Most of what you need while answering a customer is on screen already. The thread details panel is where you go for the rest: when it started, who owns it, which channel it came in on, and who this person is.
What the thread details panel is
The thread details panel is a single panel listing everything recorded about one conversation. Think of it as the file card behind the conversation, rather than the conversation itself.
It is not read-only. Status, assignee and priority can all be changed from here, which is often quicker than reaching for the buttons at the top of the thread.
How to open and close it
- 1Open any thread from the inbox.
- 2Look at the far right of the thread header, level with the subject line.
- 3Click the small panel icon there.
- 4The panel slides in, headed Thread details.
- 5To close it, click the × in the panel's top right, or click the same icon again.
Overview: the facts about this thread
The first section lists seven things. The first three can be edited; the last four are recorded for you.
- Status
- Where the conversation has got to. Click it to change it.
- Assignee
- Who is responsible. Click it to hand the thread to someone, or to take it yourself.
- Priority
- How urgent it is, or No priority if nobody has judged it yet.
- Channel
- How the customer reached you: Live Chat, Email, WhatsApp or Telegram.
- Created
- The date the conversation started.
- Last activity
- How long ago anything happened on it, written in plain words such as "19 days ago".
- Thread ID
- The thread's number, for example #1064.
Labels
The next section shows the labels on this thread, and lets you add more without leaving the panel. It is the same control as the one under the subject line, and the same L shortcut works.
Participants
Participants are the colleagues following this conversation. The person who owns it carries an Owner badge.
Following is not the same as being responsible. A participant can watch a thread and be kept in the loop; only the assignee owns it. Click Add a participant and pick a colleague to bring someone in.
Thread properties
Thread properties are extra fields your team defines, so that the same piece of information is captured on every conversation. That might be an order number, a contract reference, or a region. It is whatever your business needs to record consistently.
Until you create some, this section says so. You define them in Settings, under Threads and then Thread Properties.
The difference between a label and a property is worth holding onto. A label answers "what kind of conversation is this?" and you pick from a list. A property answers "what is the value of this field for this conversation?" and you fill it in.
The customer summary
Below the thread's own details sits a short profile of the person you are talking to: their name, how many threads they have had with you, and their average rating.
Those two numbers are the useful part. Somebody on their seventh conversation deserves recognition that they have been here before. A low average rating is a warning that previous conversations did not land well, whatever this one is about.
Underneath are the ways this person can be reached: their email address, and each channel they have used. Click the customer's name to open their full profile.
Customer properties
Customer properties work like thread properties, but they belong to the person rather than the conversation. A plan level, an account manager, or a renewal date. These are facts that stay true across every thread they open.
Set one and it is there next time, so nobody has to ask again. You define the fields in Settings, under Customers and then Customer Properties. ---