Trackline
What to do when someone does not reply
Automatic reminders, switching channel, and when it is time to pick up the phone.
Chasing is the part of the job that eats the most time and that people enjoy least. Trackline automates it as far as it makes sense, and tells you when it no longer does.
How to set it up
When you create the process, or later on a specific case, you decide how often to remind and how many times. A sensible default is the first reminder after two or three days and the second after a week, on a different channel.
Watch out
Reminding every day speeds nothing up: what it achieves is the person marking your messages as spam, and from then on they miss the important ones too.
Switching channel
This is what works best. If the first notice went by email and got no reply, a second one by SMS or WhatsApp lands somewhere else — usually a phone — and gets seen. The platform does it on its own if you have given it both contact details.
When to step in by hand
- When the reminders run out and there is still nothing: the platform tells you, and at that point it is a phone call.
- When the person replies to the email instead of using the link: a sign they did not understand what to do.
- When they deliver the wrong thing: better explained by you than by resending the same automated notice.
- When the contact detail is wrong: if the email bounces or the number does not exist, no reminder is going to fix that.
Frequently asked questions
›Do reminders stop on their own once they deliver?
Yes, and only for that request. If you asked for three things and they delivered one, they keep getting reminders about the other two.
›Can I send a reminder right now, without waiting?
Yes. There is a button on the case to resend the notice immediately, regardless of the automatic cadence.
›How do I know the notice actually arrived?
The case shows when each notice was sent and on which channel. A bounced email is flagged, so a wrong contact detail surfaces without waiting weeks.
›Can I mute reminders for one particular case?
Yes. They can be paused per case without touching the process configuration — which is what you want once you have already spoken to that person on the phone.
A real case
The situation
A company asks forty suppliers for their tax clearance certificate and after ten days twelve have replied.
What you do
- Lets the first automatic email reminder go out after three days
- Sets the second one on WhatsApp after a week
- Only calls the ones still silent after both
What you get
Out of forty possible calls you end up making five, and you make them knowing exactly what each person still owes.
The situation
The same email is resent by hand every week.
What you do
- Sets up the automatic reminder
What you get
Chasing stops consuming anybody's time.
The situation
The contact no longer works there.
What you do
- Changes the recipient in the file
What you get
The request reaches somebody who exists.
The situation
The email is not arriving and nobody knows.
What you do
- Checks the delivery status before insisting
What you get
The cause is tackled rather than the symptom.
The situation
After four reminders there is still no reply.
What you do
- Phones and records the call
What you get
The change of channel is recorded like everything else.
The situation
Somebody who already delivered another way is chased.
What you do
- Checks the file before chasing
What you get
An unfair chase is avoided.
This article answers
- the supplier is not replying what do I do
- automatic reminders for document requests
- how to chase without phoning
- how often to send a reminder