How to flag VIP customers in Zendesk so every agent sees it

By Jake Marsh · Updated

To flag a VIP customer in Zendesk, install Pinwell, open one of their tickets and press Pin a note. Choose Pin to the organization (for a whole company) or the customer, write the instruction, such as "VIP: reply within 2 hours, CC the account manager", pick Critical and tick Pop up when a ticket opens. The note then shows in red at the top of the Pinwell sidebar on every ticket from them, and pops up as each ticket opens.

Steps

  1. Open a ticket from the VIP, or their user or organization profile.
  2. Press Pin a note.
  3. Pin to. Choose the organization to flag everyone in the company, or the customer to flag one person. A requester in several organizations gets notes from all of them.
  4. Write the note. Up to 1,000 characters, but keep the first line short: it is what agents read. Say what to do, not just "VIP".
  5. Severity: Critical. Critical notes are red and sort above everything else.
  6. Show until: Never, or a date if the status ends with a contract.
  7. Tick Pop up when a ticket opens. Agents see the note in a window when they open a ticket from that customer or organization, once per ticket tab.
  8. Pin note. Everyone sees it on their next ticket from this customer.

Choosing a severity

SeverityColorGood for
CriticalRedVIP handling rules, legal holds, "never refund without approval"
WarningAmberAt-risk renewals, a recent escalation, a disputed invoice
Good to knowGreenPreferred language, best time to call, who their admin is
InfoBlueBackground such as the plan they're on

Only Warning and Critical notes can pop up.

Writing VIP notes agents follow

  • Lead with the action. "Reply within 2 hours. CC Dana (account manager)." beats "Important customer."
  • One note per rule. Several short notes sort and expire on their own; one long note goes stale.
  • Add an end date for temporary VIP status, such as during an onboarding or a renewal.
  • Check the author line. Each card shows who pinned it and when, and who edited it last, so agents know whom to ask.

Control who can flag customers

SettingWhat it does
Only these roles can pin, edit and unpinadmin, agent or custom role ids. Empty means every agent.
Only agents in these groups can pin, edit and unpinGroup names or ids. Empty means every agent.
Agents can change only their own notesAgents edit or unpin only notes they pinned; admins can change any note.
Allow pop-up notesOff: no note pops up; they show in the sidebar only.

Everyone who can use the app can read every note, and admins can always pin and change notes.

What it costs

Pinwell is $1 a month per agent, billed monthly by Zendesk, with a 14-day free trial (Zendesk asks for a card at install). It needs Zendesk Suite (Team and up) or Support Enterprise. See the Pinwell documentation for every setting.

Pinwell

Pinned customer notes: color-coded notes on users, organizations and tickets. Agents see them first. $1 a month per agent.

Install PinwellAbout PinwellDocumentation

Questions

Can I flag a VIP organization so all its users are covered?

Yes. Pin the note to the organization and it shows on every ticket from anyone in that organization.

Will the pop-up show every time the agent clicks back to the ticket?

No. It appears once per ticket tab. Opening the ticket in a new tab shows it again.

Can light agents see VIP notes?

Yes, once you give their role view access to the Pinwell note object in Admin Center > Objects and rules > Custom objects. Zendesk gives light agents no access to new custom objects by default.

Does the VIP flag change ticket priority or routing?

No. Pinwell shows notes to agents. It doesn't change tickets, priorities or routing.

More Pinwell guides

More Zendesk guides