The Secrets to Offering 24/7 Customer Support (Without Hiring New Staff)

One of the most exciting parts of starting a business is the interest you get from your customers. Every incoming question is a new opportunity. But what happens when those questions start coming in at midnight, on the weekend, or while you’re spending time with your family? For many entrepreneurs, this is the point where the business they started with passion turns into a prison. The anxiety of, “What if I miss a sale because I couldn’t answer right away?” becomes their biggest nightmare.

Hiring more staff might seem like a solution, but it increases costs and isn’t always possible. So, is it possible to build a 24/7 support operation without growing your team? The philosophy behind Vera.Support is exactly that: to turn automation and artificial intelligence into your most tireless employee.

Let’s see what this transformation means in real life through the story of our customer, Jessica, the owner of an online boutique.

“Realizing My Business Was Working For Me, Even at Night, Was Priceless”

Jessica, an online boutique owner and Vera.Support customer:

“I love my business, but my business didn’t love my sleep. During the day, I was preparing shipments, photographing new products, and managing social media. But when night fell, my real ‘second shift’ would begin. My phone screen would light up with questions from different parts of the world, or just from night owls: ‘What’s the fabric like?’, ‘How long does shipping take?’, ‘What’s your return policy?’

I tried to answer every notification instantly because I knew there was a sale behind that question. But this pace was exhausting me. My eyes were on my phone while watching a movie with my family; my mind was on an unanswered Instagram message while I was out with friends. My business had become my life. But I no longer had a life of my own.

When I set up Vera.Support, one of the first things I did was add the answers to those standard questions, which I never had time to write down before, as 10-15 short articles in the system’s “Knowledge Base” section. ‘Shipping Processes’, ‘Our Return Policy’, ‘Fabric Types’… I wrote them all.

Then, I activated the AI chatbot. I only taught it one thing: ‘When you’re asked a question, first look at these articles. If you can’t find the answer there, politely ask for the customer’s email and tell them I will get back to them as soon as possible.’

That night, for the first time in years, I put my phone on silent and went to sleep. To be honest, I was a little anxious.

The sight I saw when I woke up and opened the panel was a turning point for me. Eighteen different people had written to us overnight.

• 8 people were directed by the chatbot to the correct article in the Knowledge Base and found their answer instantly. The only note in the panel was “User viewed the article.” No intervention was needed.
• 7 people had asked standard questions (like ‘What’s the fabric?’), and the AI had learned the answers from the articles and responded to them directly, like a human.
• Only 3 people had asked truly specific questions that required my personal response. The bot had also politely collected the contact information from these 3 people and marked them as “pending” for me to answer.

That morning, I started my day not with panic, but with a calm sense of control. In front of me were only 3 important and valuable customer questions. Everything else had been resolved on my behalf, with my knowledge, while I was sleeping.

In that moment, I realized I had actually hired a new employee. One who doesn’t get tired, doesn’t sleep, doesn’t complain, and answers every question with patience. Vera.Support hadn’t just given me a piece of software; it had given me back my nights, my weekends, and most importantly, my peace of mind. Knowing that my business was continuing to serve my customers even while I was resting was a priceless feeling. Thank you, Vera.Support.”