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The First 5 Minutes: A Triage Checklist for Support Agents

By Zap Support Team on 8/20/2025

Hey! welcome, You belong here. Those first minutes after a new ticket pings can feel noisy: What do I say? What do I look at first? Am I going to miss something obvious?

This guide is your quiet lane. It explains what to do in the first 5 minutes, why each step matters, and gives you gentle prompts to check your thinking. Use it verbatim at first; with repetition, it’ll become second nature.

The 5-Minute Map (at a glance)

0:00–1:00 — Acknowledge & set expectations
1:00–2:00 — Confirm scope & severity
2:00–3:00 — Quick repro attempt
3:00–4:00 — Gather artifacts (evidence)
4:00–5:00 — Choose a path (workaround / escalate / clarify) & communicate

If you feel overwhelmed: breathe, open this map, and walk it step by step. You’re doing enough.

0–1 min — Acknowledge & set expectations

Why this matters
Customers calm down when they feel heard and know when they’ll hear back again. You buy focused triage time and reduce follow-up pings.

What to say (copy-paste and customize)

Thanks for flagging this—understood that [problem summary] is blocking [their task]. I’m triaging now.
Quick help: could you share [one key detail: timestamp/URL/error ID]?
I’ll update you by [time in their timezone] with next steps or a workaround.

How to do it well

  • Mirror their words (it proves you saw their problem, not a generic one).
  • Promise the time of your next update, not the time of a fix.

Self-check prompts

  • Am I promising an update (safe) or a resolution (risky)?
  • Did I ask for only one high-value item so I don’t bury them?

Common traps

  • Sending a long questionnaire right away.
  • Over-apologizing (it can sound like we already know it’s our fault).

1–2 min — Confirm scope & severity

Why this matters
Severity sets priority. Scope tells us if this is one user, a subset, or many. This keeps us from over- or under-reacting.

Quick rubric you can trust

  • P1 (Critical): Outage, data loss/corruption, auth/payments blocked, security/legal.
  • P2 (High): Primary workflow blocked but a workaround exists.
  • P3 (Normal): Non-critical bug, performance annoyance, UI glitch, question.

Fast cues to check

  • Status page / incident channel
  • Recent deploys/changelog
  • Other fresh tickets with the same error message

Helpful questions to ask (one or two, max)

  • Does it affect one user, a group, or everyone in the org?
  • When did it start? Is it recurring or new?
  • What environment (browser/OS/app version, region/plan/role)?

Self-check prompts

  • Am I equating “loud” with “widespread”? (Those aren’t the same.)
  • Do I have enough to assign a severity, or do I need one more fact?

2–3 min — Quick repro attempt

Why this matters
A fast, minimal reproduction removes guesswork and points engineers to the precise failing step. It also guards against local issues (extensions, cookies, connectivity).

How to try (keep it minimal)

  1. Open the same URL/feature in an incognito window.
  2. Follow the customer’s steps exactly until it fails.
  3. Note the exact step and any error message/code.
  4. Capture the UTC timestamp (so logs line up later).

Self-check prompts

  • Did I keep my test to one or two simple variations (e.g., different browser)?
  • Did I avoid spending more than ~1–2 minutes here before collecting evidence?

Common traps

  • Testing in a different role/plan/region than the customer.
  • “It works for me” without matching their environment.

3–4 min — Gather artifacts (evidence)

Why this matters
Good evidence prevents back-and-forth and lets engineering start immediately. Think of this as packing a “go-bag” for the fix.

What “good evidence” looks like

  • Screenshot or short video showing the failing step (include the URL/time).
  • Console logs around the failure (errors/warnings).
  • Network trace/HAR of the failing request (status, payload, response).
  • Environment: browser + version, OS, app version, role/plan, region.
  • IDs: user/org, request/trace IDs, and UTC timestamp.

Redaction safety (you can do this)

  • Remove PII/secrets (emails, tokens, payment data).
  • Replace with placeholders like <EMAIL>, <TOKEN>, <CARD_LAST4>.
  • Store artifacts in the ticket, not in random chat threads.

Self-check prompts

  • Would I feel comfortable posting these artifacts in a public channel? If not, redact.
  • If I were an engineer, could I start investigating without pinging me?

(In parallel) Check for known issues & runbooks

Why this matters
Sometimes the fastest fix is already written down.

Where to peek quickly

  • “Open incidents / last 24h / error code X” saved view
  • Internal KB for “[feature] + [error text/code]”
  • Jira/Git: recent bugs touching that feature
  • Incident/ops Slack channels: a quick “anyone seeing [error]?”

If you find a match
Link your ticket to the parent incident/bug and reuse the known workaround text (saves time, ensures consistency).

Self-check prompt

  • Did I look for duplicates before opening something new?

Before escalation — Classify & tag correctly

Why this matters
Clean data routes work, powers reporting, and makes our future selves grateful.

Fields we always fill

  • Type: Bug / Question / Request / Incident
  • Product area: e.g., “Billing > Invoices”
  • Severity: P1–P3 (use the rubric)
  • Root symptom: Crash, 4xx/5xx, Data mismatch, Performance, UI glitch
  • Environment: Browser/OS/app version
  • Attachments: Evidence you gathered

Tagging tips

  • Favor controlled vocabulary (shared tags) over free-text.
  • Use dupe-of:INC-123 for duplicates.
  • Add workaround-available when you have one.

