Proper "Outbound / Proactive Ticket" flow (Agent as the first public message author)
I want to raise a feature request that I believe is fundamental for any mature helpdesk: a native "Outbound / Proactive Ticket" workflow where the agent can start the conversation and the customer replies into the same ticket thread.
Current situation:
Fluent Support has "Create Ticket on Behalf of Customer", but the initial message (Ticket Details) is stored/displayed as if the customer wrote it (customer avatar, customer as the author of the first public entry). That design makes sense when an agent logs a request that came from phone/Viber/etc. However, it breaks a very common real-world workflow: the business needs to contact the customer first, and then the customer replies via email and the full conversation stays inside the same ticket, with the agent clearly being the thread starter.
Yes, we can use a workaround (create the ticket with a placeholder and immediately reply as agent), but this is still a workaround and it has real downsides:
- The timeline/audit trail is not correct: the first public message looks like the customer initiated the ticket.
- Reporting/analytics become misleading (who started the conversation, first response time, etc.).
- It complicates daily operations when you want to keep all customer communication inside Fluent ecosystem instead of sending separate WooCommerce customer notes or direct emails.
Why this matters:
In e-commerce support, outbound tickets are constant (courier delays, missing info, proactive updates, order verification, resolution follow-ups). Most major helpdesk platforms support agent-initiated/proactive tickets as a first-class feature. Fluent Support is excellent overall, but this missing piece forces us into workflows outside the system.
What I am asking for:
Please add a native option to start a ticket as an agent with an outbound message, while still keeping the customer as the requester/contact. For example:
- A "New Outbound Ticket" button or a toggle when creating a ticket.
- The first public entry should be authored by the agent (agent avatar/name).
- The customer receives the email and can reply via email piping, and replies are appended to the same ticket thread (existing piping already handles this part well).
- Optionally tag/flag it as "Outbound initiated" for reporting.
This would remove a major friction point and bring Fluent Support in line with how professional helpdesks operate in the real world.
Good point!
Shahjahan JewelΒ Thanks for the quick response, Shahjahan.
Could you confirm whether you can log this as a trackable feature request (issue/card) and if it can be considered for the roadmap?
The current workaround works, but it still breaks the audit trail: the first public entry appears as the customer, which affects who initiated the conversation and can skew metrics/reporting (and it is confusing when reviewing the timeline later). A native "Outbound/Proactive Ticket" mode where the first public message is authored by the agent would solve this cleanly.
If helpful, I can share a few concrete e-commerce scenarios where this is used daily and I am happy to test a beta/MVP implementation.
i need this
I concur. This is how ServiceNow works. All of the communication is in the record.
Yes, strangely enough, I had this exact requirement for the first time yesterday - it would be very useful!