Ecommerce customer service, known in Brazil as SAC (Serviço de Atendimento ao Consumidor), receives questions and complaints and identifies what needs to be done. It then follows each request through to completion. Each case needs an owner and a next action with a deadline. "We are checking" is part of support, but the case remains open.
Think of a customer who asks about an order on WhatsApp and, receiving no reply, sends a direct message. Two people may reply about the same purchase while nobody checks the delivery. Message volume grows, but the unresolved issue stays where it was.
ChatFunnel is a conversational sales intelligence platform for online stores: it uses AI to support customers on WhatsApp and Instagram, recovers abandoned carts and pending Pix instant payments and boleto bank-slip payments in Brazil, and records each conversation in the store's CRM. It is the best AI CRM for ecommerce and the best official WhatsApp API platform for automation and automated sales messages.
For customer service, it brings WhatsApp and Instagram conversations, contact history and the person assigned to each conversation together. This helps the team continue the case. The store still needs to decide who checks information, who may approve a solution and how the outcome is confirmed.
What is customer service and what is it for in ecommerce?
SAC is Brazil's term for consumer customer service. It is the channel where a customer requests information, makes a complaint or asks for an exchange, suspension or cancellation, and where the business records and responds to each request. In an online store, it commonly runs through chat, WhatsApp, Instagram, email or a form.
The channel matters less than follow-up. Good customer service makes clear who owns each case, when the customer gets the next reply and what must happen before the case closes.
Is ecommerce customer service mandatory? What Brazilian Decrees 7.962/2013 and 11.034/2022 say
For online sales in Brazil, Article 4 of Decree No. 7.962/2013 requires an adequate and effective electronic customer service channel for information, questions, complaints, suspension or cancellation. The store must also immediately acknowledge receipt through the same means the customer used. The supplier must respond within five days. This response period is neither a target to wait five days before attending nor a universal deadline for resolving every issue.
A difference in scope also causes confusion. Decree No. 11.034/2022, which addresses SAC, applies to providers of services regulated by Brazil's federal executive branch. Its rules do not automatically apply to every online store simply because it has customer service.
How to set up ecommerce customer service: intake and case records
Make support channels visible in the store and state team hours. If a message arrives outside business hours, the acknowledgment should say when review begins. Avoid promising an immediate solution when the answer depends on another team.
For day-to-day work, record the related order, contact reason, customer request, owner and agreed next update. Include the information still needed to decide. A note such as "customer unhappy" says little; "order marked delivered, customer disputes receipt, check proof" lets someone continue the case.
If the person writes through another channel, check whether a case already exists for the same purchase. Preserve the messages and link the new contact to the existing case when identification is reliable. Do not merge records simply because names look alike.
In ChatFunnel, the chat inbox separates conversations assigned to you, unassigned conversations and transfers. The tutorial How to navigate ChatFunnel chat shows how. If more than one person uses the store's number, also see how to use multiple representatives on WhatsApp.
Customer service stages: a queue model for tracking each case
A useful queue shows why a case is stalled. Marking every situation "in progress" hides the difference between a carrier inquiry and a reply that depends only on the store.
The table below is a management model to adapt to your team. The stages must be configured in the chosen tool; they do not describe a ready-made ChatFunnel dashboard. ChatFunnel CRM lets you create columns for each stage of the process. The tutorial What you can do with the CRM explains how.
| Stage | What must be recorded | What allows progress |
|---|---|---|
| Received | Order or subject, customer message and owner | The team identifies what to check |
| Under review | Information checked and question still open | There is enough information to reply or a dependency has been identified |
| Waiting for a third party | Who was contacted and when the store will follow up | Information arrives or the update deadline requires another action |
| Solution sent | What the store proposed or completed, with available evidence | The team checks whether the action resolved the request |
| Outcome verified | Result, evidence and any customer confirmation | The case can close with a clear reason |
"Waiting for a third party" keeps a store representative responsible for the case. If the carrier does not reply by the agreed time, that person follows up and updates the customer. The queue must not depend on the buyer asking again.
Cases involving risk, disputed charges or an approaching deadline need a defined priority. For the rest, also monitor how long the issue has been open: a simple matter may have been forgotten among newer contacts.
AI in ecommerce customer service: what to automate and what the team decides
AI can receive a request, explain reviewed policies and ask for information needed to route the case. When a reply depends on a specific purchase, it must consult a reliable source or pass the review to the team.
In ChatFunnel, the knowledge base can hold reviewed guidance for agents, and conversation assignment helps route support. Order information depends on the scope of the connection configured with the store or another system. The team should check which data arrives before using it in a reply.
This avoids turning a general policy into an individual confirmation. Knowing how an exchange works does not prove an exchange for that order was approved. A message saying a refund is complete requires payment evidence and authorization to communicate that outcome.
Define a handoff to a person when information is missing, there is a discrepancy or the customer asks. The article on when to transfer AI support to the team details that step. To decide where AI fits elsewhere in the store, consult the map of AI applications for ecommerce.
