Escalation rules in Gorgias decide which tickets sit in the general queue and which get pushed to senior agents or managers. Wrong rules mean VIP customers wait 4 hours behind ordinary tickets, or complaints sit in a queue nobody monitors. This SOP defines clean tiers and the routing logic that supports them.
Escalation is where small support problems become big brand problems. A VIP customer who waits gets vocal on social. A complaint without manager visibility festers. Tight escalation rules catch these before they amplify.
Tier 1: standard agents (questions, status, simple refunds). Tier 2: senior agents (complaints, returns, edge cases). Tier 3: manager only (legal, social escalations, VIP).
Keywords in subject or body: lawsuit, BBB, social media, refund over $200, attorney. Build Gorgias rules to auto-route these to Tier 3.
Customers tagged VIP in Shopify or Klaviyo. Their tickets bypass general queue and go straight to a dedicated agent.
Tier 1: 4 hour response. Tier 2: 2 hour response. Tier 3 (managers): 30 minute response for active escalations.
Each tier sees only their queue. Managers see all tiers. This prevents claim conflicts.
Create 5 test tickets that match different escalation triggers. Verify each lands in the correct queue.
Not all escalations are automatic. Give agents a 1-page guide for judgment calls.
How many tickets escalated? Were they truly tier 2/3? Adjust rules if escalation rate is over 15 percent (too sensitive) or under 5 percent (rules too narrow).
Record your screen while performing the gorgias escalation rules. ReccordSOP turns the recording into a SOP with timestamped screenshots. When your live setup changes, drift detection flags it.
Generate this SOP free5 to 12 percent of tickets should escalate. Below 5 percent and your rules are too narrow. Above 15 percent and you're escalating too aggressively.
Yes. Public mentions need fast response. Any keyword like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook in a complaint context triggers tier 3.
Configure a Gorgias rule on order value: lifetime spend over $1000 triggers VIP-equivalent routing. Manual VIP tag overrides auto.
I built ReccordSOP after watching too many DTC ops teams lose months to undocumented workflows. These SOPs are battle-tested with Shopify operators running $1M to $50M brands.
Last reviewed June 1, 2026