Daily operations
Escalation cards
An escalation card is a notice from an agent that says: this item needs a human. No draft is produced. You handle the situation yourself, then close the card.
What triggers an escalation card
Your handbook always_escalate phrases
Any customer message that matches a phrase in your handbook escalation list triggers a card from the Support agent. Common examples: chargeback, press inquiry, legal threat, safety concern. You configure these in the handbook interview.
Refund requests above your threshold
If the Bookkeeper or Support agent encounters a refund request above the threshold you set in your handbook, an escalation card is created. Refunds below the threshold produce a normal approval draft.
MCP connection failures
When the Operator detects a degraded or offline MCP connection, it attempts the reconnect runbook. If the reconnect fails, an urgent escalation card is created with exact fix instructions.
Unrouted work
If a task appears in the event log that no installed agent is configured to handle, the Operator creates an escalation card describing the unrouted item.
How to handle an escalation card
- 1
Read the card
The card explains what was found and why it was escalated. It includes the original customer message or the specific event that triggered it.
- 2
Take the action
Handle the situation yourself. Reply to the customer directly, call your accountant, reconnect the MCP source, or whatever the card describes. The agents do not take this action for you.
- 3
Close the card
Tap Close on the card to mark it resolved. The event log records the closure. If you took a specific action, note it briefly in the close reason field.
Urgent vs normal escalation cards
Cards are marked urgent when they match a high-priority rule: chargeback, legal threat, safety issue, or any phrase you configure as always_escalate with urgent priority. Urgent cards appear pinned at the top of your inbox with a red indicator and send an immediate phone notification (Core and Pro tiers).
Normal escalation cards wait in the inbox until your next approval pass. They do not send a phone notification.
If you get too many escalation cards
High escalation volume usually means one of two things: your always_escalate phrases are too broad, or you are getting a category of message your agents are not configured to handle. Review the recent cards, identify patterns, and update your handbook.
If a whole category of support request consistently escalates, it may need its own policy in the handbook. Add a specific return or exchange policy for that scenario and your Support agent will draft a response rather than escalating.