cs-escalation-brief

Customer Escalation Brief Skill

Produce a clear, concise escalation brief that gives internal stakeholders — VP CS, CCO, product leadership, or the CEO — everything they need to understand the situation, make decisions, and act fast.

A good escalation brief is not a complaint. It is a professional document that states the facts, assigns accountability honestly, and proposes a specific resolution plan.

Required Inputs

Ask for these if not already provided:

• Account name, tier, and ARR
• CSM name and account owner
• Nature of the escalation — what happened, what the customer is saying
• Timeline of events leading to escalation
• Customer contact who escalated (name, role, influence level)
• What the customer wants — their stated ask
• What we believe the root cause is
• What has already been done to address the situation
• Renewal date and current renewal risk assessment

Escalation Levels

Calibrate urgency and audience based on escalation level:

Level	Trigger	Audience	Response time
L1 — Account Risk	Customer expressing dissatisfaction; renewal at risk	CSM + CS Manager	24 hours
L2 — Executive Escalation	Customer escalated to their exec; requesting vendor exec involvement	VP CS + Account Exec	4 hours
L3 — Churn Risk	Customer has issued notice or is in active churn conversation	CCO / CEO + Revenue leadership	1 hour
L4 — Public Risk	Customer threatening public escalation, legal, or press	CCO / Legal / Comms	Immediate

Output Format

---

Escalation Brief: [Account Name]

Escalation level: L[1/2/3/4] — [Label] Date raised: [Date] Raised by: [CSM name] Escalation owner: [Name of exec or senior stakeholder now leading response]

---

Account at a Glance

Field	Detail
ARR	£/$/€[X]
Tier	Enterprise / Mid-Market / SMB
Customer since	[Date]
Renewal date	[Date] — [N] days away
Renewal risk (pre-escalation)	Green / Amber / Red
Renewal risk (current)	Green / Amber / Red
Customer contact who escalated	[Name, role, seniority]
Executive sponsor (customer)	[Name, role — active / passive / vacant]
Executive sponsor (vendor)	[Name, role]

---

What Happened — Summary

[3–5 sentences. State the facts plainly. What the customer experienced, how they reacted, and how we learned about the escalation. No editorialising. No blame.]

---

Timeline

List in chronological order. Each entry: [Date / time] — [What happened. Who did what.]

Include:

• When the original issue or trigger event occurred
• When the customer first raised concerns (informally)
• When it escalated (formal escalation or exec involvement)
• Actions taken since escalation

---

Root Cause

Primary cause: [One clear sentence. What specifically went wrong.]

Contributing factors:

• [Factor 1 — be honest about internal failures as well as external ones]
• [Factor 2]

Is this a systemic issue or isolated? [ ] Isolated to this account [ ] Pattern seen in other accounts — details: [_______] [ ] Product or process gap that needs fixing

---

Customer's Stated Position

What the customer says happened: [Their version of events — fair and unfiltered]

What they are asking for: [Their explicit ask — compensation, fix by date, exec call, SLA credit, exit clause]

Sentiment of escalating contact: [Frustrated but constructive / Angry / Seeking exit / Unknown]

Risk of public escalation: Low / Medium / High — [evidence if Medium or High]

---

Business Impact

Impact type	Detail
ARR at risk	£/$/€[X]
Potential churn probability	[X]%
Reputational risk	Low / Medium / High
Reference / case study status	[Was a reference — now at risk / Not a reference]
Expansion pipeline at risk	£/$/€[X]

---

What Has Been Done So Far

1. [Action taken — by whom — date — outcome]
2. [Action taken — by whom — date — outcome]
3. [Action taken — by whom — date — outcome]

Has a formal apology or acknowledgement been issued? Yes / No

---

Proposed Resolution Plan

Immediate actions (next 24–48 hours):

Action	Owner	By when
[Action]	[Name]	[Date]
[Action]	[Name]	[Date]

Medium-term actions (next 2–4 weeks):

Action	Owner	By when
[Action]	[Name]	[Date]

What we are NOT offering: [Be explicit about what is not on the table — avoids misaligned expectations]

Success criteria: [How will we know the escalation is resolved? What does the customer need to confirm they are satisfied?]

---

Decision Required from Escalation Owner

[State clearly what decision or resource the escalation owner needs to provide. Be specific — do not make them ask. E.g.: "We need approval to offer a 20% service credit for Q2" or "We need an exec call with [name] within 48 hours."]

---

Communication Plan

Audience	Message	Channel	Owner	By when
Escalating customer contact	[Summary of message]	Email / Call	[Name]	[Date]
Customer exec sponsor	[Summary]	Call	[Name]	[Date]
Internal CS team	[Summary]	Slack / Meeting	CS Manager	[Date]

---

Quality Checks

• Root cause is specific — not "communication breakdown" or "product gap" without detail
• Customer's position is stated fairly — not minimised or dismissed
• A clear decision is requested from the escalation owner — brief does not end with "what do you think?"
• ARR at risk is quantified
• Communication plan has owners and dates — not "TBD"
• Language is professional and blameless toward individuals