Capability template for customer support and service

Stale ticket sweep

Once a week the support lead gets one sheet of what the queue is hiding: tickets with no real activity past their limit, tickets left waiting on the customer with the three ways out of each, likely duplicates, and each person's load weighed by size and age. A person makes every move.

The outcome

The week's plan starts from the whole queue, not from whatever arrived last. Every open ticket is accounted for exactly once. The ones past their limit are listed with the longest overdue first, each with the date of its last real activity and one question for the lead. A ticket the support system updated by itself does not pass for one a person worked on.

Each ticket left waiting on the customer too long comes with the three ways to resolve it: another reminder, a named owner in the team who checks for the answer, or closing it. Beside them is the way the team's own rules point to. Tickets whose customer has already answered, while the status still says waiting, get their own list. Likely duplicates are paired, with the reason. Workload is shown as a load, each ticket counted by its size and its age with the arithmetic beside it, so the lead sees who holds the hardest and oldest work as well as who holds the most tickets.

The sweep proposes; the lead decides. The AI assistant closes, merges, reassigns and answers nothing, and changes no ticket.

Who starts the work, and when

The support lead, or whoever runs the queue day to day, starts it once a week at a fixed time, usually on Monday morning before the team plans its week. It also earns a run before a holiday, when someone goes on leave, or after a busy spell.

The lead exports the open tickets, runs the capability and reads the sheet. Each decision on it is the lead's: who chases what, which tickets are closed, linked or merged, and whether any work moves between people. The changes are then made in the support system by the people who own them.

What they supply

The open-ticket export. One row per open ticket: number, subject, customer, status, assignee, when it was created, when it entered its current status, the team's last note or reply and the customer's last reply. Contact, priority, size, reminders sent and the last update of any kind help when the support system has them.
The sweep settings. How the team's statuses group together, the limit for each group, the reminder and closing rules for tickets waiting on the customer, the duplicate window, the size points and age factors, and the working days and closed days. Sensible defaults are written into the template for anything the team has not set.
Who is on the team this week, and who is away.
Last week's sheet, when there is one, so tickets that were on it are marked.

What comes out

One sheet in a fixed order:

Stale. Tickets past the limit for their status, longest overdue first.
Waiting on the customer too long. Each with the three ways to resolve it and the one the team's rules point to.
Status out of date. Tickets still marked as waiting although the customer has replied.
Likely duplicates and related tickets, in pairs, with why.
Workload across the team. Each person's weighed load with the arithmetic, heavy and light marks, who is away, and one observation.
Could not be placed. Any ticket whose status the settings do not cover.
From last week's sheet, the tickets no longer open.

Good looks like this: the lead can check any line against the export in under a minute, the counts at the top add up to the number of open tickets, and nothing has been changed anywhere.

An invented example

Illustrative example with invented data. The company, its customers, its team, the tickets and the dates below are all invented. An invented 40-person company sells and supports till systems for cafés and restaurants. Its support team is four people, Ben, Carla, Dev and Erin, led by a support lead. On Monday 9 November 2026 the support lead exports every open ticket in the Support queue and runs the capability before the team plans its week.

The inputs come first, in full, so the template can be run on them. The sweep follows.

The inputs

The time of the export

Export taken: Monday 9 November 2026, 08:30. All open tickets in the Support queue.

The sweep settings

SWEEP SETTINGS, Support (owner: support lead)
Working days: Monday to Friday. Office closed: Wednesday 4 November 2026.
Status groups:
  Open, In progress: Working
  New: Unassigned when no one is assigned; Working when someone is
  Pending customer: Waiting on the customer
  Waiting on supplier: Waiting on a third party
Limits, in working days without real activity:
  Working 3. Unassigned 1. Waiting on the customer 5. Waiting on a third party 7.
Waiting on the customer: at most 2 reminders. A ticket may be closed after
  2 reminders and 10 working days in the status with no reply, once the
  support lead confirms.
Duplicates: same customer, same problem, opened within 5 working days.
Size points: S 1, M 2, L 3. A ticket with no size counts as M.
Age factors, working days since created: 0 to 5, x1; 6 to 15, x1.5; over 15, x2.
Heavy: above 1.5 times the team average. Light: below 0.5 times.

The team this week

Ben, Carla, Dev, Erin. Erin is away on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November.

