# Working the inbox

Picking up a handover, what the agent already tried, and closing the loop so it does not happen twice.

Source: https://docs.omazy.ai/engage/inbox/

The inbox is where conversations arrive that the agent could not or should not
finish. Everything in it is, by definition, the interesting half.

## A handover arrives with its history

You are never picking up cold. The full conversation comes with it, including
what the agent already tried. Read it before you type. Nothing erodes a customer
faster than being asked the question they just answered.

## What to look for while you work

Two things at once: the customer's problem, and why the agent could not solve it.
The second one is free information and most teams throw it away.

| Why it handed over | What to do after |
|---|---|
| It did not know | Add the answer to knowledge |
| It knew but was not allowed | Check whether the brief is too restrictive |
| It answered wrongly | Correct the knowledge, not just the customer |
| The rules said hand over | Nothing. It worked |

That last row matters. A handover is not a failure. An agent that never hands
over is not a better agent, it is an unsupervised one.

## Closing the loop

The habit that compounds: when you answer something the agent should have
handled, write it into knowledge before you close the conversation. It takes a
minute and it is the difference between a system that improves and one that
merely operates.

Do it while the wording is fresh. Your answer to a real customer is usually
better phrased than anything you would write later in the abstract.

## Speed and the human part

Response time matters more than eloquence. A fast "let me check that for you"
beats a perfect answer four minutes later, because by minute four they have
opened a competitor's site in another tab.