Free customer service tracker

About this document

A customer service tracker keeps every open customer issue on one list until it's closed — the issue, who's handling it, where it stands. It replaces the worst inbox habit there is: scrolling back to find out who's still waiting on you.

When to use it

• More than a couple of open customer conversations at once.
• Handoffs, where someone else picks up an issue mid-thread.
• A weekly review of what's unresolved and aging.

Getting it right

• Reference orders, not people — "Order #1042 — arrived damaged" identifies the case without putting personal details on paper.
• Track promises, not conversations: a row exists because something is owed — a reply, a refund decision, a reshipment.
• Close rows explicitly. "Probably fine now" is how issues resurface as one-star reviews.

It's your internal worklist — not a support system that messages customers, and not a place to store their personal information.

Part of Run an online shop — the whole situation, connected.

Common questions

What earns a row?

Anything where a customer is waiting on you. If nobody's waiting, it's not an issue — it's a memory.

How does it relate to the returns log?

This tracks open loops; the returns log records completed outcomes. Some rows here graduate into rows there.

Which statuses work?

Open, waiting on customer, resolved — or your own words. What matters is that resolved gets written down, not assumed.