[rt-users] Personal Queues/Tags

[Alex Howells]

This is as much a question to find out how everyone else manages, as a
query about what features / hacks / patches may exist to solve stuff!

We operate a number of queues such as:

   Admin
   Enquiries
   Orders
   etc etc etc

Tickets will come in to those via various mail addresses, but in terms
of daily work-flow, generally anyone will pick up tickets from across
the queues to deal with. Ownership will change to that person, ownership
can be changed to pass a ticket if required (escalation).

What I'm really after is a way to better handle my own queue, which
often gets quite full and difficult to navigate with 100+ 'open' tickets
-- typically tickets fall into a few different categories:

   * Just taken, requires initial response to request
     more information or begin to address customer issue.
     Important if I take these during the working day they
     get a reply (to the customer) before 5pm.

   * Taken, dialogue has happened. Customer is now waiting
     on me to action something but it isn't a new ticket;
     these don't require action by 5pm but need movement
     within 48-72 hours or people don't feel the love.

   * Waiting on information from customer, no expectation
     the issue is resolved.  Clarification required, etc.

   * Suspect the issue is fixed, waiting for confirmation
     of that from the customer.  If no response received
     then I'd usually close these after 48-72 hours which
     issues an explicit mail stating "We believe its fixed".

Fourth 'category' (48-72 hour wait) basically avoids spamming customers
with a resolved mail -- logic behind this is customers get frustrated if
there's been a misunderstanding and they do *not* think the issue is
resolved, plus a high "churn rate" (resolved -> reopened) is bad.

I almost get tempted to stall stuff in the fourth category since that
gets them out of my 'front page' view but they'll pop back up if/when
the customer replies, but then they never actually get resolved!

So how do you chaps manage a 'large' personal queue, ensuring the right
tickets get your attention at the right times?

As a side note -- with regards stalled/resolved tickets in a personal
queue where a member of staff is away.. is there an easy way to tell RT
someone is away, so any reopened stuff during that duration
automatically gets moved into the unowned queue for attention?

Cheers!
Alex