Last week's sheet

LAST WEEK'S SHEET (Monday 2 November 2026), ticket numbers by section
Stale: T-296, T-301, T-310
Waiting on the customer too long: T-298
Status out of date: none
Could not be placed: none

The open-ticket export

Ticket,Subject,Customer,Contact,Status,Priority,Assignee,Size,Created,Status since,Last team note or reply,Last customer reply,Reminders sent,Updated
T-301,Card reader drops its connection at lunchtime,Customer A,A-1,In progress,P2,Carla,L,2026-10-13,2026-10-14,2026-10-23,2026-10-22,,2026-11-07
T-302,Add a second till to the account,Customer C,C-1,Open,P3,Ben,S,2026-11-05,2026-11-05,2026-11-06,2026-11-05,,2026-11-06
T-303,Change the logo on printed receipts,Customer E,E-1,Open,P4,Ben,S,2026-11-03,2026-11-03,2026-11-06,2026-11-03,,2026-11-06
T-304,Staff log-in screen shows the wrong site name,Customer G,G-1,Open,P3,Ben,S,2026-11-02,2026-11-02,2026-11-03,2026-11-02,,2026-11-03
T-305,End-of-day report missing card totals,Customer F,F-2,Pending customer,P3,Dev,M,2026-10-15,2026-10-20,2026-10-29,2026-10-19,2,2026-10-29
T-306,Refunds not appearing in the weekly sales report,Customer H,H-1,Pending customer,P2,Erin,M,2026-10-26,2026-10-28,2026-10-28,2026-10-27,0,2026-10-28
T-307,Question about exporting sales to a spreadsheet,Customer C,C-2,Pending customer,P4,Dev,S,2026-10-29,2026-10-30,2026-10-30,2026-10-29,0,2026-10-30
T-308,Discount button greyed out for some staff,Customer E,E-2,Pending customer,P3,Ben,S,2026-10-27,2026-10-28,2026-10-28,2026-11-05,0,2026-11-05
T-309,Loyalty points not adding up after an update,Customer G,G-2,Pending customer,P3,Carla,M,2026-10-19,2026-10-21,2026-10-26,2026-10-20,1,2026-10-26
T-310,Replacement cash drawer not yet received,Customer B,B-1,Waiting on supplier,P2,Dev,M,2026-10-12,2026-10-16,2026-10-16,2026-10-15,,2026-10-16
T-311,Kitchen printer swap under warranty,Customer A,A-2,Waiting on supplier,P3,Carla,L,2026-10-26,2026-10-29,2026-10-29,2026-10-28,,2026-10-29
T-312,Receipt printer printing blank receipts,Customer D,D-2,New,P3,,,2026-11-05,2026-11-05,,2026-11-05,,2026-11-05
T-313,How do I add a new staff member,Customer H,H-2,New,P4,,,2026-11-06,2026-11-06,,2026-11-06,,2026-11-06
T-314,Printer gives blank receipts since this morning,Customer D,D-1,Open,P3,Ben,S,2026-11-05,2026-11-05,2026-11-06,2026-11-05,,2026-11-06
T-315,Menu changes not reaching the second site,Customer F,F-1,Open,P2,Carla,L,2026-10-07,2026-10-08,2026-11-05,2026-11-06,,2026-11-06
T-316,Gift card balance shows twice,Customer B,B-2,In progress,P3,Dev,,2026-11-02,2026-11-02,2026-11-03,2026-11-02,,2026-11-03
T-317,Table plan resets after closing,Customer D,D-1,In progress,P3,Erin,M,2026-10-28,2026-10-29,2026-10-30,2026-10-29,,2026-11-06
T-318,Change the tax rate on menu items,Customer B,B-1,Open,P4,Ben,S,2026-10-29,2026-10-29,2026-11-05,2026-11-05,,2026-11-05
T-319,How to set a new tax rate for takeaway orders,Customer B,B-3,Open,P3,Ben,S,2026-10-19,2026-10-19,2026-11-03,2026-11-03,,2026-11-03
T-320,Till app closes when splitting a bill,Customer F,F-1,In progress,P1,Dev,L,2026-11-06,2026-11-06,2026-11-06,2026-11-06,,2026-11-06
T-321,Install visit for a second till,Customer E,E-1,Scheduled,P3,Carla,M,2026-10-27,2026-11-03,2026-11-03,2026-10-28,,2026-11-03

The output

The sheet is plain text. It is set here with bold section titles and bullets so it reads well on a page; the words and their order are the template's.