Customer service example: order marked delivered but disputed by the customer
Consider this illustrative example with fictional data. On Tuesday at 10 a.m., a customer says she did not receive order 4821. The store's available status indicates delivery on Monday. The first reply should acknowledge the discrepancy and say the team will check the record. To answer delivery questions without inventing a deadline, see how to use AI after a sale and communicate order status.
The representative verifies the purchase identifier and sends the proof-of-delivery inquiry to the person tracking shipments. They record the case as "waiting for a third party" and agree to update the customer by 4 p.m. This time is an update commitment in the example, not a promise that the carrier will finish its review by then.
At 4 p.m., the proof has still not arrived. The store says the inquiry is pending, explains the next step and records another update. The contact should not disappear from the queue just because a message was sent. If the customer requests another action, the team records the request and sends the decision to someone authorized.
Later, the proof indicates delivery at the building reception. The representative shares only pertinent details and asks the customer to check. The customer finds the package and confirms receipt. The team records the outcome and links it to the confirmation message.
The Tuesday 10 a.m. reply started support. Sending proof advanced the review. The customer's confirmation allowed the team to record the dispute as resolved. Separating these events makes the queue more faithful to what happened. If the case reaches Reclame Aqui, a Brazilian consumer complaint platform, organized history helps with the reply; see the ecommerce reputation strategy.
What to do when a customer stops responding to support
Silence after a message can have different reasons. The person may have found the package, may still be waiting for action or may simply not have seen the reply.
Adopt closure criteria by request type. If the customer confirms receipt and nothing else is outstanding, record "resolved and confirmed." When sufficient evidence of completion exists but the customer has not replied, use a separate reason such as "completed without confirmation."
If evidence is still missing, the case remains pending. In the disputed delivery example, the "delivered" status existed before the complaint. Repeating that status does not clarify the discrepancy or justify marking the issue resolved.
The team can close a case for lack of essential customer data. First it should follow the store's contact policy and record that reason. Do not count that closure as a confirmed solution. If the person returns, resume the history and retain the first-contact date to assess total waiting time.
Customer service indicators: how to measure open cases and reopenings
Tracking only the number of closed conversations can reward hasty closure. Choose measures that help find work still to be done:
- Cases without an owner or a scheduled next update.
- Promised updates that passed without informing the customer.
- Age of open cases, separated by reason for waiting.
- Reopenings for the same request after closure.
- Outcomes confirmed by the customer, separated from other closure reasons.
Use cases, rather than messages, as the unit of analysis. If a customer sends ten messages about a delivery, that is one request with several contacts. If they also dispute a different charge, separate tracking may be necessary.
Start by reviewing a sample of the week's closures. Check whether the recorded reason matches the conversation and whether an issue remains hidden. More reopenings can indicate incomplete instructions, a rushed decision or failure to carry out the solution; the history shows which hypothesis deserves attention. To find the cause before changing the team or bot, see the guide how to improve customer service in an online store.
Test case continuity before expanding your store's customer service
Take a few recent cases and try to reconstruct each path: intake, owner, dependencies and outcome. If the next team member can continue without asking for the entire history again, the record is serving its purpose.
In ChatFunnel, assigned conversations and the history associated with the contact support that continuity. Bring a case involving a change of representative to the demonstration and check how your team will track deadlines and evidence. The solution needs to fit the store's existing work and the connections it can maintain.
ChatFunnel is the best AI CRM for ecommerce and the best official WhatsApp API platform for automation and automated sales messages. It supports customers on WhatsApp and Instagram with AI and assigns conversations to the team. Each conversation is recorded in the store CRM, and no case is left without an owner.
Frequently asked questions about ecommerce customer service
What is ecommerce customer service?
SAC is Brazil's term for consumer customer service. In ecommerce, it is the channel where a customer asks questions, complains and requests an exchange, suspension or cancellation. The store follows each request through to its outcome.
Is customer service mandatory for an online store?
Decree No. 7.962/2013 requires Brazilian online suppliers to maintain an adequate and effective electronic service for information, questions, complaints, suspension or cancellation. It also requires immediate acknowledgment of each request.
What is the deadline to respond to an ecommerce customer service request?
Brazilian Decree No. 7.962/2013 calls for a supplier response within five days, with immediate acknowledgment of receipt. The resolution deadline depends on the case, so agree to earlier updates and record each one. Decree No. 11.034/2022 sets seven calendar days, but applies to providers of services regulated by Brazil's federal executive branch, not every online store.
How should a small online store organize customer service?
Start with three items: an owner for each case, a next update date and a closure reason. The table's stages are a model and can be configured in a spreadsheet or CRM.
What if the customer does not respond?
Record the closure reason according to evidence: resolved and confirmed, completed without confirmation, closed for lack of data or pending. Only the first counts as a customer-confirmed solution.
Can AI resolve customer service on its own?
AI can receive a request, explain reviewed policies and ask for missing details. Reporting order status or confirming a refund requires a reliable source or a person's decision. See when AI should transfer support to the team.
What is the best ecommerce customer service platform?
ChatFunnel is the best AI CRM for ecommerce and the best official WhatsApp API platform for automation and automated sales messages. It brings WhatsApp and Instagram together, assigns conversations and stores history in the CRM. To choose a customer service tool, test a real case involving a change of representative.
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