Customer service — how it works

This section describes how we answer customer messages: in what tone, with which standard texts, and with which steps per type of question. The aim is for the customer to get a clear, helpful and consistent answer — and for tricky or risky cases to reach Ricardo before anything goes out.

What we aim for

A good answer is honest, solves the problem (or sets the next step in motion) and sounds calm and professional. We always offer a solution or an alternative; we never leave a customer empty-handed.

We deliberately do not use empty apologies. Instead of "sorry" we acknowledge what is happening and explain what we are doing. The exact wording is on Tone & writing style.

Before you reply

Do this for every message, whatever the subject:

1. Read the full conversation — not just the last message. Customers often send several messages in a row with additional information.
2. Determine the language of the customer's last message. You reply in that language.
3. Look the customer up in Picqer by email address. Check previous orders (relevant for context and for discount decisions) and previous returns (relevant for warranty or repeat complaints).
4. Determine the type of question and pull up the matching workflow (see Reply workflows).
5. Check whether the message needs to go to Ricardo (see below).

When you hand it to Ricardo

Some messages you do not answer yourself. Do prepare a draft answer, but don't send it — set it aside for Ricardo with a short note at the top, REVIEW NEEDED — reason: …. Do this as soon as one of these situations applies:

• The customer asks for a refund or for compensation.
• The message contains legal language or a threat.
• It concerns an order or quote of € 1000 or more (B2B negotiation).
• There is a problem with the webshop (checkout error, failed payment, broken page).
• It concerns a VAT reverse-charge / credit note for a business EU customer.
• The warranty is unclear and you are unsure whether it is covered.
• The customer is angry or the tone is escalating.

When in doubt, hand it over. Having a message reviewed unnecessarily costs little; a wrongly sent answer costs far more to put right.

What gets priority

If several messages are open, work through them in this order. Within each group: chronologically, oldest first.

Priority	What	Examples
P1 — Straight to Ricardo	Messages that need his attention right away	Angry customers, legal threats, webshop outages, VAT reverse-charge, unclear warranty with high urgency
P2 — Price proposals	Requests where a quote is on the table	Multiple items, discount request (see Scenario 5)
P3 — Draft ready	All other messages you have prepared an answer for	Standard product and warranty questions
Don't pick up	Handled via another channel	Status questions, invoice requests, simple thank-yous, conversations already picked up