STALE TICKET SWEEP: Support, export of Monday 9 November 2026, 08:30

Open tickets in the export: 21. Stale: 4. Waiting on the customer too long: 3. Status out of date: 1. Could not be placed: 1. Healthy, not listed: 12. Likely duplicate pairs: 1. Possibly related pairs: 1. Limits, in working days without real activity: Working 3, Unassigned 1, Waiting on the customer 5, Waiting on a third party 7 (team's settings). Working days: Monday to Friday. Closed: Wednesday 4 November 2026. Activity measured from: replies, notes and status changes. Compared with: last week's sheet of Monday 2 November 2026. Settings taken as default: none.

STALE

T-310 | Waiting on a third party (Waiting on supplier) | Dev | P2 | 15 working days without real activity (limit 7, over by 8)

Subject: Replacement cash drawer not yet received
Last real activity: 16 October 2026, team note or reply and status change.
On last week's sheet.
Question for the lead: The ticket has had no note since it was set to wait on the supplier on 16 October; who asks the supplier for a delivery date, and by when?

T-301 | Working (In progress) | Carla | P2 | 10 working days without real activity (limit 3, over by 7)

Subject: Card reader drops its connection at lunchtime
Last real activity: 23 October 2026, team note or reply. Updated 7 November 2026: not real activity.
On last week's sheet.
Question for the lead: This ticket was on last week's sheet as well, and the customer last wrote on 22 October; does Carla update the customer this week, or does the ticket need another person's help?

T-317 | Working (In progress) | Erin | P3 | 5 working days without real activity (limit 3, over by 2)

Subject: Table plan resets after closing
Last real activity: 30 October 2026, team note or reply. Updated 6 November 2026: not real activity.
Question for the lead: Erin is away today and tomorrow; does someone else pick this ticket up while Erin is away?

T-312 | Unassigned (New) | unassigned | P3 | 2 working days without real activity (limit 1, over by 1)

Subject: Receipt printer printing blank receipts
Last real activity: 5 November 2026, customer reply and status change.
Question for the lead: Nobody owns this ticket, and it looks like a duplicate of T-314, which Ben holds; is it linked or merged with T-314, or assigned to someone?

WAITING ON THE CUSTOMER TOO LONG

Subject: Loyalty points not adding up after an update
Reminder: 1 of 2 reminders left.
Take it back: a working status, with a named owner who checks for the answer.
Close: closing rule not met: needs 2 reminders and 10 working days in the status; has 1 reminder and 12 working days. A person confirms before anything is closed.
The team's rules point to: reminder, because Carla is at work today and 1 reminder is left.

Subject: Refunds not appearing in the weekly sales report
Reminder: 2 of 2 reminders left.
Take it back: a working status, with a named owner who checks for the answer.
Close: closing rule not met: needs 2 reminders and 10 working days in the status; has 0 reminders and 7 working days. A person confirms before anything is closed.
The team's rules point to: take it back, because Erin, the assignee, is away on the export date.

T-305 | Dev | P3 | 6 working days since the team last acted (limit 5) | 13 working days in the status | Reminders sent: 2

Subject: End-of-day report missing card totals
Reminder: 0 of 2 reminders left.
Take it back: a working status, with a named owner who checks for the answer.
Close: closing rule met: needs 2 reminders and 10 working days in the status; has 2 reminders and 13 working days, with no customer reply since 19 October. A person confirms before anything is closed.
The team's rules point to: close, once a person confirms, because Dev is at work today, no reminders are left and the closing rule is met.

STATUS OUT OF DATE

T-308 | Ben | P3 | Status says waiting on the customer since 28 October 2026; the customer replied on 5 November 2026 | 2 working days since that reply (Working limit 3)

Subject: Discount button greyed out for some staff
Question for the lead: The customer answered on 5 November but the ticket still shows as waiting on them; who sets it back to a working status and replies?

LIKELY DUPLICATES AND RELATED TICKETS

T-312 and T-314: likely duplicate. Customer D; different contacts; opened 5 November 2026 and 5 November 2026, 0 working days apart (window 5).

Why: "Receipt printer printing blank receipts" and "Printer gives blank receipts since this morning" describe the same printer fault. T-312 is unassigned and listed under Stale; T-314 is with Ben and healthy.
Options: link or merge. The lead picks which stays; nothing has been linked or merged.

T-319 and T-318: possibly related. Customer B; different contacts; opened 19 October 2026 and 29 October 2026, 8 working days apart (window 5).

Why: "How to set a new tax rate for takeaway orders" and "Change the tax rate on menu items" both ask about changing a tax rate. Both are with Ben and healthy.
Options: link or merge. The lead picks which stays; nothing has been linked or merged.

WORKLOAD ACROSS THE TEAM

Carla: in hand 2, load 12, heavy. Also held: 1 waiting on the customer, 1 waiting on a third party, 1 not placed.