Self-check prompt

  • Will someone else understand this ticket just by reading the title, fields, and first paragraph?

4–5 min — Choose a path & move

Why this matters
Decisiveness reduces customer anxiety and gets the problem to the right hands.

Your three safe routes

  1. Share a workaround now

    • If it’s a known issue or a non-critical bug with a simple alternative.
    • Set a follow-up reminder for yourself.

  2. Warm escalation to Engineering/On-call

    • For P1/P2 or a reproducible bug with real impact.
    • Include a crisp summary (see template below).

  3. Ask for one precise detail & set the next update

    • Use this when you’re blocked. Keep it one question, not a survey.

Guardrails (when in doubt)

  • If it smells like P1 (auth, payments, data loss) or multiple orgs report it → page on-call and open an incident.
  • If security or PII is involved → follow the security incident playbook immediately.

Self-check prompts

  • Which path reduces customer risk the fastest?
  • Have I committed to a specific next update time?

Communicate back to the customer (by minute 5)

Why this matters
Clarity builds trust—even “we’re still investigating” can feel great when it’s specific.

If you have a workaround

I reproduced the issue and logged it for our engineers.
What you can do now: [workaround]
What to expect: I’ll update you by [time/date, timezone] (or sooner if it ships).
Ref: [ticket/bug/incident ID].

If you escalated

Quick update: this affects [scope]. I’ve escalated it to our on-call team under [INC-###].
Next update: [time/date]. Thanks for your patience—your report unblocked our investigation.

Tone checklist

  • Empathetic opener
  • Concrete next step/time
  • Reference ID
  • No blame; no speculation

Self-check prompt

  • Did I say what happens next in one sentence?

Create an actionable bug ticket (when escalating)

Why this matters
Engineers move faster with a tight, consistent format. You’ll look wonderfully prepared (because you are).

Bug Handoff Template (paste into Jira/GitHub Issues)

  • Title: [Area] [Symptom] – [Impact] (P#)
    e.g., Billing: 500 on /invoice/create – blocks payment (P1)
  • Summary: One sentence describing the problem + who it affects.
  • Steps to Reproduce: Numbered, minimal, reliable.
  • Expected vs Actual: Bullet both.
  • Artifacts: Screenshot/video link, HAR/console snippets, request/trace IDs, UTC timestamp.
  • Scope: # users/orgs, roles/plans, regions.
  • Workaround: If any.
  • Regression?: Last known good, notable recent deploys.
  • Risk/Blast radius: Payments/data/auth?
  • Reporter contact: Slack handle/Intercom link.

Little touches engineers love

  • Raw JSON payloads in code blocks.
  • Link to the original customer thread.
  • Consistent labels: incident, P1, billing, api, regression.

Self-check prompt

  • Could someone start debugging right now, without asking me a single question?

Log the learning (a 60-second habit)

Why this matters
Today’s notes are tomorrow’s speed. You’re building future you a shortcut.

Do this quickly

  • Add a tentative root cause guess tag (e.g., rate-limit, null-check).
  • Drop one line into the “Ops Notes / What broke this week” doc.
  • If it’s new, create a runbook stub: title + two bullets (symptoms, first steps).

Self-check prompt

  • If this popped up again next week, what tiny note would help me handle it faster?

Example: Slack escalation template (you can paste this)

@on-call P1 – Billing 500 at /invoice/create
Scope: 6 orgs across 2 regions since 10:12 UTC
Impact: Payments blocked (no workaround)
Repro: Incognito → /invoice/create → submit → 500 (traceId=abc123, at 10:17:42 UTC)
Artifacts: HAR + console + screenshot (links)
Ticket: INC-274
Requesting: Investigation + customer-safe workaround ASAP

Printable 5-Minute Triage Checklist (empathy-first)

[ ] 0–1 min: Acknowledge
    - Mirror their problem + impact
    - Promise next update time
    - Ask for one key detail (timestamp/URL/error ID)

[ ] 1–2 min: Scope & Severity
    - One user / subset / everyone?
    - P1 (auth/payments/data) / P2 / P3
    - When did it start? Which environment?

[ ] 2–3 min: Quick Repro
    - Same URL/role; incognito
    - Minimal steps; note failing step + UTC time

[ ] 3–4 min: Gather Evidence
    - Screenshot/video, console, HAR
    - Env: browser/OS/app version
    - IDs: user/org/request; redact PII

[ ] 3–4 min: Known Issues
    - Status page, incidents, KB, dupes
    - Link if matched

[ ] 4–5 min: Choose Path
    - Workaround now / Escalate / One precise question
    - Create actionable bug ticket if escalating

[ ] By 5 min: Communicate
    - What we did, what they can do, when we’ll update, reference ID

When you feel stuck (totally normal)

  • Default move: Acknowledge → set update time → gather one artifact.
  • Phone-a-friend: Post in #support-triage with your repro notes and artifacts.
  • Say what you’ll do next: “I’m pulling a HAR and will update you by 14:10 IST.”
  • Escalate safely: If you’re 60% sure it’s a P1/P2, escalate. We’d rather look early than late.

Remember: you’re not alone. Your job isn’t to know everything—it’s to move the customer and the team forward, one clear step at a time.