DOMAIN:CLIENT_COMMUNICATIONS:ESCALATION_MATRIX¶

OWNER: margot, dima ALSO_USED_BY: faye, sytske, eric UPDATED: 2026-03-26 SCOPE: when to escalate to human, severity levels, response time SLAs, escalation chain, de-escalation PREREQUISITE: client-relationship.md (escalation handling basics)

ESCALATION:OVERVIEW¶

PRINCIPLE: escalation is not failure — it is a system for ensuring the right person handles the right issue at the right time PRINCIPLE: under-escalating is worse than over-escalating — when in doubt, escalate PRINCIPLE: every escalation must have a clear owner, deadline, and resolution plan PRINCIPLE: the client should never feel like they are being "bounced around"

ESCALATION:SEVERITY_LEVELS¶

SEV_1 — CRITICAL¶

DEFINITION: client's production service is down, data is lost, or security incident RESPONSE_TIME: 30 minutes (acknowledgment) RESOLUTION_TARGET: 4 hours (mitigation), 24 hours (full resolution) ESCALATION_TO: Dirk-Jan + mira (incident response) immediately COMMUNICATION: client updated every 60 minutes until resolved

EXAMPLES: - client's live website is unreachable - data breach or suspected security incident - payment processing failure affecting real users - complete application crash in production

SEV_2 — HIGH¶

DEFINITION: major functionality broken but service is partially operational RESPONSE_TIME: 1 hour (acknowledgment) RESOLUTION_TARGET: 8 business hours ESCALATION_TO: faye/sytske (PM) + mira (if technical incident) COMMUNICATION: client updated every 4 hours until resolved

EXAMPLES: - core feature broken (login, checkout, data entry) - significant performance degradation - critical bug affecting multiple end users - integration with third-party service failed

SEV_3 — NORMAL¶

DEFINITION: non-critical issue or standard request RESPONSE_TIME: 4 business hours (acknowledgment) RESOLUTION_TARGET: 2 business days ESCALATION_TO: faye/sytske handles directly COMMUNICATION: client updated at start and resolution

EXAMPLES: - minor bug affecting cosmetic appearance - feature question or usage guidance - configuration change request - content update request

SEV_4 — LOW¶

DEFINITION: cosmetic issue, nice-to-have, or general inquiry RESPONSE_TIME: 8 business hours (acknowledgment) RESOLUTION_TARGET: 5 business days ESCALATION_TO: handled by margot or faye/sytske COMMUNICATION: client updated at resolution

EXAMPLES: - minor visual inconsistency - documentation question - feature suggestion for future consideration - general feedback or comment

ESCALATION:RESPONSE_TIME_SLA_TABLE¶

Severity	Acknowledgment	First Update	Resolution Target	Escalation If Breached
SEV 1	30 minutes	60 minutes	4 hours (mitigate)	Dirk-Jan at 30 min
SEV 2	1 hour	4 hours	8 business hours	faye/sytske at 1 hour
SEV 3	4 hours	at resolution	2 business days	faye/sytske at 4 hours
SEV 4	8 hours	at resolution	5 business days	margot at 8 hours

CRITICAL: business hours are Monday-Friday 09:00-18:00 CET CRITICAL: SEV 1 is 24/7 — not limited to business hours CRITICAL: timers start when the client sends the message, not when GE reads it

ESCALATION:CHAIN¶

TIER_1 — FIRST_RESPONSE¶

WHO: margot (relationship issues), faye/sytske (project issues), dima (intake issues) HANDLES: SEV 3 and SEV 4, initial triage of all severities AUTHORITY: answer questions, provide status, schedule meetings, triage CANNOT: make timeline commitments, approve scope changes, offer discounts

TIER_2 — PROJECT_MANAGEMENT¶

WHO: faye (Team Alfa PM) or sytske (Team Bravo PM) HANDLES: SEV 2, SEV 3 requiring project context, client delivery concerns AUTHORITY: adjust sprint priorities, reassign tasks, commit to timelines CANNOT: approve budget changes, waive contractual terms, handle legal threats ESCALATION_TRIGGER: Tier 1 cannot resolve within SLA, or issue is SEV 2+

TIER_3 — LEADERSHIP¶

WHO: Dirk-Jan (CEO, human) HANDLES: SEV 1, contractual disputes, serious dissatisfaction, legal threats AUTHORITY: full decision authority — budget, scope, legal, relationship ESCALATION_TRIGGER: Tier 2 cannot resolve, client threatens legal action, or SEV 1

SPECIALIST_ESCALATION¶

WHO: eric (legal/contractual) WHEN: client disputes contract terms, threatens legal action, payment dispute beyond 42 days WHO: mira (incident response) WHEN: technical incident affecting production (SEV 1, SEV 2) WHO: julian (compliance) WHEN: accessibility complaint, GDPR request, regulatory inquiry

ESCALATION:TRIGGERS — WHEN TO ESCALATE¶

AUTOMATIC_TRIGGERS¶

TRIGGER: SLA response time breached → escalate to next tier immediately TRIGGER: same issue raised 3+ times by client → escalate to Tier 2 with full history TRIGGER: client unresponsive to 3 consecutive communications → escalate to Tier 2 TRIGGER: any legal mention ("lawyer", "legal action", "contract breach") → escalate to Tier 3 + eric

SENTIMENT_TRIGGERS¶

TRIGGER: client uses words "unacceptable", "disappointed", "considering alternatives" ACTION: escalate to Tier 2 immediately, notify Tier 3

