Why it matters
Business hours determine when your Whippy Business Phone channel is considered open for inbound calls. After-business-hours auto-responses ensure callers receive a clear, consistent response when your team is unavailable, reducing missed expectations and maintaining communication.
Key Concepts
Whippy Business Phone channel: A voice channel where business hours, call routing, and after-hours behavior are configured.
Business hours: The schedule that defines when a Business Phone channel is open for inbound calls.
Timezone: The time reference used to evaluate business hours and after-business-hours logic.
After-business-hours auto-response: An automated action triggered when a call is received outside configured business hours.
Action type: The behavior applied after hours, such as sending a message, starting a chat agent, or adding the contact to a sequence.
Step-by-Step: Configure Business Hours
Go to Channels under Organization Settings.
Select the Whippy Business Phone channel you want to configure.
Click Actions, then More Options (three vertical dots).
Click Edit Channel.
Open Channel Settings and select the Business Hours tab.
Set the Timezone for the channel.
Toggle each day on or off based on availability.
Set the Open and Close times for each active day.
Use Copy to all to apply the same hours across multiple days if needed.
Review the schedule to confirm it reflects your team’s availability.
Step-by-Step: Configure After-Business-Hours Auto-Responses
In the Business Hours tab, locate the After-Business-Hours Auto-Response section.
Select an Action type:
Send a message
Start a chat agent
Add to a sequence
Enter or select the auto-response message using text, templates, or supported variables.
Click Update Auto Response to save the configuration.
Tips and Best Practices
Always confirm the channel timezone before setting hours.
Keep after-business-hours messages short and clear.
Use variables to personalize messages without manual effort.
Review business hours regularly, especially before holidays or schedule changes.
Pair after-business-hours auto-responses with call flow after-hours routing for a consistent caller experience.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Possible Cause | Fix |
Auto-response not sending | Action type not selected | Choose an action type and save the update |
Business hours not applying | Day toggles disabled | Enable the correct days and set open/close times |
Messages sending during business hours | Incorrect timezone | Update the channel timezone |
Variables not populating | Unsupported or misspelled variable | Use only supported variables in the editor |