After Low Hanging Fruit and Fire Patrol, we answer tickets from oldest to newest. When working on a ticket, support techs begin responding, leaving the window/tab open during research and responding. This alerts other technicians to the fact that the ticket is being handled, and to move to the next ticket.
The balance between working on assigned ticket versus unassigned tickets is handled with regular communication among the team. During the hours that our support is open, we constantly have an eye on the unassigned box. Additionally, issues that are urgent (most notably tickets where the customer’s site is unable to accept donations at all) remain in the unassigned box and marked with the “urgent” tag.
Anything in the unassigned box (urgent tickets and new tickets) are treated with highest priority. This doesn’t mean that assigned and unresolved tickets are neglected, just that someone is always on the latest unassigned.
In between complicated tickets, a great way to get perspective and mental focus is to run through pending tickets and perform #QueueHealthHabits.