Tiered Support (L1, L2, L3)

What it is

Tiered support splits work into levels: L1 handles common questions, L2 handles deeper technical issues, and L3, often engineering, handles bugs and code-level problems.

Why it matters

Tiers protect experts' time, but every move up a tier adds a handoffHandoffPassing ownership of a ticket from one person or team to another. and a wait. Many teams find L3 is overloaded with tickets L2 could close with better tools.

Best practices

1. Define exit criteria per tier – What has to be true before a ticket moves up.
2. Equip lower tiers – Access and tooling move tickets down the ladder.
3. Track tier-skipping – Tickets that jump straight to L3 point to gaps.

How Decimal helps

Decimal gives L1 and L2 the investigation L3 would do, so more tickets close lower in the stack.