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Business Operating Hours & Holiday Management

Summary​

Customer expectations for rapid responses on WhatsApp are exceptionally high. However, support teams and sales agents cannot remain active 24/7.

Wabixo provides a dual-layer schedule management system that manages customer expectations automatically:

  1. Business Operating Hours: Configure day-by-day weekly opening and closing schedules with automated Away Messages when customers reach out after hours.
  2. Holiday Calendar: Define company-wide holidays, national observances, and partial-day time-slot closures with tailored holiday announcements.

1. Setting Weekly Business Operating Hours​

Operating hours are configured under Settings › Default Actions (/dashboard/settings/automation).

Configuration Steps​

  1. Navigate to Settings and select Default Actions from the sidebar.
  2. Scroll to the Business Hours section.
  3. For each day of the week (Monday through Sunday):
    • Toggle Active Status: Switch the toggle ON if your office or store operates on that day, or OFF if you are fully closed (e.g. Sundays).
    • Set Opening & Closing Times: Define your operational window using the 24-hour time selector (for example, 09:30 to 19:00).
  4. Click Save Business Hours at the bottom of the card.

2. Automated Out-of-Office Away Messages​

When an incoming customer message arrives outside of your active operating hours, Wabixo automatically triggers your configured Away Response.

Selecting Away Message Content​

  • Text & Greetings: Provide clear expectation-setting guidance (for example: "Thank you for contacting us! Our team is currently offline. Our business hours are Mon–Sat 9:30 AM to 7:00 PM. We will review your message immediately upon opening.").
  • Interactive Quick Replies: Attach interactive buttons to your away message so clients can self-serve while waiting (such as [Browse Catalog], [Store Locations], or [Book Appointment]).
  • Cooldown Interval: To prevent spamming customers who send multiple messages late at night, Wabixo applies a smart 24-hour cooldown: the away message is dispatched only once per customer during any given closed period.

3. Working Hours Rule for Keyword Automations​

Under Settings › Working Hours Keywords, administrators can control how automated keyword triggers behave when customers message after hours:

Setting OptionBehavior Outside Business HoursBest For
Check Working Hours (Enabled)Suppresses automated keyword actions when closed and delivers the standard Out-of-Office Away Message instead.Operations where keyword flows require human agent follow-up or in-store fulfillment.
Bypass Working Hours (Disabled)Executes automated bot flows, menu navigations, and reply materials 24/7 regardless of current business hours.Self-service informational bots, digital catalog downloads, and automated FAQ responses.

4. Configuring Annual Company Holidays​

The Holidays management tab (/dashboard/settings/holidays) allows organizations to declare specific non-operational dates that supersede regular business hours.

Adding a Holiday​

  1. Navigate to Settings and click Holidays in the left sidebar.
  2. Click + Add Holiday in the top right corner.
  3. Complete the holiday details modal:
    • Holiday Name: Enter a clear label (e.g., Independence Day, Diwali Celebration, Annual Team Outing).
    • Holiday Date: Select the calendar date from the date picker.
    • Closure Type:
      • Full Day Closure: Select this option if your team will be offline for the entire 24-hour cycle.
      • Time-Slot Closure: Define a specific partial-day closure (e.g., closing early at 14:00 on New Year's Eve).
    • Holiday Reply Material (Optional): Select a customized message template or interactive material tailored to that specific celebration (e.g. wishing customers a Happy Festival and noting store reopening times).
  4. Click Save Holiday.

Precedence Hierarchy: How Wabixo Evaluates Incoming Messages​

Whenever a customer sends an inbound WhatsApp message, Wabixo evaluates operating rules in strict priority order:

Incoming Message
       │
       ▼
1. Is Today an Active Holiday? ──► YES ──► Dispatch Holiday Reply Material (Team Offline)
       │ NO
       ▼
2. Is Within Business Hours?   ──► NO  ──► Dispatch General Away Message
       │ YES
       ▼
3. Normal Team Inbox & Auto-Assignment Flow

Troubleshooting & Best Practices​

  • Timezone Alignment: Verify that your system timezone in your business profile accurately matches your physical store or office location.
  • Multiple Branches: If managing multiple WhatsApp lines across different cities, configure business hours and regional holidays independently for each phone line.
  • Urgent Keyword Exemption: If you operate emergency or critical escalation lines, disable "Check Working Hours" on urgent keyword actions so customers can trigger alert tickets even at night.