Response window

A response window needs three things or it is just a number: the trigger, the length and the way time is counted. The trigger is the event that starts the clock, so the arrival of a message, the end of an interview or the sending of a proposal. The length is the span itself. The counting decides whether business hours, working days or calendar days apply, and it is the most common source of argument, because a Friday evening costs four hours in one calculation and three days in another.

Response window, first response time and service level are three different things that are routinely conflated. The response window is the promise, first response time is the measured value, and the service level is the rate at which the promise is kept. Promise without measuring and you know nothing. Measure without promising and you have no yardstick for whether the value is good or bad.

One window per event beats one window for everything. A new enquiry, a proposal awaiting an answer, an application after the interview and a complaint carry different expectations and deserve different promises. And every window needs an internal trigger to hang on: a reminder in the mailbox, a task in the CRM, an automation. A window that only exists on the website is a claim.