Key takeaways
- “24/7” does not say who answers, how fast, or whether it is technical support.
- Agree severity levels, response times and escalation, and get them in writing.
- Distinguish customer support (account, invoice, questions) from technical support (API, routes, delivery failures).
- Test support during the pilot, before you need it.
What does round-the-clock support mean?
“Round the clock” can cover very different things, and you notice the difference only when something goes wrong at three in the morning. Ask specifically:
- Is there a phone number or an on-call person who answers around the clock, or only an inbox that accepts cases all the time and is answered in office hours?
- Can the person who answers at night actually do something about the fault, or only log it?
- Does round-the-clock cover all support or only the most serious faults?
- Which language is spoken, and which time zone applies to the “working day”?
Which severity levels and response times should you demand?
Ask for a written overview of the levels and what applies to each. Remember that response time and resolution time are two different things, and ask for both, and for what happens if they are not met.
| Level | Example | What you should agree |
|---|---|---|
| Critical | All traffic or an important destination fails, for example one-time codes do not arrive | Round-the-clock response, direct contact, fast escalation and ongoing updates |
| Serious | Poor delivery to one operator or one country | Response within an agreed time and an explanation of the cause |
| Normal | Configuration, single failures and questions | An answer within an agreed working day |
| Low | Requests, advice and documentation | An answer with no fixed deadline |
Technical support or customer support?
Customer support typically handles the account, invoices, sender registrations and general questions. Technical support has to be able to look at API errors, webhooks, routes and delivery reports for a specific message.
Round-the-clock customer support does not always mean round-the-clock technical support. So ask who answers a technical fault outside office hours, and whether that person can see the log for your message.
What about a status page, incident communication and onboarding?
Support is about more than answering cases. It also covers how you are informed and how you get started well.
- Status page: Is there a public status page, and can you subscribe to updates?
- Incidents: Are you told actively when something is wrong, and do you get an explanation afterwards?
- Maintenance: Is planned maintenance announced, and how far ahead?
- Onboarding: Do you get a named contact, a technical walkthrough, a test environment and help with sender registration?
- Escalation: Who can you go to if a case is not resolved?
How to test support before you need it
You can test support just as well as delivery. Use the pilot period for it.
- Ask a technical question outside office hours, and see who answers and how fast
- Ask for a walkthrough of a specific delivery failure, so you see how deep support can go
- Ask how a serious incident is handled, and ask for an anonymised example of an incident report
- Ask to speak to the person who will be your technical contact, and ask what they can see in your account and logs
- Check whether the answers are written for you or are boilerplate
How ZafeConnect fits
ZafeConnect states 24/7 customer support. No SLA or fixed response times are stated, and the coverage is described as customer support. If you need specific response times or technical support outside office hours, raise it before you sign, and get it in writing.
You can get to know support in a pilot. ZafeConnect is a Danish company (ZafeConnect ApS in Vedbæk).