Weights: T-301: L 3 x 2 (18 working days old) = 6; T-315: L 3 x 2 (22 working days old) = 6.
Listed on this sheet: T-301 (Stale); T-309 (Waiting on the customer too long); T-321 (Could not be placed).

Ben: in hand 7, load 8.5, within range. Also held: 0 waiting on the customer, 0 waiting on a third party.

Weights: T-302: S 1 x 1 (2 working days old) = 1; T-303: S 1 x 1 (3 working days old) = 1; T-304: S 1 x 1 (4 working days old) = 1; T-308: S 1 x 1.5 (8 working days old) = 1.5; T-314: S 1 x 1 (2 working days old) = 1; T-318: S 1 x 1.5 (6 working days old) = 1.5; T-319: S 1 x 1.5 (14 working days old) = 1.5.
Listed on this sheet: T-308 (Status out of date).

Dev: in hand 2, load 5, within range. Also held: 2 waiting on the customer, 1 waiting on a third party.

Weights: T-316: no size, counted as M 2 x 1 (4 working days old) = 2; T-320: L 3 x 1 (1 working day old) = 3.
Listed on this sheet: T-310 (Stale); T-305 (Waiting on the customer too long).

Erin (away Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November): in hand 1, load 3, light. Also held: 1 waiting on the customer, 0 waiting on a third party.

Weights: T-317: M 2 x 1.5 (7 working days old) = 3.
Listed on this sheet: T-317 (Stale); T-306 (Waiting on the customer too long).

Team load 28.5 across 4 people; average 7.1. Heavy above 10.7; light below 3.6. Unassigned: 2 (T-312, T-313). Observation: Ben holds the most tickets in hand (7), all small, yet Carla, with 2 large tickets each more than 15 working days old, carries the heaviest load (12 against Ben's 8.5); Erin, the lightest, is away today and tomorrow and holds T-317 and T-306, both listed on this sheet. Who moves what is the lead's decision.

COULD NOT BE PLACED

T-321 | Scheduled | Carla: the status "Scheduled" is not in the team's status groups. Question for the lead: Is Scheduled a working status, a waiting status, or one the sweep should leave out?

FROM LAST WEEK'S SHEET, NO LONGER IN THE EXPORT

T-296, T-298

Prepared for the support lead. No ticket has been changed and no one has been contacted.

Where it fits

Customer support and service: the weekly look at the whole queue that daily ticket work never gives.
Software technology: faults wait on developers, set-up questions wait on customers, and both drift out of sight.
E-commerce and retail: returns and delivery problems wait on carriers and suppliers, and customers write twice when they hear nothing.
Professional services: a small service desk where one experienced person ends up holding the hardest work.
Growth & scaling: the queue has grown past the point where the lead can keep every ticket in mind.
Established businesses: the queue has habits nobody questions, such as a waiting status where tickets stay for months.

What has to change for your company

Map your statuses. Write down which of your support system's statuses mean the team is working, waiting on the customer or waiting on someone else, such as a supplier or a carrier.
Set your limits. How many working days without real activity each group may go before it is listed.
Write your waiting rules. How many reminders you send, and when a ticket may be closed without an answer, always once a person agrees.
Decide how to weigh work. Use your support system's size or effort field if it has one, and your own age bands.
Check the export. Its column headings, and which customer details are removed before it leaves the support system.
Your platform. It runs in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini, from files you supply; it needs no connection to your support system.

What has been checked

Fully Powered AI wrote this capability template. It was editorially reviewed on 10 November 2026. It was tried once on its invented example in Claude on 10 November 2026, and the record of that run is published with it. It has not yet been tested in a client environment. It has not yet been tested as a packaged version in ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot or Gemini.

Testing in your environment means running it on two or three past weeks your support lead remembers well, plus hard cases written in advance, each with the expected result: an export whose headings do not match, a ticket touched only by an automatic update, a customer who replied while the status still says waiting, a status your settings do not cover, a ticket that has used up its reminders. The lead checks every date and figure against the export before anyone relies on the sheet. Pilot acceptance-test preparation sets those cases up, and what we test before we call an AI workflow ready describes the record we keep.

The full capability template

Everything above is the outline. The complete capability template is the working version: the roles, the inputs, the procedure, the exceptions and stop conditions, the output format, the reviewer checklist, the acceptance tests, the instructions for an AI assistant and what to customize for your company. It comes with a download and the link to its folder in Fully Powered’s public repository.

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