script: Short verification + action
“Thanks for calling Licorice.com, this is {{name}}. May I have your order number to pull up your details?” Verify the customer with last 4 of card or email, then state the intended resolution within 60–90 seconds of call start.