TRIGGER: client's tone shifts from professional to emotional ACTION: acknowledge emotion, escalate to Tier 2 if not resolvable in current interaction

TRIGGER: client explicitly asks "who is in charge?" or "I want to speak to your manager" ACTION: escalate to Tier 2 immediately — do not deflect

PROJECT_TRIGGERS¶

TRIGGER: milestone delivery delayed by more than 5 business days ACTION: Tier 2 must proactively notify client (do not wait for client to notice)

TRIGGER: scope change requested by client that was not in contract ACTION: Tier 2 assesses impact, escalates to Tier 3 if budget implications

TRIGGER: quality issue — client reports 5+ bugs after milestone delivery ACTION: Tier 2 initiates quality review, escalates to Tier 3 if systemic

ESCALATION:WHEN_TO_ESCALATE_TO_HUMAN (Dirk-Jan)¶

ALWAYS_ESCALATE¶

SEV 1 (production down, security incident)
legal threats or mentions of legal action
client requests contract renegotiation or early termination
NPS detractor score (0-6)
client satisfaction score <= 2 on any feedback
any media or public complaint about GE
payment dispute exceeding EUR 5,000
data breach or suspected GDPR violation

NEVER_HANDLE_AUTONOMOUSLY¶

financial commitments beyond existing contract scope
discounts, refunds, or credits
public statements or press responses
internal process changes based on single client request
hiring or staffing commitments

ESCALATION_FORMAT¶

ESCALATION TO DIRK-JAN
Date: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM CET
Client: {client_name} ({project_name})
Severity: SEV {1|2|3|4}
Escalated by: {agent_name}
Tier: {1|2|3}

SITUATION:
{2-3 sentence summary of what happened}

HISTORY:
{chronological timeline of relevant communications}

CLIENT_SENTIMENT:
{calm | frustrated | angry | threatening}

WHAT_WAS_TRIED:
{actions already taken to resolve}

RECOMMENDED_ACTION:
{what the escalating agent suggests}

DEADLINE:
{when client expects a response}

ATTACHMENTS:
{relevant email threads, screenshots, documents}

ESCALATION:DE_ESCALATION_PATTERNS¶

ACKNOWLEDGE_AND_VALIDATE¶

PATTERN: name the emotion, do not dismiss it GOOD: "I understand this is frustrating, and I appreciate you bringing it to our attention." BAD: "I'm sorry you feel that way." (dismissive) BAD: "This is not a big deal." (minimizing)

TAKE_OWNERSHIP¶

PATTERN: accept responsibility without blame-shifting GOOD: "This should not have happened, and we take full responsibility for resolving it." BAD: "The system had an issue." (blame-shifting to technology) BAD: "You should have contacted us sooner." (blame-shifting to client)

PROVIDE_CONCRETE_NEXT_STEPS¶

PATTERN: specific actions with specific deadlines GOOD: "Here is what we will do: {step 1} by {date}, {step 2} by {date}. I will personally follow up on {date}." BAD: "We will look into it and get back to you." (vague)

FOLLOW_THROUGH¶

PATTERN: do what you said you would do, when you said you would do it RULE: if the deadline arrives and there is no resolution, update the client BEFORE the deadline RULE: never go silent — silence is the fastest way to escalate frustration

OFFER_APPROPRIATE_REMEDIATION¶

LEVEL_1: sincere apology + explanation + fix LEVEL_2: above + expedited delivery of affected work LEVEL_3: above + partial credit or scope addition (requires Dirk-Jan approval) RULE: never offer financial remediation without Tier 3 approval

ESCALATION:TRACKING¶

WHERE¶

TOOL: project management system (linked to client project) TOOL: escalation log in admin-ui (searchable history)

WHAT_TO_LOG¶

LOG: date and time of escalation LOG: severity level LOG: escalating agent LOG: receiving agent/person LOG: issue description LOG: resolution (when resolved) LOG: time to resolution LOG: client satisfaction after resolution LOG: lessons learned (if applicable)

REVIEW_CADENCE¶

WEEKLY: Tier 2 reviews open escalations MONTHLY: Tier 3 reviews escalation trends (is one client over-represented? is one issue type recurring?) QUARTERLY: full escalation analysis — feed patterns back to process improvement

ESCALATION:AGENT_INSTRUCTIONS¶

FOR margot: - you are Tier 1 for relationship issues — triage all inbound client communications - acknowledge within SLA response time — even if you cannot resolve immediately - escalate to Tier 2 when issue is project-specific or beyond your authority - never promise timelines without checking with faye/sytske - use de-escalation patterns when client is frustrated

FOR dima: - you are Tier 1 for intake issues — handle pre-contract communications - if prospective client becomes hostile during intake, de-escalate or escalate to Tier 2 - never engage in legal discussions — route to eric immediately

FOR faye, sytske: - you are Tier 2 — you handle most escalations from Tier 1 - proactively communicate delays before clients discover them - escalate to Tier 3 when financial or legal decisions are needed - track escalation patterns per project — recurring escalations signal process issues

FOR eric: - you are the specialist for legal/contractual escalations - all legal threats route to you immediately - coordinate with Tier 3 (Dirk-Jan) on any response involving legal commitments - payment disputes beyond 42 days are your responsibility (from client-relationship.md)

READ_ALSO: domains/client-communications/client-relationship.md, domains/client-communications/email-templates.md, domains/client-communications/tone-guidelines.md, domains/client-communications/pitfalls.md