Response times — When the clock starts, and what counts as an answer

The clock starts when the first message arrives. The first reply is the first message the customer could actually read. An internal note is not an answer, and neither is an email to a supplier or anyone else who isn't the customer; the queue's Needs reply state follows the same rule. Deadlines are stamped when the clock starts and never re-derived. Tightening a policy from eight hours to four applies to new tickets; it does not retroactively make last month's tickets late, and last quarter's numbers stay what they were.