WhatsApp after-hours replies: 4 rules
An after-hours WhatsApp auto-reply has to do more than say "we are closed". Set it up with four rules: keep business hours and holidays in one place, make the reply say when a person will answer and what the system can do now, let the system answer enquiries but never make a new commitment, and escalate urgent cases to a named on-call person. It follows WhatsApp customer complaints and WhatsApp return requests: those cover working hours, this covers when nobody is there.
What the WhatsApp Business app's away message offers
According to WhatsApp's official help page on away messages, the WhatsApp Business app can send an away message always, during a period you set, or only outside business hours, the last only if business hours are set in your profile. You choose who receives it: everyone, people not in your address book, everyone except selected contacts, or only selected contacts. Your device must be online for them to send. It is a good start, but one fixed message knows nothing about the customer's order, balance or delivery.
A worked example
Illustrative example: a sweets shop that takes orders on WhatsApp and closes at 11 pm received 14 messages after closing one night. The system answered 8 on its own: 5 questions about tomorrow's orders, 2 price questions from the approved menu, and one statement request. It logged 5 new orders in the morning queue without confirming a delivery time. It escalated one message to the on-call person: a customer had received a cake for an event that night with the wrong writing on it.
The four rules
- Hours and holidays in one place. Enter working hours for each day, plus holidays and official breaks, where the auto-reply reads them. When hours change for Ramadan or Eid, change them there once.
- The reply gives a time and options. The first reply tells the customer the team is off, when it returns to the hour, and what the system can do now: order status, an account statement, or menu prices. Never write "we will reply soon" without a time.
- Enquiries yes, new commitments no. The system answers what is already recorded: order status, balance, approved price. A new commitment, such as a discount, delivery time, cancellation or refund, is logged with a number in the morning queue, and the customer is told so.
- Urgent cases to a named on-call person. Define in advance what is urgent in your business, such as an order due tonight or a wrong product for an event, and name the on-call person for each day. The system sends them the case; with no response within a set time, it goes to the owner.
What the system does in each case
| After-hours message | What the system does |
|---|---|
| Order or delivery status | Answers straight from the order record |
| Statement or balance request | Sends it after checking the registered mobile number |
| New order or time change | Logs it in the morning queue and does not confirm a time |
| Discount, cancellation or refund request | Logs it with a number and tells the customer when they will hear back |
| A case on the urgent list | Escalates to the on-call person, then to the owner if no response |
| A question it cannot answer | Apologises, logs it and does not guess |
The conversation as it happens
Customer (11:40 pm): Hi, is my order for tomorrow ready? I'd also like to add a box of maamoul.
System: Hello. Our team is back at 8 am. Your order 417 is confirmed for delivery tomorrow between 4 and 6 pm. I've logged the maamoul box as request 23; the team will confirm it in the morning with the price and time.
In the morning the shop owner asks:
Owner: What happened last night after we closed?
System: 14 messages. I answered 8, 5 orders are waiting for your confirmation, and one urgent case about wrong writing on a cake; the on-call person responded at 12:10 and prepared a replacement.
Owner: Confirm the five orders against the production schedule.
Running the business from WhatsApp means the night-time reply reads from the same orders and accounts your team uses by day.
Checklist before switching on after-hours replies
- Working hours and holidays kept in one place?
- The reply states when the team returns and what the system can do now?
- Every new commitment logged with a number, never confirmed at night?
- A written urgent list and a named on-call person for each day?
- The morning queue reaches the responsible person before opening?